Beck, Beth Orton & Others Honor Elliott Smith At L.A. Memorial Concert

11/04/2003 4:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker

On Monday (November 4) at a memorial concert held at Los Angeles's Henry Fonda Theater, Beck, Beth Orton, and other esteemed artists and admirers paid tribute to late singer-songwriter Elliott Smith, who committed suicide on October 21. Proceeds from the event went to the Elliott Smith Foundation For Abused Children, about which Orton commented during her poignant acoustic performance, "This is a celebration of Elliott's life, and I'm doing this for what he's leaving behind, this organization. Perhaps he wasn't lucky enough to overcome what he suffered, but maybe by doing this, we can help others who have suffered."

The highly emotional evening featured performances of Smith's many brilliant songs by various acts from the Silver Lake artist community, where Smith had been living when he died. Local powerpop band the 88--accompanied by guest vocalist Fritz Michaud, who had been recording new material with Smith at the time of Smith's death--performed an unreleased song from those sessions, "King's Crossing," along with two other Smith compositions, "Can't Make A Sound" and "Got A Foot In The Door." Lou Barlow of Sebadoh/Folk Implosion and John Doe of X offered acoustic renditions of "Division Day" and "Rose Parade," respectively, and Alaska and the Radar Bros. both covered "Speed Trials." The Radar Bros. also performed "Between The Bars," and were joined by Steve Hanft (director of the Elliott Smith documentary Strange Parallel) on guest vocals for "Say Yes." Hanft's Strange Parallel collaborator, Jason Mason, performed as well, covering "Waltz #2" and the Smith rarity "Pretty (Ugly Before)" with his two indie bands, Wiskey Biscuit and Future Pigeon. Mason admitted between songs, "I feel like I'm on acid right now because the mood is so heavy," adding, "For all of you who just knew Elliott for his music, yes, he was so talented--but the person was just incredible."

Among the most touching moments of the night was the solo acoustic set by Tito Larriva of Tito & Tarantula, who performed a brand-new original number, explaining, "Elliott came to me in a dream last night, and he was singing this to me. So I'm going to try to sing this song he wrote. I don't even know the title of it." Seemingly on the verge of tears, Tito had to stop midway through the sad, lovely ballad, and was barely able to finish it. Another special moment was the performance by Papa M, featuring former Zwan members David Pajo and Paz Lechantin and Beachwood Sparks keyboardist Dave Scher; their string-laden interpretation of "Untitled," a song by Smith's early band Heatmiser, was positively goosebump-inducing. Finally, a particularly magical highlight came at the beginning of Rilo Kiley's set, when frontwoman Jenny Lewis crooned a gorgeous, entirely a cappella version of Smith's "I Didn't Understand" with the audience quietly singing along. When her bandmates joined her onstage to perform a plugged-in cover of another Smith tune, "The Biggest Lie," guitarist Blake Sennet remarked, "Elliott, on top of being one of the people who made me want to make a contribution musically, was also a very amazing and generous guy...He was a big inspiration for us. Thanks for letting us play these amazing songs."

Closing out the concert were Beck--who warmly declared, "I'm really happy to have this chance to pay tribute to Elliott and his incredible music," before wowing the sold-out crowd with his stunning unplugged versions of "Ballad Of Big Nothing," "Alameda," and "Clementine"--and Beth Orton, who performed Smith's "No Name #3" as well as her tearjerking original song "What We Begin," which she explained was written for her childhood friend who committed suicide last year.

But perhaps the evening's greatest tribute to Smith was the reverence and respect given to the post-show screening of Strange Parallel. Concertgoers had already begun to file out of the venue, but when the lights dimmed again and the movie began to play on the stage's big-screen backdrop, everyone returned to their spaces for the next half-hour, riveted to the screen, pindrop-silent except for a few heartfelt bursts of applause after Smith's live performance scenes. Seeing Smith on the screen, strumming his acoustic guitar and warbling "Waltz #2" in his fragile, haunting voice, made everyone in the house realize what a profound loss Smith's death truly is.

To make a donation to the Elliott Smith Foundation For Abused Children, please send checks to 4470 Sunset Blvd. #305, Los Angeles, CA 90027. Online donations can also be made via PayPal using the email address esmfund@yahoo.com.

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