ALBERT HAMMOND JR at Teragram Ballroom Oct. 14; photo Andy Ortega
As Albert Hammond Jr. addressed the sold-out crowd at LA’s Teragram Ballroom on Wednesday, a big smile lit up his face. “Are you guys having a good time? Because I’m having a great fucking time. I think I might set a tent up right here.” Hammond has every right to savor the moment. Sobered-up and enjoying time away from a little band called The Strokes, his latest offering, Momentary Masters, has officially carved out a space for Hammond as a force in his own right, selling out shows across the US.
While Hammond gave a nod to his other band’s New York roots, taking the stage to Ace Frehley’s “New York Groove” his solo work harkens more to the mellow haze of LA. Breezy offerings off his first solo album “101” and “Holiday” were crowd favorites, with their easygoing riffs and melting vocals, while ¿Cómo Te Llama? track “GfC” provided the perfect soundtrack for the sultry SoCal night.
The majority of the setlist was devoted to Momentary Masters, featuring catchy album standouts “Losing Touch,” the Strokes-y “Razors Edge,” and the biting “Touché.” Crowd surfers abounded, with Hammond commenting, “I feel like the front row is a contact sport.” One particularly dopey fan got himself onstage during “Holiday” and tried to take a selfie with Hammond, wrapping his arm around him. Without missing a beat, Hammond grabbed the phone and chucked it into the audience to the approval of all. Another fun moment was Hammond signing an actual side-boob of one deviceful female fan during, you guessed it, “Side Boob.”
Even better was simply seeing Hammond cut loose. He’s jerky, he spazzes out, and he’s having a good-ass time. The triple-guitar interplay of Hammarsing Kharhmar, Mikey Hart, and Hammond was something to behold on songs like “St. Justice” and “Spooky Couch,” with Kharhmar and Hart often taking the lead while Hammond went wild. When Hammond would step up and rip out a solo, the crowd went berserk. There’s something about that signature sound, so familiar to Strokes and Hammond fans alike. Seeing and hearing Hammond is like catching up with an old friend, an old friend that’s doing better than ever.
Ending the set with “Side Boob” and the apropos signing, the crowd wanted more, bringing the band back for “Drunched In Crumbs,” “Blue Skies,” which provided a real “lighters-out” moment, and “Coming To Getcha,” with an extended outro that threatened to blow the roof off the venue.
The show was opened by Day Wave.