Secondhand Setlists

Benny Blanco most certainly picks his friends wisely.

The producer’s label, Friends Keep Secrets, held a special show at the El Rey Theater, to showcase the vocal and sonic pyrotechnics of Blanco’s protégés.

Electro-pop priestess, Ryn Weaver, opened the event with an acoustic demonstration of her warbling timbre. Weaver, who came in contact with Blanco through a chance Tinder swipe, romped about the stage in a flashy gold suit and high ponytail. Her performance marked an immense improvement since I saw her at the Belasco last November, looking and sounding like a fully-fledged pop act. As a treat to the audience, she debuted a new number, full of the lush lyricism Weaver thrives on: “High on coke & wine, I was Bonnie you were Clyde.”

Between the sonic booms of Weaver and Jessie Ware, BenZel, a duo of Blanco and Ben Ash, aka Two Inch Punch, took to the table to deliver a bit of pump-up jams to keep the crowd hyped. Not entirely a memorable set, aside from the fact that Blanco and Ash look like they’re having a smashing time onstage.

Continuing the acoustic opening aesthetic came the sensational Jessie Ware. Having seen her three times now, you’d think I’d grow tired of her, but Ware’s voice works is pure ecstasy. As effortless as an eagle, she soars through the loftiest of notes with grace and great fortitude, all to the audience’s adoration; to this day, I still am hard-pressed to find anyone who inspires as much rapture as Ware. By the time she closed with “Say You Love Me,” she’d gotten the whole crowd to sing along.

The headline for the show also promised a few “special guests” for the evening, and one of them was a gentleman who introduced himself as Francis. Erratic yet excited, Francis delivered rousing lines while cavorting about the stage in a style reminiscent of the late Joe Cocker, bizarre but entirely endearing. He set the stage for what ended up being the true firecracker.

Toronto born Tory Lanez loves the stage, and anyone in that audience last night could see that all over his performance. Sliding glibly between freestyles, covers, and his own tracks, Lanez displayed a showmanship one expects but doesn’t always received from a live act. “Comecloser, comecloser,” he eagerly said to the audience; when all were in tight formation, Lanez leapt off the stage to stand, not surf, atop the audience. As if that weren’t lit enough, Ware brought her own titanium lungs to Lanez’s “Say It,” only to be followed by Miguel, who joined Lanez for “LA Confidential.” All this time, the members of Friends Keep Secrets sing, dance, and smoke from the back of the stage, thoroughly enjoying the party.

The evening’s finale culminated in the ornate sounds of Cashmere Cat, née Magnus August Høiberg. Hailing from Scandinavia, Høiberg’s music overflows with a teeming array of influences, infusing heavy percussion with the pipes and strings of the world. Obviously it falls under the dance music category, but Høiberg seems just as concerned with making complex scores as he is making you get up and move.

In the end, Blanco & friends gave a show to remember, one that felt more for play than for profit. And isn’t that what music should be? A celebration of sound with those you love the most.