Blood Orange And Kindness Live On Nye – A Reflection

 
Art & Culture

Imagine someone throwing a New Year’s Eve party at an epic venue (say, the Ritz or Dorchester), with your favourite acts, and an open bar- keep dreaming UK… LA however are right on the money and A OK Collective  and IAMSound’s New Year's Eve party at the legendary Park Plaza ticked all these boxes and more.

First the venue- we're talking next level opulence. Think frescoed ceiling, chandeliers and wood panelled halls. Hungry? No problem, LA's finest food trucks are parked right out back. Thirsty? Sure, your ticket includes an open bar for which there was barely a queue all night (not sure it'd be the same story over here as the Brit love of booze will always be a contrast to the health conscious Cali set).

Now on to the real meat of the evening; the music. Kicking off the night were DJ sets from Ana and Allie, Gark and Cooper Saver, who (along with the bar) kept the crowd lubricated and ready for the main event. After the fanfare of new year, cue streamers, people making out on the dance floor and a few shouts of “Hell Yeah 2015”, we’re ready for Blood Orange, or, as I'll always know him, Dev from Test Icicles. Though his solo stuff is mellower, he still carries much of the energy and presence from those early performances in his showmanship and tonight he’s on form. Guitar in hand he’s blasting through “The Star-Spangled Banner” before the audience know what’s hit them. From there it’s a segue into the aptly named “Champagne Coast” His mellow songs are the perfect way to coast into new year and despite being a solo act he doesn't struggle to work the space. There's also bespoke projections of a girl dancing which add a cinematic nature to his performance. That doesn’t mean he was alone all evening though, with Friends Samantha Urbani joining him for “You’re Not Good Enough” and Kindness also dropping by to guest at one point too.

blood orange live in LA

Next up in the Conservatory is Kindness’s DJ set which, true to form, is a winning mix of slow jams and school disco classics keeping the remaining crowd swaying. In the Study, Allie Teilz's DJ set is a winner; who knew you could be so psyched to hear Skee Lo at 2am? Followed by the ever lovely and effervescent Warpaint who played the laid back party set you’d expect. By this point the open bars had defeated us and after parties were calling, but this still made for a hell of start to the New Year and I’ll be channelling the Beach Boys to “wish they could all be Californian” in future too.

Meanwhile keep your eyes peeled for the Kickstarter I’ll be working on to fund my visa husband and ensure I never have to leave!