Los Angeles’s Dawes, led by lead singer and songwriter Taylor Goldsmith, uniquely combine the lyrical sensibility of vintage Laurel Canyon songwriters with a hard-rocking attack that borrows from both the Grateful Dead and Neil Young. With Winnetka Bowling League opening for them, the band brought the best of contemporary SoCal sounds to the Warner Theatre in their recent performance there on the Oh Brother Tour.

The tour takes its name from their most recent album, which was recorded entirely by Taylor and his brother Griffin. The decision to record as a duo was prompted by the departure of bassist Wylie Gelber and keyboardist Lee Pardini. In a way, it continues what the band has been doing, trying new things in the studio. Their previous album, 2022’s Misadventures of Doomscroller, saw them venturing in long, jammy, jazz-rock sounds that fell between the Dead and Steely Dan. The success of the album is buoyed by Griffin’s superior skills as a drummer, which is always a joy to hear live in concert.

And they know how to tickle my sweet spot. In “House Parties,” one of the new songs they played at the Warner Theatre on Nov. 21, Taylor professed his love for the classic video game series Mega Man. I, too, am a Mega Man enthusiast. I’ve never beaten any of the games in the series, but not too long ago I bought the classic collection on Steam; it does not appear likely I will beat any of these games soon, as I don’t possess the necessary reaction speed or eye-hand coordination. 

Watch the official music video for “House Parties” by Dawes on YouTube:

Dawes got their set going with another cut from Oh Brother, “Front Row Seat,” then dipped into their extensive back catalog with “Still Feel Like A Kid,” a sentiment I’ve also heard expressed by my 74-year-old mother. (At a science-fiction convention a few years ago, I asked if I could attend the young adult signing, as I’m “emotionally 12,” which is probably being generous.) Every time I hear them do a song like “Things Happen,” I’m truly impressed by how Goldsmith manages to write such compelling lyrics and surround them with such a muscular sound.

“Things Happen” was followed by the “Game,” another strong new track. “If Wanted Someone” and “Crack the Case,” from earlier in the band’s career, still sound as good as they ever did. After “House Parties,” they played “Side Effects” for the first time on the tour. Then the band left stage and Taylor did a couple of songs solo acoustic: “Moon In The Water,” a new song that made its tour debut, and “When My Times Come.” Griffin then came out and the brothers did “Enough Already.”

There wasn’t much in the way of stage banter, besides Taylor saying how much he appreciated folks coming out on a Thursday night to support live music. Someone shouted back, “Thanks keeping this early! I have an eight o’clock meeting tomorrow!” 

The rest of the band came back, and Dawes rounded out their set with “Picture of a Man,” “A Little Bit of Everything,” “Someone Else’s Café/Doomscroller Tries to Relax,” and finished with “All Your Favorite Bands.” For their encore, they played another new song, “Hilarity Ensues.”

Winnetka Bowling League, another band from the Los Angeles scene, opened the show. Their style leans a little more toward pop, a softer sound than Dawes. They started with the title cut from their most recent LP, Sha La La, followed by “America in Your 20s,” “Handsome,” and “On the 5,” which is “a song about driving.” They continued with “No One’s Ever Kissed You” and “Breakfast for Dinner,” which they described as “a song about food.” Their lead singer played “fuck it, i miss you” solo, then the rest of the band came back for “Astrology & Context.” Taylor and Griffin Goldsmith joined them for “This Is Life,” and they finished with “Slow Dances.”

Even with the changes to their lineup, Dawes still sounded as tight and powerful as they ever have — which is pretty damned good.

Here are some photos of Dawes performing at the Warner Theatre in DC on Nov. 21, 2024. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss.