The songs and scores behind 30 years of Wes Anderson films took the spotlight during the second of three scheduled shows at the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday night, where a wide mix of recording artists from Beck to Rufus Wainwright, Jenny Lewis to Jackson Browne and many more joined the L.A. Phil in performances of fan favorites from across Anderson’s beloved filmography.
“We’re going to have music that makes you laugh, that makes you think, that makes you feel,” concert emcee Bill Murray, wearing a Steve Zissou-style red beanie, told the crowd at the beginning of the evening, before introducing longtime Anderson composer Mark Mothersbaugh and the rest of rock band Devo.
Before Devo played “Gut Feeling” (A Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou needle drop), Mothersbaugh opened up with a few words about Anderson, telling the crowd that “working with Wes was kind of the closest thing to working with this band here, where it was about ideas and concepts and making them come to life.”
The concert — music directed by Justin Meldal-Johnsen — was a healthy mix of needle drop covers along with orchestral numbers written by Mothersbaugh and fellow Anderson collaborator Alexandre Desplat, the whole night reflecting the vast draw of influences Anderson pulls from for his signature brand of quirky, whimsical films. On the instrumental side, Kaoru Wantanabe came out on taiko drums to play the percussive soundtrack of Isle of Dogs, while Ami Dang and Aakash Pujara played flute and sitar for the Darjeeling Limited tracks “Charu’s Theme” and “Arrival in Benares.”
