Review by Shawn Perry & Ron Lyon
Concert Photos by Ron Lyon
Following a festive Thanksgiving, The Observatory hosted an evening of eclectic music featuring Dhani Harrison, Summer Moon and Mereki. Promoting his 2017 CD, IN///PARALLEL, Harrison, on guitar and backed by a four-piece band, played an impressive 12-song set that included six songs from the new record. The show was the sixth of a seven-date U.S. tour that began in New York and Washington D.C., and traversed the west coast, from Seattle to Los Angeles.
For “Poseidon (Keep Me Safe),” Harrison welcomed Mereki to the stage, which made total sense because she’s on the record. It was a similar situation when he performed ”All About Waiting,” a pulsating, electronically driven track that includes Summer Moon’s Camila Grey. Along with the newer material, Harrison also pulled out three songs by his former band Thenewno2 — “So Vain” and “Yomp” from the 2008 album You Are Here, and “Make It Home” From the 2012 album The Fear of Missing Out.
Harrison finished up his set with a burning version of the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog.” While there were likely some fans expecting to hear “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” or “My Sweet Lord,” it’s clear Dhani Harrison is setting out to be his own man, rather than ride in on his father George’s coattails.
In addition to Grey, who sings and plays keyboards, Summer Moon features bassist and vocalist Nikolai Fraiture from The Strokes, drummer Stephen Perkins from Jane’s Addiction, and guitarist Noah Harmon (The Airborne Toxic Event). The band formed in 2015 and released the song “With You Tonight,” which help garnered the interest by Rolling Stone and NME. Australian born Mereki, who opened the show, plays what’s been coined as “spiritual pop” boasted by the motto ‘Be Kind’ to reinforce her positive approach to music-making.
