An Ode To the Backyard Show

They say music is the most emotive artform; it’s the stuff that makes you boogie, tap your toes or hang your head and cry. It strums our heart strings in every key and amplifies our lives each time we pump up the volume. Music is also the tie that binds communities ever since some cavemen initiated the first impromptu jam session to the pounding sound of rocks they drummed together in a syncopated rhythm. We’re not only evolved to move to it but to be transformed together. If music is communal, then cannabis is the stitch that weaves that fabric even tighter. After all, some of our favorite tunes were made by musicians who puffed and passed all the way up the charts.

Blowing smoke has also been a key part of the live show experience. Fans of John, Paul, George and Ringo, Snoop and good old weed chiefing Willie Nelson, transcend the vibes of the live show by sharing in the brain waves they have in common with their favorite performers. Weed helps us relate to their genius. But there is really something special about pulling that connection even closer and congregating at the backyard show.

We’ve been leaning on our friends at Social Service to make our mark on the LA music scene and celebrate the spirit of the audiophile at some backyard jams. Vintage crooner, Nick Waterhouse, freestyle jazz saxophonist, Kamasi Washington and the key happy Brandon Coleman, Silverlake favorites, Silversun Pickups and the axe grinding Cherry Glazerr have all graced the small stage under the lit tree behind a nondescript little house in East LA. Like a good friend, Old Pal was there to enhance the experience and help everyone feel a lot closer as they bobbed their heads under small clouds of smoke to the reverberation of audio transformation.