Barry Gibb, Jared & the Mill @ Hollywood Bowl

Jared & the Mill
On the ride up to the Hollywood Bowl, Jennio and I were the youngest people on the shuttle...not accompanying a parent (it's so sweet that these kids took their moms to a concert).  At the Bowl, we did see even younger people...working the event.  I think it's safe to say that Barry Gibb draws an older crowd.  So, I'm not quite sure how the opener, Jared & the Mill, was chosen.  Don't get me wrong, they were good, but their Mumford & Sons sound would've been a better fit at an indie music festival.  After reading their AZcentral interview, I was impressed to learn that Gibb selected them out of 70 acts.  The man recognizes talent.


Barry Gibb

Barry Gibb with son, Stephen

When I went through a Bee Gees phase in my early college years, I never thought I would get to see any of them live, so I was excited when I heard Barry Gibb was touring and that there was a show at Hollywood Bowl (one of my favorite venues).  I mostly knew of disco era Bee Gees, so I was pleasantly surprised by their pre-disco hits (such as Spicks and Specks) and collaborations (like the album Guilty they did with Barbra Streisand).

The concert was a family affair with a duet with his niece, Sammy Gibb (who I like to imagine is a punk rock jazz singer.  Her voice was amazing) and a performance by his son, Stephen Gibb (who has a gritty voice fit for death metal).

Barry Gibb's voice, by the way, still sounds fantastic after all these years (zero old man voice).  And he has a sense of humor.  He put up a photo of him with Jimmy Fallon and Justin Timberlake on the Barry Gibb Talk Show skit (start at 4:22 to skip the weird Madonna part.  I wish he had actually been on the show and had a sing off with Fallon).  Then he went into Nights on Broadway.  The only thing that could've improved the already outstanding performance was if he had started the song with the skit's lyrics or shown the end song from the video.

Photo via Dailymail

The tour was a wonderful way to pay tribute to his brothers.  You could tell Gibb really missed them when he told stories while showing old family photos.  He even did a duet with Robin on I Started a Joke.  The video of Robin made it feel like he was there.

The show was a brilliant display of the Bee Gees' extraordinary musical career.  I never knew they originated To Love Somebody.  Everyone knows that song, but that night was the first time hearing the original.  And Grease live was amazing.  I didn't even realize Frankie Valli sang it, but I'm not surprised that Barry Gibb wrote it, definitely has his sound.  So many of Bee Gees songs have been sampled and covered.  Islands in the Stream was used in Ghetto Supastar, for instance.  The only song missing from the concert was Emotion, one of my favorite songs (written for Samantha Sang and covered by Destiny's Child).


More Reviews:

• Hollywood Reporter
• Fox