Rilo Kiley: 18 Years Later
Rilo Kiley at the Greek in L.A. (2025)
Rilo Kiley played their last show of their reunion tour like it was 2008.
IIt’s been over a month since I saw Rilo Kiley in concert at the Greek Amphitheater. It had been 17 years since the band toured together with their last album Under the Blacklight. In 2008, the year of that album’s release, I was rocking it fulltime as I commuted to my nighttime classes. I always took this backroad to get to the campus, so I could avoid the freeway traffic. The area had the look of a desolate desert with mountains touching the sky on one side, and the flickering headlights from the highway on the other. It created this magical effect that still sticks with me.
I was first introduced to Rilo Kiley by a friend I had named Mandy; she wasn’t a particular fan of that album because it had strayed from their previous sound. She always was a step ahead of the game when it came to indie music, and this was one of her favorite bands. Sadly, Mandy would pass away within that year; I’m not sure if she was ever able to see them play live.
Cut to October 18th of this year, and Rilo Kiley was making the last stop on their reunion tour in Los Angeles, the city where the band was formed. They kicked off the show with “The Execution of All Things” and “Spectacular Views”, which immediately got the crowd on their feet and singing.
They charged their way through a 16 song set that included other popular songs such as “Dreamworld”, “It’s a Hit”, and one of my personal favorites, “With Arms Outstretched”, which I jokingly thought gave the feel of a megachurch hymn since the whole crowd was swaying, singing, and reaching up into the air. They concluded with a three song encore to close out the marvelous night.
Lead singer and guitarist Jenny Lewis sounded awesome; time hasn’t touched her vocal chords. Even though the crowd was singing along to every song, her voice rang out high and clear above the crowd and into the open night. As for the other bandmates, when they bantered in between songs, it was clear that they still loved playing with each other. It was clear that the band wanted to put on a stellar performance for their hometown fans.
As I stood there while the last song of the night played, I breathed in the cool air and took a moment to absorb the importance of this concert. I was transported back to a time in my life when I had a friend that was the coolest person I had ever known. I took a moment, as I looked around the amphitheater and felt the joy of the crowd, to thank Mandy for her musical influence. I hoped that she was there with me watching Rilo Kiley play like it was 18 years ago.