Larkin Poe
Check out our photo coverage of Larkin Poe, opening up for Elvis Costello, at Balboa Theater last week!
Photos By: Sylvia Garcia Borgo
Review By: Hannah Winokur
When I first heard that Larkin Poe was opening for THEE Elvis Costello I thought– How f^&*%ing lucky are they?
But it turns out luck has nothing to do with it.
The female duo out of the South has been making music since their early teens. They were once a group of three- and went by The Lovell Sisters. That lasted a few years but ended in 2009. By 2010 two of the three joined forces to create the edgier-rougher- rock-ier Larkin Poe. Sisters- Rebecca Lovell (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, mandolin, piano) and Megan Lovell (harmony vocals, lapsteel, dobro) can’t be older than 25 (might want to fact check that) and damn can they play.
Like first sentence says–I thought this was a lucky gig for the duo. It seemed that their stars had crossed paths with Elvis Costello and that they would open for him and it would be one of the best nights of their life.
But here’s the thing- they opened for him and killed it. They finished their set with a mean cover of Nancy Sinatra’s “My Baby Shot Me Down” –with some crazy strong vocals that successfully filled the near 1,400 person hall.
And then Elvis played. AND THEN Elvis brought them out and they sang no fewer than 6 songs together. And they were in perfect harmony as if the whole thing had been practiced for years. Like they were old friends on a reunion tour. So i’ll say it again- it was not luck that landed Larkin Poe on tour with Elvis Costello’s Tour “Detour.” It was sheer talent. Elvis, Rebecca and Megan even dedicated a song to Merle Haggard who unfortunately passed one day prior. The pair seemed compatible as hell with Elvis as they stood on either side of the 61 year old icon and chimed in on his classic ballads.
No one can just play along side Elvis Costello and be impressive. But Larkin Poe can.
