Bleachers Bring Jack Antonoff's Electric Lady Studio To Life At L.A.'s Greek Theatre [Photos]

When Jack Antonoff isn’t busy producing music for pop superstars like Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, Kendrick Lamar, Sabrina Carpenter, and Lorde (among scores of others), you might find him either recording new music for or performing with his own band, Bleachers. During the group’s sold-out, two-night stint as part of their From the Studio to the Stage tour at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, he managed to bring his studio to the stage—literally.

After the jubilation of “Let’s Get Married”, the rear curtain of the stage dropped to reveal a scale replica of Jack’s intimate recording space at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. As he did with just about every part of the setup, the 40-year-old music impresario leapt up into the room and onto the couch.

But instead of jumping around inside, like Tom Cruise on Oprah Winfrey’s couch, Jack sat with his acoustic guitar and sweetly sang “45” and “91” while fiddling around with the recording equipment that was included. It was as though the crowd got to peer into a private moment of a master of his craft, in his happy place.

Antonoff snapped back into his showmanship while singing “Ordinary Heaven” from his spot on high before rejoining the rest of his band for the remainder of the performance.

It was yet another triumphantly clever innovation for a musical mind who’s made quite a career for himself by extending his imagination into the real world, especially over the last decade. More importantly, though, it lent the show an extra bit of intimacy—a window into Jack’s world, where the stage is a playground and he’s the giddy kid who gets to enjoy it.

That much would’ve been evident even without this particular design trick. From the moment they opened with “I Am Right on Time” and bounded into “Modern Girl” until the very end with the John Hughes-style anthem of “Stop Making This Hurt”, Bleachers made full use of both their environs and the wide variety of instruments therein.

Zem Audu and Evan Smith both rotated through saxophone, guitar, and keyboard, and combined on pseudo-sax battles more than once. Sean Hutchinson and Michael Riddleberger banged away on drums together—when Michael wasn’t manning the keys. Mikey Freedom Hart enjoyed his own bit of musical chairs between guitar, bass guitar, and keys.

And, of course, there was Jack on guitar and piano, in between his joyful jaunts on, through, and across every nook and cranny of Bleachers’ stage setup.

From the alt-indie breathiness of “Jesus is Dead” and the sax-driven energy of “How Dare You Want More” and “Everybody Lost Somebody”, to the more mellow vibes of “Wake Me”, “Goodmorning”, and “Me Before You”—not to mention the tender notes in “Don’t Go Dark” and “Self Respect”—Antonoff and company touched on a wide variety of feels and flavors in a palette that’s equal parts throwback and forward-thinking.

And though Bruce Springsteen wasn’t around to reprise his role on “Chinatown”, the track was no less impactful with the base Bleachers lineup backed by a chorus of 5,700 singing fans in the stands.

Indeed, Bleachers have fashioned themselves as an evolution of The E Street Band—which comes as little surprise. After all, Jack, like Bruce, is a proud son of New Jersey and has made no secret of that in his band’s songs.

But beyond that obvious geographical connection, Antonoff and his band have done an impeccable job of not only replicating Bruce’s anthemic power balladry, but also infusing it with the essences of new wave and synth pop. Among the many times that combination sparkled was during a mid-set back-to-back of the entrancing “Wild Heart” into the unbridled energy of “Rollercoaster”.

Apparently, such enthusiasm stopped Bleachers from, well, stopping to split the main set from the encore. Instead, they played right through their 105-minute slot, including an awe-inspiring run comprised of “Tiny Moves”, “I Wanna Get Better”, and “Don’t Take the Money” toward the end.

The only shame in it all? That more fans won’t get to bask in the band’s glow as standalone headliners. Bleachers have just one such gig scheduled for the remainder of 2024: at Madison Square Garden on October 4th [get tickets].

Not that the live music world has been deprived of Jack’s act. They’ve hit the festival circuit hard in recent years, including performances at the latest editions of Coachella, Day In Day Out Fest in Seattle, Japan’s Summer Sonic, and Leeds Festival and Reading Festival in the U.K.

Those on the East Coast who can’t (or won’t) catch Bleachers at MSG will have their opportunities at All Things Go Festival in Washington, D.C. and Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, CT—both of which are slated for the last weekend of September.

Then, presumably, Jack will head back into his actual studio in New York City to lend his magical touch to whichever pop icon wants it next.