LP Giobbi Loops Grateful Dead, Led Zeppelin Into Episodic Set At Hollywood’s Fonda Theatre [Photos/Videos]

LP Giobbi did something that DJs and electronic music acts rarely (if ever) do. As fans awaited her arrival at The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood on a crisp Saturday night in November, she revealed the show’s run of events via projections on the rear of the elevated stage area. While more dance-minded revelers might not have paid it much mind, those drawn to the show by the connection between LP Giobbi and the Grateful Dead would’ve found the mention of a “Drums in Space” segment on the “playbill” to be pleasantly familiar, if not downright intriguing.

After opening sets by Le Chev and Mascolo—both frequent LP Giobbi collaborators (and new signees to her imprint, Yes Yes Yes)—LP emerged onto the usual Fonda stage, in her signature shower of bright smiles, before settling into her bespoke DJ booth.

During the first portion of the set, the artist otherwise known as Leah Chisholm stitched together tracks from her two full-length original releases. And, with her latest album, Dotr, having dropped barely a month prior, there was bound to be a bundle of new material in the offing.

To that end, there were the soaring vocals of Brittany Howard on “Until There’s Nothing Left”—with its samples of Alabama Shakes’ “Don’t Wanna Fight”—and the harmonic falsettos of Portugal. The Man on “Bittersweet”, along with the general tranciness of “Love Come Through”. She also mixed in standout songs from her debut album, 2023’s Light Places, including the Caroline Byrne-featured “Feels Just Like It” and her collaboration with Little Jet on “Can’t Let You Go”.

She wound down the first “chapter” of her performance with the “Not Fade Away” outro from Light Places. That served as a fitting transition into chapter two, which she dubbed “Drums in Space”, in a clear nod to The Dead. But rather than inviting the likes of Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann onstage to bang around on drums and other percussives, LP took a brief break while another musician captivated the crowd with an experimental brand of violin music.

Upon her return, LP Giobbi brought the vibes up again with her “Liftoff” DJ set. She had the house bouncing and rumbling to a wide variety of tracks plucked out of her repertoire, from her remix of Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer” and a thumping reimagining of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love,” to “Take My Hand” and her contributions on “Free (Do What You Want)” alongside Pete Tong, Ultra Nate, and Jules Buckley.

Before long came the fourth chapter of the show, as LP welcomed Le Chev and Mascolo for a Yes Yes Yes back-to-back-to-back. Those two, along with an enthusiastic trumpeter, lent guitar, stems, and general crowd encouragement to their LP Giobbi collabs, among them “So Nice To Be In Love”, “Dancer”, and “Howl”. The trumpet assumed a particularly prominent role during “All in a Dream”.

The show wound down with LP doing something her Grateful Dead forebears rarely did: speaking from the heart to the audience. The 37-year-old talked about how special it was to play The Fonda, especially after making Los Angeles her home base. She acknowledged and thanked her parents, who came down from Eugene, OR to see their daughter live out their Deadhead dreams in a whole new way. At times, she had to hold back tears of joy behind her radiant smile.

With that, LP sent the crowd off into the wee hours of the morning to “Carolyn”, followed by “Mama Mama Many Worlds I’ve Come Since I First Left Home”, the outro from her new album that samples the Grateful Dead’s “Brokedown Palace.”

Throughout the show, LP Giobbi proved to be an adept performer and all-around elevator of vibes. While in her booth, she hopped between her DJ decks and a pair of keyboards, showing off the piano skills she honed during her time at UC Berkeley in the 2000s.

Along the way, she danced, spun around, jumped, and even stole moments to hug folks behind her, shake hands with fans in front of her, and exchange grinning greetings with everyone in between. Her sheer exuberance, gratitude, and joy made the experience all the more cohesive within itself—and bonding between everyone in the building—from beginning to end.

Tying the experience together was a clever collection of lamps, disco balls, and twinkle lights that hung throughout the main room of the venue. Together, those accouterments brought a homey, almost DIY feel to the pervasive disco-house energy that emanated from LP’s spotlight-encircle booth.

If ever there was an antidote to the tension of our times, LP Giobbi seems to have found it. Those who have the chance to catch her gigs around the U.S. between now and mid-December—or even on Jam Cruise, at the Palm Tree Music Festival, and CRSSD Festival in early 2025—would do well to soak up all of the good feelings from her that they can. Find tickets and tour dates here.

LP Giobbi — The Fonda Theatre — Los Angeles, CA — 11/16/24 — Partial Videos