In 2004, Zach Braff, an actor best known for his turn in the TV sitcom Scrubs, released his debut feature film Garden State to critical acclaim. The film – that co-starred Natalie Portman, Peter Sarsgaard and the late great Ian Holm (among others) – was praised for its script (penned by Braff), stylistic choices, endearing performances and an incredible, Grammy award-winning soundtrack.
Tonight at The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles, as we technically approach the 21st anniversary of the beloved film, Zach Braff helped bring together the bands who made its soundtrack one of the most memorable of the era. All the more so because of the integral part it played in that film. Portman, placing her headphones over Braff, telling him that The Shins will change his life? The only thing more peak early 2000s indie crossover was Seth Cohen making sure everyone listened to Death Cab For Cutie.
The night – dubbed the 20th anniversary celebration of the film, and a fundraiser for The Midnight Mission of Los Angeles – was filled with performances from the entirety of the iconic soundtrack. It’s a record that, as I was finishing High School and looking to grow my taste in music, introduced me to a wide range of emerging talents – most notably The Shins, but also the likes of Imogen Heap / Frou Frou, Iron & Wine, Zero 7, Cary Brothers and Remy Zero.
And then there were the more established talents that were given a new audience, from Australia’s own Colin Hay of Men At Work, to Thievery Corporation and the unforgettable sounds of the late Nick Drake. Hell, even Coldplay and Simon & Garfunkel are in there. And tonight at the Greek, we got to hear all these tracks, and a few surprises along the way.
So what went down? Well before we get into spoiler territory it’s important to address that this show will be available globally to stream, in full, for one day only – 6th April at 9pm New York Time / 7th April at 11am Sydney time – through the platform Veeps. Head HERE to get your tickets for this, with proceeds going to The Midnight Mission of Los Angeles.
If you want to watch this without any spoilers, avoid reading the rest of the article!
And for everyone else, please read on for a recap of a concert celebrating one of my favourite film soundtracks of all time.
The sky was clear, the night was cool, and the sold out crowd beaming as Zach Braff walked onto the stage shortly after 8pm on Saturday night to a standing ovation. Accompanied, no less, by the 1985 Dnepr MT-11 Soviet-era motorcycle and sidecar featured in the film. And then, teasing at first that co-star Natalie Portman didn’t make it over from Paris for the event, she emerged to officially kick off the night, telling Braff and the crowd, “dreams come true and sidecars are for bitches”.
She also took a moment to recognise the unique nature of the night that was to come, “…these incredible artists have never played together on the same stage and who knows if they’ll ever play together again.”
Bonnie Somerville kicked things off, introduced on video by Hacks‘ Jean Smart, who also appeared in the original film. She performed “Winding Road” off the soundtrack, accompanied by Chad Fischer – who produced the song, composed the film’s score, and may have won best dressed of the night.
The one and only Danny DeVito, one of the film’s original executive producers, then came out after to introduce Sophie Barker from Zero 7. He told the crowd that he “floated” to this song, and he wouldn’t be alone there. She performed “The Waiting Line” – which sits as one of my favourite songs of all time, and my first time ever getting to hear it live. So that was a very special moment.
Composer Chad Fischer returned shortly after, where he teased the Scrubs theme – which he wrote with his band Lazlo Bane – while introducing the show’s stars: Braff alongside Donald Faison and Sarah Chalke. They then introduced Cary Brothers, who played “Blue Eyes”. Braff later revealed that much of the idea of this event came from a walk Brothers and Braff took in the Hollywood Hills.
While music led the night, changeovers were accompanied by clips from the film, and rarely seen behind-the-scenes footage. In addition to the motorcycle which sat on stage for the duration of the show, Braff later came out in one of the outfits from the film (accompanied by its wallpaper – if you’ve seen the film, you know the bit), and Geoffrey Arend came out to reprise his “Handi-World” character Karl Benson. They also made sure to remind everyone the night was a fundraiser, and Zach and Donald briefly (and hilariously) covered “Anti Hero” by Taylor Swift, showing off a guitar signed by the artist that they were auctioning off for The Midnight Mission charity.
Back to the music, one of the most anticipated performances of the night came from Alabama’s Remy Zero, who reunited for the first time on stage in 15 years. They were given the honour of being the first act of the night to play two tracks, “Fair”, off the soundtrack, and “Save Me”, which they said they were playing as an early birthday gift to Braff. Lead vocalist August Cinjun Tate told the crowd, “…the only person who could get us back together was Zach Braff, we love you man”. As an added treat, Jenny Lee Lindberg from Warpaint was playing bass for the group.
The sitar came centre stage for Thievery Corporation‘s unforgettable “Japanese Blonde”, and then Australia’s own Colin Hay played what Zach Braff said was one of the most beautiful songs he’d ever heard, “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You”. Hay, too, got to play a second track – that being a solo and acoustic rendition of the song that “took 40 minutes to write and has sustained me for 40 years”, the unofficial national anthem of Australia, “Down Under”. That was a very special moment, which had the crowd singing along – and even saw the stage set up morph in anticipation.
With Simon & Garfunkel not in attendance, the duty for “Only Living Boy in New York” went to special guests The Milk Carton Kids, who performed it dutifully and beautifully. They were accompanied by the house band who did a great job throughout the night.
In introducing the duo, Zach Braff spent a moment to remark on the long fandom the film has maintained, from the tattoos he’s seen, to the fact that “you know that you had sex to this soundtrack… you did!”. He encouraged the audience to continue to do so after the show tonight. Joey Ryan from The Milk Carton Kids, meanwhile, reflected on how the movie showed him that people could just write sad songs. Which, of course, he’s made a career out of.
Perhaps the highlight of the night, for me at least, was when Iron & Wine came to the stage. I fell in love with his version of “Such Great Heights”, before even hearing The Postal Service original, and it’s a track he rarely plays live. So seeing him play this was worth the price of admission alone. He went on to play “Naked As We Came”, which brought chills – and then was accompanied by another special guest, Madison Cunningham, who covered Nick Drake’s “One of These Things First” with perfection.
Then, the final surprise musician guest of the evening, Icelandic artist Laufey, performed Coldplay’s “Don’t Panic” on the grand piano, giving justice to one of the band’s best songs, and the track that opened the original soundtrack.
Sarah Paulson then introduced Imogen Heap and Frou Frou – who were performing together for the first time since 2019 – to play “Let’s Go”. Heap followed that fan favourite with a live improv of a new track – taking musical suggestions from the crowd to achieve it. Look out for that track to be released on Imogen Heap’s socials and website – she’s going to encourage listeners to remix and release it for The Midnight Mission charity.
And then, as the film foretold, it was time for Natalie Portman to introduce The Shins. “20 years later, I say to you once again. – you gotta hear this song, it’ll change your life”. And then James Mercer and the band came out to play that very track that came through the headphones – “New Slang”, followed by their other track that appeared on the soundtrack, “Caring is Creepy”.
And it may have changed the film’s characters lives, but it also changed that of the band’s, too. Ah, the power of a good sync. Mercer said to the crowd during their brief set, “Thank you Zach, it changed my life, I’ll tell ya that”.
With all tracks now performed from the original soundtrack, they opted for a Tom Petty cover – “Free Fallin’”, naturally – to close the night. As the confetti fell, Zach, Natalie and all the bands sung together for the closing moments, celebrating a very special night of music that, as Portman said at the start of the night, is unlikely to ever be repeated.
Luckily for you, no matter where you are in the world, you can witness it yourself through a special Veeps stream. This will air on 6th April at 9pm New York Time / 7th April at 11am Sydney time. Head HERE to buy a ticket for the stream.
On a sidenote, this was my first time at the iconic The Greek Theatre – which was a delight to experience. The sound and atmosphere was wonderful, and the joy of getting to hear these songs live was something I’ll never forget. And I think it’s safe to say that was the feeling everyone in attendance walked away with as well.
The author travelled to Los Angeles and attended this event at his own expense. Photos by the author.
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