Anyone that says Boston's crowd is the worst to perform in front of was not at the Orpheum last Friday. I mean, what-a-show! WFNX hosted their annual "Miracle At Tremont Street" concert with Passion Pit, Phoenix** and Spoon as the guests of honor. What's not to love? It was heavy-loaded synth dream pop, french-infused alternative rock, and intense hoarse-vocal indie... it was rock and roll.
Passion Pit faced the Bostonian beast first. Personally, this Boston band is one of my favorite discoveries of the last two years, and from what I could see, also favorites of the ecstatic crowd. They have built a rather decent fan base. I'm talking about a crowd that was dancing and singing-a-long at the beat of Sleepyhead and Smile Upon Me, and unleash an deafening scream with Moth's Wings and The Reeling. I was happily surprised, why? Well, let's say, it was not their usual crowd twisting and shouting. These were young professionals and the trendy clique of girls wearing heels and heavy make-up. You have to understand that this is outstanding, having seen Passion Pit play at their niche, the Great Scott, before. Clearly, they are Boston's very own group of heroes that have redeemed dream pop and heavy synth melodies, taken away the "hipster-only" label and made it mainstream.
Phoenix followed the Brighton/Allston natives. All they needed was two songs to unleash a rampage within the Orpheum premises. Behold the power of the French! It has been a while since the last time I saw any band do what they did. I'm still unsure how they did it. When you listen to their albums, yes, you get mildly jolted, but how did they get happy-tunes with slightly romantic lyrics and turn them in to the loudest, craziest examples of contemporary rock I've ever seen? [and not to be presumptuous, but I've seen a lot]. And of course, it's worth mentioning that Thomas Mars was giving to the audience, as much as they gave to him. He finalized his set by coming off the stage, and sang among the crowd... falling, falling, falling... One word: EPIC.
The Austinites had quite a challenge; I mean, Phoenix had set a benchmark prettyhigh. Still, they gave a fight and brought the crowd on a musical roller coaster, from mellow toe tapping songs to throat tearing hollers.
These three bands are among the most acclaimed acts of the year. I gotta give it to the people in WFNX that made this possible. For lack of a better word, I have to say this was AWESOME. I was definitely heart-warmed with musical joy... may the holiday season officially begin.
* There's a few extra videos of the show... do check 'em out!
To me, Veckatimest best translates as "Summer oh-nine". It is the soundtrack of the social experiment I like to call my post-grad career, simply because it became the aural analogy to my everyday.
I've lost many hours of sleep to Veckatimest and I guess I owe this to a friend of mine. You know how friends always say "You should listen to this band, they're awesome"? Well, this is a friend whom I trust blindly - his music taste is pretty much implacable and very in tune with mine. Came May and all he would talk about was how he could not wait to get Grizzly Bear's new vinyl; halfway down going to the record store, his bike got a flat tire. This little monster was not capable of stopping him from his endeavor. He was on a mission. I was intrigued. I had to listen to the quadrupeds.
Once I did, only two songs grasped my attention. But I have learned my lesson in terms of new bands, you actually have to listen to the albums. After a couple of nights I was swearing my undying love. It only snowballed after that. I acquired Yellow House and Horn of Plenty, too and it was a matter of time before I became acquainted with Department of Eagles, GB's singer/songwriter/guitarist Daniel Rossen side project [note: Listen to No One Does It Like You].
Ultimately, I found myself not only liking GB, but talking about them non-stop and longing to have a sidekick with whom to share this musical masterpiece.
I guess it's not hard to see that I have a deep emotional connection associated with this band. Knowing they had scheduled two shows in Boston was just mind blowing... I had to be there. The first one kicked in early in the summer at the Berklee Performance Center, a place that has limited seating and was bound to sell out immediately. The second one happened this Thursday.
The Orpheum was packed by folk lovers, indie aficionados, and hipsters... Yes! haha But it wasn't the crowd what made it so special. It was the over all environment, the feeling... ya know? It was like going to an underground show in an Allston basement with your friend's band playing - it was familiar, cozy and face-melting - not to mention that Ed Droste, being from Boston, gave it a local twist by dedicating each song to a Massachusett's related element, from the infamous Red Line to Arsenal Mall and, of course, the Red Sox.
Don't get me started on the visuals... Ah! The lighting... The most important element in the stage set up were the dangling jars that eventually became like giant christmas lights twinkling according to the tracks. I'm telling you, it was a basement gig... just slightly upgraded. ...and the music, of course.
The surround sound given by the Orpheum was perfect for their music, which I like to say is orchestral indie pop. Its all about instrumentality, plus, their theatricality was accentuated by the live versions of their heavy layered songs. Droste's voice was melodic and vibrated with great strength and confidence... he's just a great singer. Chris Taylor, the one-man band, is fascinating. He moves from the bass, to the clarinet, to the flute, to the saxophone and back to the bass, while playing with audio gimmicks at all times. Amazing. And Christopher Bear, the drummer... wow. I believe he is the largest reason I say orchestral is the operative word in their music. His drums can be deep and harmonizing or quite the opposite, enticing and aggressive. I'd dare to say that few drummers have been able to guide through a song from beginning to end without losing me, somewhat a hypnotic situation. And, of course, Dan Rossen. He is just the master of the guitar, and probably the main reason my all time favorite GB song is "Ready, Able".
I read an article a few days ago about Grizzly Bear... It read something like this: "It is feasible that, since the release of their deservedly beloved Veckatimest, no one does not like Grizzly Bear. You could play them for your smelly calculus professor who only listens to Brahms..." It made me laugh, but I can't say I couldn't agree more.
I really just hope this band doesn't fall in the category of one hit wonders that fade once this "indie fad" is over, cause, their honestly great... and live, even better. Jaw-dropping, forgot I had to breath, can't stop staring kinda great.
So who needs Red Bull when you can have a fix of Karen O?
O... O... Oh my god. When I first listened to It's Blitz I couldn't stop. It became an immediate fixation. I had to listen to it all-the-time... while reading, when walking, during a bike ride, even before going to bed. It was my little secret delight. Now, after seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs live for the second time, I can't honestly say this will become a healthy addiction.
I'm almost certain the rest of the Orpheum can relate. The YYY's played most of the new album and a few from their previous hits, including "Cheated Hearts", "Honey Bear" and "Gold Lions". And... opened with my favorite: "Runaway".
Karen O was unstoppable, Nick Zinner kept moving from the guitar to the synth and Brian Chase, well... I think we all owe Chase a big one for making "Heads Will Roll" a great dance-until-you-can't-dance-no-more song. There was nothing that could stop EVERYONE from shaking it "like a ladder to the sun", not even the Orpheum's awful seating arrangement, which, by-the-by, gives you less leg space than many airlines in this country.
One minor detail... After seeing their performance live at All Points West, I must admit that their stage design is made for bigger spaces. Everything looked crowded and the Eye just wasn't the same.
Of course, "Maps" had to be in the track list... oh... yeah...
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