A screaming-power-chord rockfest with sharp solos that punches you in the gut? Why did I miss the beginning of their set? They may not have had the most original sound of the night, but they executed with perfection.
Shearwater
I'm still not sure what I think of this group. Meiburg's vocals were spot on, but the quality of his voice reminded me of Ren Fest (Don't ask why.) Plus they had Thor who (given the audience's response) accidentally stole the show. Was that a dulcimer he played? In the end, their troubadour sound didn't fit the excitement of the night.
Ponytail
This felt a bit goofy. The heavy use of noise just made the sound more hazy and masked otherwise interesting guitar work. The yelling also felt pointlessly cathartic, but the drumming was powerful. These guys seemed one step away from a standard math core group which is a good thing, but there was so little thought put into their sound as a whole that I had a hard time watching them.
Passion Pit
Passion Pit was much more comfortable on stage than when I last saw them. Angelakos most of all seemed to have hit a stride. Instead of spending his whole set sitting behind his massive keyboard, he jumped up, danced around, and yelled with all the power he could muster. Songs like Better Things and Smile Upon Me were revamped to add more energy, and we were treated to two new ones that I assume will be on the 2009 album. I liked the first, but the second lost me. All in all, Passion Pit kicked ass, and friends that had seen them for the first time agreed. They're skyrocketing.
Singing DJ Jens Lekman
Up front were the intense Lekman fans who seemed disappointed by the lack of actual singing on his part and weren't expecting to see what the crowd behind found so fun. This was Lekman's opportunity to be a DJ and play what he thought would best get the audience dancing. It worked for the most part--especially on me. I'd love it if more of my favorite artists took the time to share their favorite dance music with me every time I went out. Lekman crashed a few time early on, but his choice of music made up for it.
The sum of it all was a great show.
Ponytail
Shearwater
Passion Pit
Jens Lekman
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1 comment:
but ponytail is the new panther who was the new animal collective. kyle, keep up!
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