6/16 – Grizzly Bear @ The Parish

We started out our evening rather early, rushing over to End of an Ear to catch a brief in-store with Here We Go Magic before we grabbed coffee with Luke Temple to discuss his band.  After grabbing a bite we bounded down the road to the Parish where we wanted to see if Grizzly Bear could prove that their album really is the best album of the year. Follow the jump for full review and show pics.

Here We Go Magic had already proven to us with their brief set earlier in the day that they were a band that would hold their own with a proper sound backing them.  Opening their evening with “Everything’s Big” they quickly burst forth with the brilliance of Luke Temple.  His vocals sounded perfect, reaching the appropriate pitch at just the right times as his band rose to climactic moment after climactic moment.

The band’s set included most of the songs off their latest release, the self-titled Here We Go Magic.  Wonderful moments occurred during the performance of much of the set, especially during “Only Pieces,” which is one of the stronger songs on the album.  Interestingly, Luke Temple did much of the album on his own, but now that he has a band backing him, you can see things really coming together.  All song arrangements seem to benefit greatly from added elements such as the bass guitar, and the use of multiple vocals as a texturing maneuver definitely adds an extra coat to the band’s overall soundscape.  They closed their night for us with “Tunnelvision,” which is one of the year’s better songs, and so ended a phenomenal set by the Brooklyn upstarts.

After devouring our musical appetizers, and several Lone Stars, we were ready for the entree, Grizzly Bear. Our ears were salivating as we lay in wait for the multiple harmonies and careful orchestration of the media’s favorite band.  Immediately the band jumped into their set, opening up with “Southern Point.” The song’s soaring chorus provided us with our first glimpse of the band at their finest, soaking us with melodious moments of joy.  Following this up with Veckatimest‘s “Cheerleader” wasn’t a bad choice, though getting some of the group’s finer songs out of the way early in the set was an omen of things to come later on during the set.

About six songs into the set the hit off Yellow House, “The Knife,” graced our ears.  There isn’t a finer tune in the band’s catalogue, and the cheers from the audience demonstrated that this moment of greatness has not been forgotten.  Interestingly, not long after this, the band jumped into “Two Weeks,” their brilliant single off of this year’s Veckatimest.  The choice was interesting as it rendered the set sort of anti-climactic.  Sure, every fan will say that all their songs are amazing, and rightly so, but without the build-up to that one song everyone adores, the set lost a lot of its momentum.

With the set finished we were left to reflect upon Grizzly Bear‘s performance.  This might not be the most popular opinion, but I sort of feel that the set lacked something.  Sure, they craftwork of the songs and the changes in pitch and tempo are brilliant, and they remind you of how great the band truly is, but they also remind you that the band seems destined for bedroom listening.  While I love to see some of my favorite songs live, I also love to see a little bit of movement.  Growing up with a punk aesthetic, I have a leaning towards musicians that move upon the stage.  As Grizzly Bear built towards a crescendo, they didn’t move. Ed perhaps snapped his fingers and clapped a couple of times.  Despite their great songwriting, the band doesn’t hold much sway live, at least not for this viewer. Song arrangement should also be considered, and they revealed their cards much too quickly for my liking.  In conclusion, I love their albums, but I’m not sure I would check them out live over and over as I would a Ted Leo or a Thermals.

Photos are again provided by Eric Uhlir.  Check him out on flickr.