Sylvia and Rats

I went to see a show with Mr. Crabtree this past week - one of his favorite bands, The Editors, was playing at the House of Blues (with one anonymous act and The Antlers opening). I wasn't quite sure what to expect as I didn't know either before he suggested the manly outing, nor did I listen extensively before the show.

I usually would prefer to know the band pretty well before a show; there's definitely something impressive about the connection you can feel to a live performance when you know the path the music is going to take, and you can feel all the ways that it's different from listening to it from the recording.

Usually it's as simple as the fact that the house audio engineer, no matter how good he is, can't replicate the sound they had when recording - and to compensate he has cranked them up to 120% of the volume that is healthy for your eardrums. The Antlers, for sure, employed a bass drum kick that was more forceful than strictly necessary.

In some other cases, it's subtle or wild deviations from the existing song as it was written. When I went to see Sonata Arctica in New York City in...2006?, in the middle of their song "Last Drop Falls," they drop into a reggaeton breakdown (in the middle of a power metal ballad). Completely unexpected, but awesome. The show also featured a call-and-response version with the audience of "Old MacDonald Had A Farm."

Other changes, of course, could just be that the show is pulsating with energy - that there are very small improvisations in terms of instrumentation - or that a song ends up having an extra five minutes added to the end. Anyhoo -

The opening act before the Antlers sort of slipped my mind - they weren't exceptionally notable to me, kind of a folky version of indie rock that really wasn't quite in my ballpark. After that, I didn't really know what to expect but the Antlers picked the show back up for me. It's only a three person band, but widely employs effects and echoes and keyboards to fill out the sound.

Most of their songs are just plays on dynamics - slow, low and soft followed by high, loud, and pounding. It's formulaic but it doesn't mean that it's a bad formula, or one that's not commonly employed. And they execute it well - their lead singer has a deft touch with his falsetto and the music complements it perfectly. I'm not sure his voice would be as acceptable in any other band.

I'd highly recommend listening to their song "Sylvia" about ten or fifteen times on repeat - the album it is from, "Hospice", is on my "need to buy." The live video of them on Youtube in DC is well worth the watch for the live rendition of "Bear" halfway through it.

http://www.myspace.com/theantlers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4v2AyU4HAo ("Bear" is at 6:45, though you should probably listen to the whole 20 minutes)

Then the Editors came on for their set - their singer with a questionable haircut and their bassist in a sport coat and jeans. I'm always a little interested in what people look like when they play their shows; in a way, what they choose to look like is exactly the image they want to present to hundreds and hundreds of people as they potentially reveal the things that are closest to their heart.

A lot of their songs, as well as the Antlers, were just a wash of huge noise to me - not because the concert's volume was too much for my ears, but because both bands just employ such a barrage of sounds. The Editors had a keyboard on stage for both the vocalist and the bassist, and an extensive guitar pedal rack for the guitarist.

I'm having difficulty remembering which songs actually stood out for me during the concert; I've colored the experience a little bit by listening to their albums ex post facto. (Am I using that phrase correctly in this context?)

The one that I definitely do remember standing out is "Escape the Nest" - the actual chorus guitar line may slightly annoy me, but the buildup to that moment is fantastic: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlFpCdfEz08 (from 1:25 onwards till the resolution). I love the effect that his very resonant voice has when paired with the soaring, frenetic guitar.

After the concert itself, I've been stuck on listening to:

"An End Has A Start" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NMKEHQqREMo (don't ask me what's up with the legions of leotard-wearing-women..)
"Racing Rats" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RcActzIwFkY (the slightly-out-of-tune guitar drives me a little batty but what an amazing chorus)
"Smokers Outside the Hospital Doors" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59Z9DIH_FAA (the moment after he sings "run as fast as you can" is pretty much the perfect piece of music to play then)