Beach House – Lee’s Palace 04/10/2014
I’m a big Beach House fan and my expectations for the show were high. I’ve seen this quite a few times, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgD8vWIB8hs – and really wanted to see something as captivating. Camera panning aside, it’s a tough vibe to get right and it’s up to the audience as much as the band to get that reflective and introverted feeling started.
My fellow bandmate had seen their show the night before and warned me of the interesting guitar-noise opening act and a multitude of dudes there with their girlfriend looking for any macho excuse to fist pump or elbow check. I stood at the back, alone, in a sea of couples.
Nine years Beach House have been a band as it was explained to us by Alex Sculley – they wanted to give us their best -a greatest hits show. Victoria Legrand took her stance behind the keys in a pose that every Beach House show photo resembles. She was staring at “Some beautiful front row ladies,” maybe a little fucked up but she seemed in the right mindset.
The opening numbers suffered though – with most bands it doesn’t matter if they make the odd mistake s long as the energy is there. That’s not how Beach House plays and their appeal is in the moderate layering and delicate simplicity. Each mistake and Legrand’s guitar playing halted any progress.
Once they were joined by Grizzly Bear’s drummer and their touring crew things took off and I was able to indulge in a more dreamy landscape as the couples beside me took each others hands, grabbed beers and marveled at the sheer volume of the snare.
It was a long set which I appreciated – the opening acts being the backing band were really filler to the main event. All of the hits were there and the set built to them – Bloom (Sub Pop 2012) being the latest album (and my favourite) was the majority of the content but classic finishers ‘Zebra’ and ‘Take Care’ were there.
The War on Drugs, Califone – Phoenix Concert Theatre 15/09/2014
Every great gig must start with something surprising: the friend I saw the show with had no valid ID, nothing to prove that he is in fact 23 years old. His panic grew as we came closer to the entry. As if from a film, his fears were validated when a bouncer announced that, “This is strictly a 19+ event, anyone without valid ID will be refused entry.” We really wanted to see the show. Despair written on his face, he took a giant stride, lowering his stature in front of the stern bouncer and in a ’40s era Chicago accent said “…I’m-a level with ya… I have no valid ID… man.” A sigh from the bouncer and several out-of-date pieces of ID later, we were in.
We edged our way to the front early, checking out what looked more like a studio space laid out on the stage. So many guitars, so many pedals. As a guitarist and fan of this style of music it’s always worth the admission price to go behind the curtain and see what’s being used to make a record. It seemed as though everything that went onto this year’s fantastic Lost the Dream (Secretly Canadian) was present.
Califone opened to an eager crowd, their sound a mix of Songs: Ohia and Wilco. Tim Rutili wearing that perfect burnt-out, weary traveler expression for most of the set (and looking like Kevin Kline – which my buddy pointed out). Their set was held back enough to give us a stepping stone into the headliner.
The War on Drugs opened with Burning – a near the end of the album gem that works as a great set builder. Guitar switches and solos galore, Lost in the Dream really came together as a grandiose live piece. The encore of Suffering was exactly what we wanted – demanded ,even. I did miss the absence of a few key Slave Ambient (Secretly Canadian 2011) tracks like Brothers and Your Love is Calling My Name. I heard that Brothers was replaced with Suffering in the encore so I shouldn’t complain.
Having read about The War on Drugs’ frontman Adam Granduciel’s struggle with panic attacks and anxiety in http://pitchfork.com/features/articles/9509-the-war-on-drugs-inside-man/ – my thoughts on the show have shifted: I thought I had witnessed a show played too many times but now think he’s more a man consumed by this album and experience of making and playing it. The rest of the band – apart from the drummer (looking very E-Street band behind the kit), remained very stoic throughout the set, further illuminating that Granduciel is really the architect behind The War on Drugs.
In an interview and performance on KEXP: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbzV2Y06G-E, Granduciel did mention that this is more a focused record but leans towards being more a full band sound over previous efforts. I still think Granduciel is really the voice, literally and musically, that comes through. The Phoenix Concert Centre show had him as a centrepiece; his experiences of loneliness, anxiety and pressure all coming out on a guitar under a spotlight, reaching out to an audience of hundreds.
Great show.
Out-of-the-haus 