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November 04, 2005
alcazarized
Saw Grizzly Bear and Soft Circle play last night in Philly. Show was limited to 50 people, and was in the mini-chapel of the First Unitarian Church downtown- needless to say, it was fantastic.
A quick word about this venue: Sean and the rest of the R5ers have always done an awesome job putting on shows (working bands into places all over town- the church, Vox Populi, Starlight Ballroom, Academy of Music, etc.), but I have to say that the mini-chapel was definitely an ideal place to see both Grizzly Bear and Soft Circle (although the dudes in GB were like knee-deep in their own patch cords); it was about as small as the average high school classroom and just ridiculously intimate (plus the acoustics were outstanding). Lit by candles and a few small spotlights, it was basically like watching the bands just work out some songs in their own living rooms. And even though the show was limited to 50 tickets or whatever, there were probably only about 30 or so people there. Amazing. I never actually realized how much of the usual concert-going experience is made up of excruciating back/hip pain until last night, when I got to sit in a nice wooden pew and stretch my legs out as far as I wanted.
Some small mix-ups and a poor transition from business casual to casual clothes made me and my little brothers way late for the show. Plus the local trainmen are on strike, which makes traffic on Philly's main in-route kind of like the storms in 'Perfect Storm'. That is why I only got to hear the last 4-5 songs of Grizzly Bear's set (how are they not headlining?? They should be). Disappointing, no doubt, but it was still thrilling to hear them stretch out the songs from "Horn of Plenty", which in a live setting all sound more like they live up to the album's title; Droste and co. pack the songs full of noise and harmony (which resonated so well in the tiny, wood-paneled chapel) and drama. Autoharps, clarinets, recorders, looped vocals, delayed drums, etc. all employed for maximum effect in shaping the songs. And it wasn't only the old tunes that stunned- the two new songs that I heard in their entirety were jaw-droppingly pretty, all up-spun harmonies and head-hugging percussion (the drummer is a great singer). This is clearly a band with pretty much limitless potential. Judging by what they've been up to, the new album (which is due in early '06, I think) is bound to be a stone masterpiece. **If you live in VA, they're playing Relative Theory Records in Norfolk tonight, which speaking of venues is probably one of the better ones in the whole state. It's worth the trip, if you have time (hint: W&M kids)**
Soft Circle. Hisham Bharoocha. I'd heard tell of the ex-Black Dice drummer's new one-man band, and all I could envision were those old cartoons with Vaudeville dudes walking around with cymbals strapped to their patellas. So but Soft Circle is as far from that as you can get. Hisham does a lot of wordless singing through a headset and a lot of pounding the living fucking shit out of his drums. I mean, I was sitting there, maybe 10 feet away from the stage, and I'm almost positive that some plaster from the ceiling fell on my head. Let me say this: there are some slow parts, sure, but most of what Hisham plays is systolically disruptive, awe-inspiring beat construction. Guy's got a great voice too.
Check out the rest of Grizzly Bear's tour dates here (Soft Circle plays all the shows up until Cleveland, then joins the band for one last show when they play in NYC).
Posted by Kevin at November 4, 2005 12:55 AM