I thought an iPhone could guide me through any concert. At every show since getting one, I’ve been able to grab a few lyrics, Google them, and refresh my memory for what song the band is currently playing. With Grizzly Bear, this should have been especially easy since I had heard their albums multiple times before. Time and time again, though, I found it impossible to latch onto anything. I kept getting left with flickering lights and incoherent mumbling. Smashing Pumpkins and Passion Pit have shown that flickering lights and incoherent mumbling are not automatically negative. When you can’t identify memorable rhythms either, though, and the only phrase you can identify is “all your useless pretensions,” it’s a problem.
Grizzly Bear was saved from a failing grade by frontman Edward Droste. He at least made an attempt to talk with the crowd, and his no-frills wardrobe was amusing. A blue smock borrowed from art class? Jeans used to repaint the second bedroom? Droste’s biggest saving grace was the final song, “Sun is in Your Eyes.” It had a warm rhythm, poetic lyrics, and was way more satisfying than anything that had come before it. To paraphrase its final verse, I’ll never be coming back to another Grizzly Bear concert, but it was nice to end on something so bright.
Grade: D+
THE XX:
The XX proved what I said in the Grizzly Bear review: incoherent mumbling is not automatically a negative. If a band has strong stage presence and memorable instrumentals, as the XX did, the mumbling can actually add mystery. Flickering gray lasers, a blue light show, and a strangely sensual guitar duel added to the eeriness. The best song of the set was “Sunset,” which featured a solid slow-down ending and this spooky line: “It felt like you really knew me, but now you see right through me.”
Can’t say I’ll be the first to grab XX’s next album, but if they were playing with another band I liked or were part of a festival, I’d be down for another show.
Grade: B
The XX proved what I said in the Grizzly Bear review: incoherent mumbling is not automatically a negative. If a band has strong stage presence and memorable instrumentals, as the XX did, the mumbling can actually add mystery. Flickering gray lasers, a blue light show, and a strangely sensual guitar duel added to the eeriness. The best song of the set was “Sunset,” which featured a solid slow-down ending and this spooky line: “It felt like you really knew me, but now you see right through me.”
Can’t say I’ll be the first to grab XX’s next album, but if they were playing with another band I liked or were part of a festival, I’d be down for another show.
Grade: B
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