Last Wednesday, on a whim, my girlfriend and I decided to muster up $30 to go see the band that released what TIME Magazine called the 2nd best album of 2009. Surely an indie act that received that kind of praise would put on, at the very least, a decent concert.
And man, did they deliver.
Their latest EP with Icelandic singer Björk recently made waves on the music blogosphere, and for good reason; Dirty Projectors' frontman and creative force Dave Longstreth provides a terrific jarble of noise, off-beat time signatures, and quirky melodic guitar tones that perfectly complement the avant-garde direction of song Björk is notorious for. Definitely one to check out if you're familiar with either act's musical style.
Fortunately for the crowd last week, Dirty Projectors played a few interludes from their EP with her, Mount Wittenberg Orca, but stuck mostly to songs off their highly acclaimed 2009 release, Bitte Orca. Remaining fittingly aloof to the crowd at Opera House, Longstreth pumped out a near perfect rendition of his vocal prowess he's so noted for, and his female sirens, (the beautiful) guitarist Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, and Haley Dekle, all proved to be harmoniously sound in their singing. They sang absolutely impeccably, and the venue's acoustics certainly catered to their multi-layered music. It's not everyday a band with as much going on in one track as Dirty Projectors puts on a show where it all comes through so clearly in a live performance.
They finished the night with a 4-song encore, ending with their rendition of "Rise Above", which brought the jam-packed venue into a humming fervor of cheering and sing-a-long. I've been to a fair amount of concerts this year, but this was definitely one of the highlights. Given the melodic tightness of Bitte Orca, I expected more of a simplified, sloppy version of their music live. How wrong I was! They stayed true to their sound and kept a wholly authentic, resonating tone throughout their entire set, and I would have gladly paid twice as much for my ticket to see such a genuine group of artists bring the house down so eloquently.
Dirty Projectors is a fantastic band that I have a new respect for, and you can bet that I'll be at their next show when they come back to Toronto, where they'll no doubt taste their "favorite dumpling place" before delivering another amazing musical showcase.
Opening act Happy Birthday played a surprisingly catchy set, filled with borderline surf-rock interludes that kept me interested, and, more importantly, the crowd conscious. It's difficult to even get people to pay attention being a fairly unknown opening act, but these guys held their own.
My partner in crime.
Even Toronto-based violinist Owen Pallett(!!!) of Final Fantasy fame came out and played violin for the song "Two Doves"!
No comments:
Post a Comment