If you were one of those people that really does believe that Animal Collective are the sound of the future, you probably would have been completely blown away by their show last Saturday at the Sound Academy. If you were a doubter – and if you’ve spent every night since Merriweather Post Pavilion’s release ingesting pep pills to avoid sleep so that Pitchfork’s goons won’t snap your neck while you rest as punishment for your skepticism – well, then you may have been surprised at how entertained you might have been. I know I was.
I must admit that Animal Collective, and Merriweather Post Pavilion in particular, have grown on me since my first listens. And yet, they seem to be one of those groups where you can’t find anyone who shares the same love for them as all the critics do; indeed, all the people I know who’ve heard them (not many) are either indifferent or dismissive of the Baltimore collective’s version of electronic pop (or whatever they’re calling it these days). According to these few, they’re “screechy” (Lara), “overrated, to say the least” (Melshean), “wankery” (Dustin) or “pseudo-experimental crap” (mom).
The opening act was Grouper, aka Liz Harris, an ambient artist whose work I had not previously heard, and frankly have no intention of checking out anytime soon based on the performance. Maybe the audience was just impatient from being cramped like sardines, but they didn’t seem to take to the music – this was not unique noise rock or sedating ambient of any kind. If you took one of the forgettable tracks from Aphex Twin’sSelected Ambient Works Volume II, coupled it with a Bilinda-Butcher-with-laryngitis vocal and looped the sound of a jackhammer around the whole thing, you might have the whole experience in a nutshell. Many adjectives could describe the music, but I think the tall fellow standing to my left had perhaps the most succinct comment: “This is fucking tedious.”
It came as a surprise, then, at the particular and unique atmospherics that Animal Collective (a trio on this tour) used to back up their shimmery soundscapes once they took the stage. Segueing all their songs together with watery effects that made you feel like you were falling into a deep sleep at the bottom of the ocean, the group played some expected favorites – “My Girls” (which featured some excellent use of the strobe lights), “Leaf House” (that Avey Tare can yelp like no other), “Chocolate Girl” (with some loose harmonic interplay between Tare and Panda Bear) and “Lion in a Coma” (why?).
Despite the fact that the group didn’t play some songs that may have been expected of them (no “Who Could Win a Rabbit,” “Grass” or “For Reverend Green”), they managed to take some less-anticipated songs and make them work with some rhythmic improvisation and some syncopated vocal mannerisms from the very energetic Avey Tare. Personally, I would have liked to hear their live takes on “Banshee Beat,” “Winter Wonder Land” and “No More Runnin,” but it wasn’t expected. And you can’t have everything. Still…”Lion in a Coma?” Really?
The show clearly emphasized the ‘rock’ aspects of the group, not the calmer jams that held up on their albums – there would have been no place for a slower number here, anyway, what with the booming percussion and emphasis on immediate gratification. The highlights, most would agree, came with an extended “Fireworks” and a killer “Brother Sport” (the most immediately danceable song in the set), as well as a fine encore performance of “Summertime Clothes.”
The flaws aside – a little too much time was given for Panda Bear to ramble on some songs, and Avey’s sporadic harmonizing on “My Girls” got a bit grating – the whole thing was one of those experiences that could leave you with dozens of subjectively profound moments. For me, it was quite a thrill seeing sound-master Geologist strap his trademark light onto his head; equally thrilling to me was the surprisingly touching way that Avey Tare sang the climactic line ‘You’re only what I see sometimes’ in “Fireworks.” Why? I don’t know. I guess you had to be there. If you weren’t? Well then, I’d keep taking those pep pills, if I were you.
