Other Passengers took the stage first. Unfortunately, there were about 30 people there. Other Passengers deserves more. They deserve huge dark stadiums full of people that know nothing about them, just for the purpose of being able to blow all of their minds the way mine was blown last night. Believe you me when I say this band is INCREDIBLE live. They did some on air/performances for WBAR last year and unfortunately (even though I was there) I missed their slots. Cate and I stood a few feet away from the stage while they played and my heart was in my throat the entire time. On top of being just plain excellent, there's this really dark component to the music that forces you to pay attention. It's like watching a thriller or something. It was (as I said before) incredible. I highly recommend them. HIGHLY.
Next was Grizzly Bear. Now imagine this: traditional native american music + spacy alternative rock + some awesomeness. That's Grizzly Bear in a nutshell. They were seated for the entire performance and it was still really cool. They were quite the buzz band during CMJ, so it was good to finally see them.
Then on came Akron/Family. Yet another WBAR playing band that I hadn't heard before (and ultimately regret not hearing before). They also sat down, introduced Ed ("The only Ed there is!") and starting playing, well.. what kind of music is that? It's kind of folky hard rock, if that's possible. Bottom line is they were really fun. They had a lot of heart and it made the performance that more enjoyable.Next up was Wooden Wand. I feel kind of bad because I wasn't paying that much attention when he was on. Not because it was boring or bad music (it was actually pretty good) it's just that Akron/Family was so energetic and it was already pretty late into the night... it just wasn't the best time to hear such mellow music. He did a good job. Some incredibly drunk girl threw a beer cup on stage during one of his songs and I think everyone in the front rows felt really embarrassed about it, but really she was just that drunk. (It was still rude.)
Then, Adam Green! Not as cute of a performance as when I saw his solo show in April, but I'll chock that up to a bewitching double Kokomo that was sadly absent from this set. He was same ol' jumping, dancing, goofy Adam that we all know and love. He played a new (?) song called "Hey Dude" that was rockin'. In a different form than the rest of his songs, but very "Adam" nonetheless. I managed to achieve one of my goals, which was getting a setlist. Bonus was 1. it was the drummer's setlist with inaccurate (but funny) song titles and 2. it was handed to me by none other than Hottie mcHotface, Steve Mertens. He looks much younger.. maybe he lost weight? Oh, and while I'm talking about individual Gnomes, let me just say that there was definitely not enough Nate Brown love last night. Keyboardists are cool, everyone! Give Nate love.Setlist:
Then, much to my heart's dismay, Sufjan came out. He set up his equipment on his own and my heart started breaking then and there. His whole acoustic set was beautiful. I hadn't heard
one note of Seven Swans before I went (which is what he ended up playing the most of), but it didn't matter. Love is love, folks and Sufjan has mine. He started with a cover of R.E.M ("the one I love") and played a pretty modest set by himself with a guitar and banjo. He said being up there alone was terrifying, but I don't think he could have done anything to make the crowd adore him any less. Anything he did was great. Some highlights for me were "Chicago," which sounds - if it's possible- even more beautiful when he sings it alone, and also "The Dress Looks Nice on You," which I've decided has to be one of the best songs ever written. Honestly, in the history of all of the songs I've ever heard, it is in the top 2%. He left pretty suddenly and no one wanted him to. He came back out for an encore, and true to encore tradition, he only played one song - "Romulus." I would've done anything last night to hear him play "Casimir Pulaski Day," but really I'm glad I got to hear him play anything. After inconveniently missing all of his shows this summer and his shows at symphony space selling out so quickly, I'm grateful for the show last night. Add that to the fact that it was just him - no band, no other instruments- and it was actually a pretty special event. All in all, the music was great. I really enjoyed myself and I think it's nice that hipsters and old people alike were able to get together and help out a good cause.Anyway, I think I've gone on long enough - the webshots are up, you can take a look.
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