deerhunter/times new viking/braids @ lee’s palace – november 12, 2008
seeing deerhunter live added an extra sense of movement and life to their catalogue, as there was certainly a more propulsive aspect to their music during their stint @ lee’s palace last wednesday. new songs like “never stops” and “nothing ever happened” bounced and pulsed with an impressive life and fervor. the band’s set was mainly comprised of material from their recent album microcastle, but they still managed to fit in a few older favorites, including the always-enjoyable “fluorescent grey.” *
despite this livelier-sounding version of deerhunter, i found the audience’s reaction to the music to be a bit too passive. now i’m not one to talk since i’m your standard concert-going-head-nodder, but when i go to shows, usually other people make up for my lack of movement with their own exuberance. that wasn’t the case this time— although, to be fair, the members of the band weren’t really active either, especially when comparing last night to some photos and videos i’ve seen of prior deerhunter performances. this show seemed quite low-key, with deerhunter’s own rhythm guitarist, whitney petty, taking a seat a good two-or-three times from what seemed like boredom.
regardless of the lack of performance that night, deerhunter still played an excellent set, and did a great job with the new songs. i would definitely recommend catching them this tour, if at all possible.
openers braids (formerly the neighborhood council) were definitely one of the most surprising moments of the night, as i had never heard of them prior to the show and had no idea what to expect. i’ve had a lot of bad luck with opening bands, but they were quite good. their songs sounded sunny and optimisitic, but were patient and expansive like a younger, more deerhoof-inspired version of the most serene republic. you can check out their music and info here and here.
the second band to play were times new viking, and they were boring. their performance had quite a bit of energy to it, but it was their songs that were really lacking a certain je-ne-sais-what… especially following braids’ performance, which was quite moving.
* (i don’t have a full setlist… i have a terrible memory. if anyone could provide me with one, it’d be much appreciated).
all photos by inastral.
Filed under: Concert Review , 2008, braids, deerhunter, lee's palace, live, times new viking, toronto
