There are few gigs these days that get me truly excited – I’m sort of at that point now where 90% of the bands who I’ve loved over the years; I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to experience them live. But much like Radiohead, Animal Collective have remained an elusive beast, with whom I’ve hungered a meal. But finally, finally, they have returned to Australian shores, and provided me with a delicious meal; an evening I’ll never forget.
First up was Bachelorette from New Zealand, who had just gotten started when I made my way onto the Enmore floor. I’d heard the name before, but this was my first experience of the solo electronic artist. I was greeted to a stage set up which included two old school computer screens and a projection behind, showing sound waves, synchronised to the beat. This almost felt like something Kraftwerk would do, and I was thrilled to see such effort put into the show.
As for the music, I thoroughly enjoyed the set. Her tracks were what I would call “upbeat ambiance” and felt incredibly appropriate for the act to follow. If you like Animal Collective, there’s absolutely no reason you wouldn’t like this unique entertainer, so make sure you check her out whenever she’s in town.
Oh how the anticipation built between her and Animal Collective. The room slowly packed out, and by the time the lights dimmed, the audience cheered as loud as they could, early awaiting their favourite three-piece to hit the stage. Behind them, a mermaid glistened as the backdrop, a centerpiece of the light show which was to accompany their performance – and it didn’t take long for us all to be hypnotised by her. In fact, it came the minute they broke onto the stage to the roar of the crowd, launching into “Also Frightened” – a song of such intensity that it couldn’t have been a more appropriate way to start the evening.
After a track off the stellar new EP, they returned to Merriweather with “Summertime Clothes” – and as they had just done wih “Frightened”, they proved just how incredibly well the Merriweather material translates into the live environment. In fact, almost every song they played translated well. It quite honestly left me stunned. Usually, this sort of hyper-electronic-rave-ambient goodness falls flat on its face by the time it hits the speakers of a live venue – and I’d heard that sometimes this is indeed the case for the band. But such, thankfully, was not so tonight.
They kept banter to a minimum, although graciously thanked the crowd for coming out at several points, including a brief moment of… wow, there are a lot of you in here! It should be noted that the last time they were in Sydney, they played the small venue @newtown, so this was indeed a step up for the threesome.
“My Girls” was the obvious crowd pleaser and sing-a-long moment of the evening, but “Fireworks”, which followed soon after, was my personal highlight. The track (metaphorically) exploded on the stage, bringing goosebumps to my arms, and beat to my legs – and then, we all thought it was over, as they launched into an ambient medley which borrowed a few moments from a few different tracks – none of which this reviewer has any specific memory of as I was stuck in a mermaid trance. But then, out of the blue, back came the incredible drum section that highlights the vivacity of the song, and “Fireworks” returned after a spellbinding tangent.
Ah, I feel happy just speaking about it.
The rest of the show never quite reached the same heights, but remained a highly engaging set. They played out their 1 hour 45 minute set with an almost 30 minute encore, which was comprised of “In the Flowers”, “Bleeding” and closer “Brother Sport”, interspersed with ambient medleys, and leaving us on a note that kept us begging for more.
This was the sort of show I never wanted to end. So often would I close my eyes and enter a seemingly out-of-body experience, overcome and overwhelmed by the pure majesty of the music that was being produced by the three piece. It so rarely happens at a concert, and it so rarely happens to a band of such complexity – let alone when they also happen to be one of your favourite bands. This was a night to be treasured, from a band everyone should have the pleasure of experiencing.
SETLIST
Also Frightened
What Would I Want? Sky
Summertime Clothes
Guys Eyes
Leaf House
Slippi
My Girls
Who Could Win a Rabbit?
Fireworks
Daily Routine
Encore:
In the Flowers
Bleeding
Brothersport
Photo by Mr. F-Stop.
