After some 115 shows around the world, including an impressive (and slightly humbling – we’re rarely so spoilt) two stops in Australia, Brooklyn group Grizzly Bear have brought their Shields tour to an end with a spectacular two hour set at the Sydney Opera House.
The crowd lapped up every minute of the set, which was one of the most retrospective I’ve ever seen from the group, encompassing tracks from their entire back catalogue, including five from 2006’s Yellow House, with the rarely played “Colorado” and “Little Brother” being the most surprising and most welcomed.
There were no singalongs, not even a clap along during the 21 song strong set – much longer than their usual repertoire, which Ed Droste admitted was considered due to it being their last show – as well as the prestige of the venue they were playing in. Normally this lack of involvement would reflect poorly on either the band or their audience, but in this case it was welcomed: we just sat in awe of one of the world’s most impressive bands giving it their all, who were dutifully presented with not one but two unanimous standing ovations from the sold out crowd.
The music this band pump out is unequaled by bands who have come before or anyone who’s come since. There’s something so raw in the talent that all these men share that makes it such an impossibly high bar to reach. That doesn’t mean the result of their own music is always perfect – though like a fine wine that happens to play 37 instruments AND sing, they have only improved with age, making music which is more accessible along the way, while remaining true to their musically quirky selves.
The highlights of the show, musically, were the ones you adored most on record. Every track is given such a lovely reworking in the live environment it’s hard not to get swept up into what Ed Droste of the band called the “bubble” they felt they were in that evening. Even the finest of tweaks and additions makes tracks like “A Simple Answer” (possibly the highlight of the night), “Ready, Able” and “While You Wait For The Others” soar to even greater heights live, while their oldest material – like the surprising addition of the rarely played “Shift” off of Horn of Plenty are almost unrecognisable in the new environment once you add in up to ten years of tweaks to the mix…
But these are things I could say about any Grizzly Bear show, no matter the setlist. The real highlight of the night was the band’s sixth unofficial member – the venue itself. For tonight, they wrapped themselves inside the Sydney Opera House’s “bubble” and put together a unique set which suited the ambiance of the venue – including older, softer tracks and closing with “All We Ask” acoustically – while their added, one-night-only moving jellyfish lights gave the show the sort of delicate production that makes it all the more mesmerizing – not to mention special.
For me, tonight was something of a band coming full circle. This was a band I stumbled across while studying in Vancouver back in 2006. They had just released Yellow House, which Pitchfork assured us was a good record, and were supporting TV on the Radio on their Return to Cookie Mountain tour. The band blew me away; they had a presence I’d never seen on the stage before, talents rarely exhibited and music hardly heard. I have been a fan ever since, and forever hoped I’d one day experience the band in a venue like the Sydney Opera House. Two highly acclaimed records – and over seven years – later, and that moment has arrived, and it did not disappoint. Grizzly Bear gave the Opera House everything they had and the result was a show that we will never forget. Only five days into the year, I daresay this is going to be a very tough gig to top.
SETLIST
Speak in Rounds
Adelma
Sleeping Ute
Cheerleader
Lullabye
Little Brother
Yet Again
Shift
A Simple Answer
Foreground
Gun-Shy
Ready, Able
While You Wait for the Others
On a Neck, On a Spit
What’s Wrong
Two Weeks
Half Gate
Sun in Your Eyes
Encore:
Knife
Colorado
All We Ask (Acoustic)
You can view the AU’s full and exclusive photo gallery from the night HERE.
