I don’t usually go to shows by myself, but I didn’t really have a choice for this one. Between a show at Arbor Vitae, a Man The Hunter/Swimsuit show in Detroit, and of course, Bob Dylan at Hill Auditorium, most of my friends had other ideas about how to spend their nights. And unfortunately so did most of Ann Arbor’s concert-going population. And it was a Thursday, after all.
Not to say this show was poorly attended, but the crowd was definitely slow to form. I got to the Blind Pig at 10pm and the opening band had just begun setting up, and there were about twenty people there, which includes staff, roadies, and members of three bands. Thank god for free popcorn.
Purling Hiss, the opening band, were a power trio with a pretty heavy sound, and they certainly rocked hard but there simply weren’t enough people there to really get excited about it. For a punk band, I found it surprising how present the guitar was in their music – some solos sounded straight out of 80s hair metal! What was most impressive, though, was how tight they sounded as a band. They did a great job of filling the room, which can be difficult for power trios.
There’s something distinctive about the appearance Kurt Vile and his backing band, the violators. It goes beyond the long, curly head of hair on each member of the band. I think it might be their noses. They all have pretty large noses.
Anyway, with three guitars and a drummer, Kurt Vile’s live band wasn’t exactly what I expected. Their sound was related to his studio sound, but, well, much louder. Most of the selections were songs from his 2009 album, Childish Prodigy, which happens to be my least favorite album of his. Drone-y and thick, repetitive and emotional, the set sort of exhausted the listener, but in a good way. I was happy to have seen and heard this arrangement of his songs, but honestly, I think I would have preferred a show with just him and a guitar. At one point when an effect pedal ran out of batteries and the band was busy figuring out the issue, he played an older song of his solo and it was a welcome change of pace. Nonetheless, the cryptic emotions in his songs were preserved, and it gave me chills to see him singing with one eye peering out at the crowd from behind his hair, wincing during the most climactic parts of the songs.
If The Soft Pack sound just a little sloppy on their record, their live show is quite the opposite. One of the best balanced and rhythmically solid bands I’ve seen live, the raw energy of their pop-rock was astoundingly present at Thursday night’s show. Between a drummer who played standing up, and a guitarist who made funny concentrated faces as he played, you could tell they were having as much fun as the audience. Each song was an absolute joy, and a crowd-pleaser in its own way. Playing songs off their full length, a new tune or two, old songs from when they were called the Muslims, and even a cover, The Soft Pack demanded the crowd’s attention then held it for over an hour. I actually had to leave early so I could get up for a math exam the following morning (which went really poorly, by the way, thanks for asking). But by the time I left, the energy in the place was amazing, despite the relatively small crowd which had now grown to fill about 1/3rd of the venue.
So overall I think the only issue with the show was the lack of attendance. But that’s what you get when you have a show on a Thursday when Bob Dylan is in town.
