This was the second time I've seen Abe Vigoda, but the first at SXSW. They took to Waterloo Park's small stage at the peak of the midday sun just as Cursive was starting up across the park on the main stage. As some of Cursive's heavier sounds echoed across the park to the smaller stage, Abe Vigoda lead singer Michael Vidal reminisced about how he loved Cursive's The Ugly Organ back in high school. I think it was meant to be complimentary, but it came across as condescending. Standing up front for the entire set, I constantly got the feeling that this entire performance was a bit off. In addition to the awkward small talk, guitarist Juan Velazquez was plagued with equipment issues, and seemed to be running out of patience as the band decided what tracks to play. Nonetheless, they ably reproduced their signature double guitar, effect-driven, "tropical punk" sound as well as the moodier textures from their 2009 EP Reviver.
Given that I really enjoy their music, and that despite the performance issues, they seem like great guys, I'll be checking them out again when they next hit Boston.
