My familiarity with Akron/Family was limited to their brilliant, but understated, self-titled album---full of experimental folk instrumentation and strange harmonies. So when A/F started their set at the Mokawk patio sounding like they had taken a summer retreat with the Animal Collective, I realized that I had no idea what kind of a show I was about to experience.
I should have known that A/F was preparing to blow my mind. SXSW volunteers hung a huge American flag with a blue tye-dyed swirl instead of a field of stars. Dana Janssen, sitting at his drum kit, stripped down to his undershirt and tied a red bandana around his head. Seth Olinsky, looking like a 70s tennis player with his long hair held back with a white sweatband, hitched up his pants and completely emptied the contents of his pockets onto a table before strapping on his guitar. Miles Seaton apparently came ready to rock, but eventually pulled off his plaid shirt, leaving him in a wifebeater, beaded Native American necklace, and blue bandana.
Working through new tracks from the upcoming and aptly named Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free, (May 5, 2009; Dead Oceans), A/F showed, if not a completely new sound, a change in direction only hinted at in their previous music. The new songs blended metal guitar riffs with three-piece vocals and throbbing bass, and A/F had the crowd clapping along and jumping up and down with them. Seaton, the most animated of the group, jumped into the crowd, soaked up the adoration of the rowdy fans, and clambered back onto the stage.
Towards the end of the set, there were a lot of converts to A/F's sounds, and the band was accosted by at least a few drunken fans who reached out to the stage for a high-five. A/F's previous folksy, ethereal songs had already won me over on repeated listens, but I realized that I kept coming back to the more emotionally charged tracks like Running, Returning, with its wailing vocals and more expansive sound. Thursday night's show provided an entire set of songs that took those elements and refined and amplified them. And to finish it off, the group gathered around a single mic for a stripped-down song full of gentle vocal harmonies---maybe just to remind us all that this is still the same Akron/Family.
This is a live show that should not be missed, and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of the album. Not convinced? Check out "Everyone is Guilty" on A/F's Myspace page here and tell me it doesn't rock.
