I was greatly looking forward to seeing Freelance Whales after missing them at Great Scott earlier this year. I was especially thrilled to see them play as part of a rock-your-socks-off triple-bill at the Middle East Downstairs. Taking the stage first, the Whales glided beautifully through about 2/3 of their debut album Weathervanes. "Location" saw lead singer Judah Dadone on banjo and featured chiming guitars and a 5-part chorus. "Starring" was a wistful dream of fanciful keyboard and glockenspiel. Electric guitar was played with a cello bow, adding a haunting quality to "Ghosting." "The Great Estates," a contemplation on the idea of an afterlife, featured electric mandolin and touches of glockenspiel and percussion in just the right places. The song was flowing and powerful (see video below).
Band members perform on a wide assortment of instruments, both standard (guitars, bass, synths) and unexpected (banjo, harmonium, glockenspiel). They do so in a revolving fashion, switching around between songs. Only their drummer Jake Hyman stays at his drum set, though he occasionally employs found objects such as a metal watering can. Hyman has sung in chamber choirs, as well, and adds his voice to the Whales' frequent full-band harmonies. Their music is complex and dreamlike, a wistful fairytale. Lyrics read like surreal remembrances, fragments of life events and relationships.
The always smiling gang will return to Boston on May 6 at the Paradise with the Shout Out Louds, delighting their growing Boston fanbase.
Taking the Middle East stage next was Bear In Heaven, opening with "Beast In Peace," a psychedelic march that also opens their 2009 debut Beast Rest Forth Mouth. They performed the album in its entirety, propelled by hypnotic, tribal drumming; swirling, layered synths; and shimmering guitar and bass. Jon Philpot's dreamlike and interestingly phrased vocals floated over stark German undertones while keyboards droned and elicited singular notes like glistening drops of water.
Philpot wryly stated to the 300+ crowd, "last time we played in Boston, we played to one person. ONE. This is way more awesome." Bear in Heaven rewarded us with a full-out aural assault that held us captive. "You guys like that? We're gonna fuckin' nail this one." Indeed they did. During a particularly inspired drum and keyboard moment, Philpot strolled over to rapt audience members at the front and placed his hand on their heads as a form of communion (see shot 11).
From sonic assault to sonic assault cubed. Headliners Cymbals Eat Guitars took to the stage and made short work of pulverizing eardrums, leaving diehard fans breathless and satiated. Joseph D’Agostino was a writhing, contorting mass of unleashed fury, grinding out vocals while he and his guitar engaged in a battle that was both fascinating and disturbing to watch. Keyboardist Brian Hamilton's t-shirt read "sonic boom" - no kidding. Quieter guitar interludes with D'Agostino's voice dropping to a softer register merely served as brief rest stops between his psychotic forays, matched by synth washes and relentless percussion and bass. By the third song he was dripping in sweat, so it's all the more astonishing that he was able to maintain his kinetic energy throughout the evening. The crowd soaked it all up with reckless abandon. There was a guy near me literally shaking with excitement, and another person careening around on the balcony like a whirling dervish. Amongst the mayhem, a crazy triangle - yes, a triangle - was maniacally struck as some sort of cleansing focal point, or perhaps to appease the ghosts.
Cymbals return to Boston on April 24, playing the Paradise with Los Campesinos, quite a delicious pairing of youthful, explosive bands from both sides of the Pond.
Video of Freelance Whales' "The Great Estates":
Play video
