When I arrived at Royale, I found a line stretching two blocks and my fellow concert-goers sweating it out in the early evening sun; I was curious to say the least. I found my spot at the back of the line, and received word that Okkervil River’s tour van had broken down ,and the show was in serious jeopardy. But just a few minutes later, the doors opened, and I made my way into the venue's main ballroom to find Future Islands already on stage, setting up. Due to the delayed start time, each band would be setting up and sound checking in front of a live audience--not sure I’ve ever witnessed that before. The two guys in front of me were not so laid back about this development, as they voiced their frustrations through a few F bombs aimed at the stage.
To their credit, Future Islands took care of the prep work quickly and launched into an admiral set of synth-drenched post-punk. The Baltimore three-piece features an enigmatic front man, Sam Herring, who was literally punching himself in the head and teetering on the edge of the stage while his bandmates delivered throbbing bass lines and electronic squalls. Herring ripped the seat of his pants, exposing his, um, posterior, but he never slowed his passionate performance, even if he did earn some raised eye brows and confused looks from the crowd.
By the time Titus Andronicus took to the stage, it felt as if the club's air conditioner had been turned off, and with set opener "A More Perfect Union," Titus upped the energy and the heat. With that song's first chords, the band seem to explode, as guitarist/violinist Amy Klein led the charge, jumping up and down while slashing at her guitar and trading chords with front man Patrick Sickles. Titus Andronicus are perhaps best known as a punk band, albeit a punk band that writes songs about the Civil War. That was never more evident than in their 35-minute, all-tooshort set. On the set's closer, "Four Score and Seven," Stickles screamed into the mic, and as spit and sweat flew in all directions, I noticed that every fist in the room was raised in appreciation, mine included. The band walked off stage to the sound of the capacity crowd chanting, “one more song”.
Based on the fervorous response that the sold-out Royale bestowed on the evening's headliners, it was clear that I wasn’t the only one highly anticipating the arrival of Okkervil River to the stage. With six LPs of material to choose from, Austin’s indie folk sextet cherry picked their way through an impressive and varied set list, which included several songs from the band's recently released album I am Very Far. Will Sheff, dressed like a college professor in December, quickly shed his tweed jacket and sweater vest and jumped, kicked, and stomped across the stage during a rollicking version of "For Real." Early on, I noticed a couple of things: first, Okkervil River deliver an incredibly tight and dynamic sound from the stage; second, for all his bookish looks, Sheff is a rock-and-roll front man at heart. Throughout the night, Sheff had the crowd hanging on his every word and command. Even Titus Andronicus’,Patrick Sickles could be seen clapping along from the merch both.
