You can do plenty of pre-concert research, but sometimes you really have no idea what you're in for when you go to an indie rock show. Saturday's show at The Crocodile here in Seattle was a prime example. I listened to plenty of sample tracks, which made me mildly interested to hear the opening acts and very eager for the headliner. In the end, one opening act, Lost in the Trees, was a pleasant surprise, while another, Frog Eyes, was a total dud. Headlining band Plants and Animals didn't sound quite like their studio recordings seemed to indicate but were still every bit as entertaining as I expected.
Lost in the Trees from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, kick-started the night with a set of lovely chamber folk. At the music's core were intricately picked acoustic guitar patterns, and projecting out from that were dreamy strings, organ and bell embellishments. Occasionally, the music became almost too haunting, taking on a spooky, macabre tone. Ultimately, though, the ANTI- Records ensemble, with the help of Ari Picker's soothing lilt, won several new fans as the audience trickled in for Plants and Animals.
Next up was Frog Eyes, a band whose studio sound has traces of Wolf Parade and Neutral Milk Hotel (only less accessible). Disappointingly, the group seemed more interesting in weirding out unfamiliar listeners than putting on an aurally pleasing live performance. While about ten loyal fans stood at the front, swaying awkwardly along, the rest of the audience stood stiff and uncomfortable while Frog Eyes turned potentially interesting songs into bizarre, monotonous and grating musical duds. Vocalist Casey Mercer could pass for a bizarro Isaac Brock, an idea that seems kind of rad in theory, if it weren't for the fact that Frog Eyes just isn't that good.
On to the main event. As a casual Plants and Animals listener, I went to the show expecting what I'd heard on their albums: grandiose acoustic rockers and a heaping portion of tasty, tasty hooks. I didn't expect to see audience members dancing, stomping and fist-pumping away as the three-piece Montreal band put on a rollicking performance of classic stadium rock proportions. Sure, their debut full-length Parc Avenue hinted at classic rock influences, which became more prominent on follow-up La La Land. But Plants and Animals' studio recordings seemed to tilt more toward baroque folk than rock 'n' roll. After seeing the band live, I had to rethink what Plants and Animals is all about. No wonder band members describe their sound as "post-classic rock."
The group opened with "New Kind of Love," a heart-wrenching coming-of-age ballad that mutates into an epic crowd-pleaser of a rock anthem. "Like a child, we get lonely and reckless and wicked and wild," vocalist/guitarist Warren Spicer wailed triumphantly at the song's apex, shortly after jumping from the stage to give the audience an up-close-and-personal view of his animated guitar riffing. The rest of Plants and Animals' set continued in a similarly bold fashion, with the band accentuating every tempo change, stressing every dynamic twist and belting out every vocal harmony.
Even though the show wasn't what I expected, I must admit it left nothing to be desired. Catchy seven-minute pop-rock songs? Check. Folky sing-alongs, jam-band guitar fuzz freakouts and grand orchestral flourishes, all within one song? All in a night's work for these guys. Witty on-stage banter? Yes, yes, yes. For a band recognized for majestic acoustic tracks in the vein of M. Ward, Plants and Animals displayed some brilliant lead guitar interplay. Spicer and Nicolas Basque shifted seamlessly back and forth between raucous riffing and fluid picking, sometimes harmonizing lead parts (Thin Lizzy style) and jamming on once familiar chord structures.
And though Plants and Animals rocked the hell out of their set, their songs retained the blunt humanism and triumphant warmth that make the listener feel right at home--even if he's sweat drenched and pumping his fists in the air.
