Whenever I go to an indie show in Seattle, I’m surprised at the small number of people lined up outside the door. Once the show begins, I’m more often than not sad that more Seattleites aren’t inside enjoying the event. There’s something about a great live music performance that can’t be equaled by a quiet night at home or a drunken night walking the streets, even when the fresh, brisk air blows out of Puget Sound. Such was the case at Neumos on Wednesday, when the metal-tinged post-rock band Red Sparowes headlined a night of epic songs and moody soundscapes.
For most bands, three guitars is overkill. Opening act Fang Island proved to be an exception to this rule, as their wall of finger-tapped guitar was an interesting and energetic change of pace for Red Sparowes fans. Although the Brooklyn-based band took the stage early in the night, a formidable crowd gathered to see Fang Island, partly due to their in-studio performance on KEXP earlier in the day. The group’s near show-stealing performance was punctuated by fun and raucous four-part unison singing and epic guitar harmonies that reached nearly Brian May-style proportions. Without a doubt, Fang Island, the catchiest and most-headbanging act of the night, could easily have been considered show stealers.
Next up was Massachusetts-based instrumental band Caspian. The group seemed to have one aim, and that was total sonic annihilation of the audience, a laughable task were the band not so successful at it. With reverb turned all the way to 11 and guitars wailing, the group’s five members sounded more like 10. Caspian’s heavy symphony utilized tender moments of subtle guitar-picking, followed by earth-shattering crescendo after crescendo, leaving many audience members with eyes closed, swaying in unison.
By the time Red Sparowes hit the stage, the crowd had thinned out a bit, proving less that the band was a weak headliner and more that Fang Island and Caspian were accomplished enough bands to pull in exclusive fans of their own. Still, Red Sparowes might have been the least crowd-pleasing act of the night. While many post-rock bands capitalize on majestic crescendos and soaring melodies, Red Sparowes dwell more in sinister reveries of dense sound and complex themes. The instrumental band often begins songs with a dark musical motif, and then drags it through labyrinths of sound. At the song’s apex, the melody will emerge a twisted, tangled and beautiful incarnation of its former self. Surely, Red Sparowes displayed the most accomplished songmanship of the bands performing on this night. Guitarist Emma Ruth Rundle showed a keen ear for gut-wrenching lead guitar melodies, while Greg Burns’ busy and intelligent bass guitar playing provided the perfect backbone for every song. Burns occasionally switched from bass to pedal steel guitar, an element that added immense depth to Red Sparowes’ sound and set the band apart from many of its post-rock brethren. While the band performed, a bizarre hodgepodge of images was projected on a projector screen behind them. These ranged from shifting battlefields to rushing cityscapes to what I think might have been tarantulas mating (though I’m praying that it wasn’t). In the end, Red Sparowes proved itself to not be the must accessible band, but one that rewards the dedicated listener with some truly mind-blowing musical epiphanies. I’m grateful that this show afforded me the opportunity to wrap my head around a few of them.
