When was the last time a band put joy in your heart? When it’s been a while, you start to get that creeping feeling of desperate necessity, clamoring for basslines thumping through your blood. Go too long without it, and you risk losing it entirely. Don’t fret, though, just go see Scattered Trees.
They begin with what may be the world’s longest soundcheck – tweaking at the various instruments for what seems like an inordinate amount of time. Turns out this extended bout of tinkering was completely warranted. From the start, they sound incredible. “A Conversation About Death on New Year’s Eve” is the first selection. As they play, the band’s keyboardist, Jason Harper, deftly swaps between his primary instrument and the guitar that’s slung over his back. As the set continues, the band remains exceptionally cohesive and enthusiastic. Shows are best when a band puts its whole collective heart into the performance. Tonight, each member looks so profoundly thrilled to be on that stage.
With such excitement from the performers, one would assume they are playing to a sold-out crowd. However, Doug Fir’s population is particularly sparse this evening. Folks must be elsewhere, trying to squeeze the last drops out of Halloween weekend. That Scattered Trees will render such a stellar evening in front of such a small crowd is even more impressive. The band also exhibits delicious and playful stage chemistry as the night stretches on. Bassist Ryne Estwing takes a break from his primary duty to thump on the kickdrum with a padded drumstick, drawing booming battle sounds from it. This song, “Five Minutes,” builds and builds to anthem-like proportions. I have to keep reminding myself that they aren’t headlining tonight, but they’re certainly a tough act to follow. “Sympathy,” the band’s penultimate number, blasts swirls of energy toward the crowd like the tiny dancing particles in a magnetic field. There’s no reason this band won’t blow up within the year. It’s the most basic science lesson – objects in motion tend to stay in motion. All that poppy energy is bound to explode.
Preceding Scattered Trees were Lloyd Mitchell Canyon, with a country twang and the increasingly ubiquitous presence of a violinist. Southern influence is accented by cowboy boots and western shirts on most of the members. The singer, bold though her voice may be, can’t seem to rise above the many instruments on stage. She and her bandmates can’t seem to get quite comfortable among the thin audience. One of their songs, played at a fast clip with impressive finger picking, calls to mind a Dukes of Hazard car chase scene. The bassist and the violinist share a knowing glance, and crowd members clap politely. Skilled but unremarkable, these openers choose an X song as their final number. It’s “Burning House of Love,” and it captures the onlookers’ attention much more than Lloyd Mitchell Canyon’s original material did. They perform it with more focus and passion, as well as improved vocal clarity and lovely warm harmonies from the singer and violinist. As a lead-in to Scattered Trees, it’s the perfect choice.
