Playing the Middle East Downstairs this past Wednesday, The Sea and Cake did what they’ve been doing for over thirteen years: performed consistently solid rock to a loyal group of older, long-time fans. Overheard at the bar: "Have you ever noticed that the older you get, the younger the crowd looks?" The crowd was attentive, but not enthusiastic. No gazing at shoes and no pumping of fists in the air. But I guess that reflects The Sea and Cake’s musical styling. On the pop end of the post-rock spectrum, the band combines mellow vocals, pop melodies and hints of jazz guitar to appeal to fans that tire of the typically dark, layered post-rock sound.
Unfortunately, with the often lacking Middle East acoustics, the guitars muddled together, Sam Prekop’s vocal lost most of its tune, and what remained was a rather repetitive, bland set. Lost was their subtle instrumentation. The band also chose not to add the electronic and lo-fi touches that highlight their albums.
But the crowd seemed to be satisfied with revisiting the old hits and hearing the new album Fuller Moon performed for the first time. These are not fair-weather fans. Though I wasn’t won over by The Sea and Cake, I appreciate that bands that last this long have loyal fans for a reason, and if you don’t get it by now, you never will. I realized that a couple weeks ago, when after seeing Low perform, I turned to my husband and said, “Wasn’t that amazing?” With eyebrows raised and a perplexed expression, he respectfully ignored my question.
melophobe favorite Death Vessel played a lovely opening folk acoustic set. Singer Joel Thibodeau performed solo, yet he somehow maintained the richness found in Death Vessel’s two releases, which add percussion and a mix of guitars, bass, banjos, ukuleles and mandolins. Despite the welcome inclusion of multiple players, Thibodeau can carry a performance with his impressive songwriting and unique singing (his voice is surprisingly high). He did just that at the Middle East.
