Live Review: Blonde Redhead, Annuals (5-4-2007) Variety Playhouse
Last Friday night I celebrated being done with finals by catching this. We got there at ticket time and it was already fairly packed. Annuals came on first, and I would describe them as a poor man’s Arcade Fire with almost a jamband tinge to the sound. The front man, Adam Baker, looked like he was on mushrooms or something. The six-piece featured 2 full drum sets, a pair of drums for the lead guitarist, and even Adam Baker himself had a drum to beat on from time to time. Overall, the total sound seemed to be a little too schizophrenic for me; it seemed like people’s parts didn’t really blend together well. They were great for an opener, but I doubt that I would exert a ton of effort to go see them again. Here’s some pics from my phone:
Between the two bands, the Variety Playhouse actually dropped the curtains in front of the stage, which almost never happens. When the curtains opened, Blonde Redhead brought it full blast. The lighting they employed was really cool because it was so subtle and created a an interesting light “aura” for the band. Musically, it was hard for me to make out the vocals often times in the front where i was, but other than that, I was very impressed. The set was heavy on songs from 23, but I’ve actually been digging on that album the more I listen to it. I know it’s not quite as adventurous as their best work, but if you can overlook that, there’s some amazing material on it. The three-piece was spaced out far away from each other and they seemed to have a confident yet awkward stage presence, with guitarists Kazu Makino and Amedeo Pace pseudo-flirting with each other as they jammed out and watching drummer Simone Pace’s facial expressions were hilarious as he would get really into some entrancing rhythms. Kazu even had an enormous stuffed horse to sit on when playing keys. Overall, my first Blonde Redhead show was everything i hoped it would be.
- Posted by Davy Minor on May 9, 2007 at 1:34 am
