Dirty Projectors @ Music Hall Of Williamsburg, Brooklyn 4/9/08
By Amrit Singh
Last night's L train ride to Williamsburg was just meant to be a relaxing night off, to see one of my favorite bands play. And then I watched said band mesh, wreck, and reconstruct myriad musical idioms, like always, and so now this is happening. I'm just going to echo BV here; there's very little I can say about this show, or Dirty Projectors live, that I haven't gushed before. But for the sake of posterity, and for the sake of our year-end Best Shows list, I need to memorialize last night: Dirty Projectors killed it.
The show sold out at the door, and thankfully I didn't have to suffer through the best show of the year I didn't see 2.0. They worked through mostly Rise Above stuff, along with their now well worn reinventions of New Attitude's "Fucked For Life" and "Imagine It." (There was also "New Attitude" itself, which was how Scott and I brought in 2008.) No "Hyperballad," sadly. But between the staples came some new stuff, including one tune called "That's My Move." (It sounds like Longstreth's extending the Rise Above-incarnation of the band's mold, at times poppier as in "That's My Move," at others an even more jaw dropping meld of time shifts, snaking guitar lines, and those flaring, otherworldly vocal arrangements).
The other day I was trying to convert a friend to the band's ways, and I joked that the crowds at their NYC shows last year comprised "72% people in bands, 24% music writers, with the rest dabbling in both," so it bears mentioning that there were no lines of sight in MHOW last night without some member of the indie rock all-star softball team: Grizzly Bear, Battles, Deerhunter, the National, Apes & Androids, even some guys from Guster. Dirty Projectors shows are like band camp, or like some sort of a master class. Nobody's going to fully cop the style, but everybody's in to take their notes. I'm just glad the rest of us have caught on. Anyway, I didn't bring my camera (off night, remember?), so thanks Jen for taking that picture for me.
Posted at 5:16 PM in Concert
Tags: Dirty Projectors
Am I the only one that was blown away by seeing them live, only to be shocked at how much I don't like thier recordings? I've bought 3 CDs of thiers hoping to capture the same feeling I got from seeing them open for Hella a couple of years ago. Still waiting...
Posted by: whistle at April 10, 2008 5:30 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Sounds like a good show, I'd love to get around to seeing them live at some point.
Unrelated but NPR has up new Death Cab, MMJ, and Wolf Parade songs. Check it: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=37&agg=1
Posted by: Yo at April 10, 2008 5:31 PM | ReplyScore = 0
Am I the only one who things this band is really overrated? The vocal harmonies are amazing, but the music is sloppy and chaotic (especially the guitar playing), and except on a couple of songs, they can't produce a tune worth remembering. Great talent, mediocre song writing.
Posted by: Greg at April 10, 2008 7:13 PM | ReplyScore = 0
These guys are amazing live.
That is all.
Posted by: bookwibble at April 10, 2008 8:55 PM | ReplyScore = 0
They're better live than on record, I agree. But maybe that'll change in the future.. There's a lot of potential there, anyway.
Posted by: Richie at April 11, 2008 9:53 AM | ReplyScore = 0
bands to add to said softball team: My Brightest Diamond and Vampire Weekend. Members of both bands were there also.
Posted by: nick at April 13, 2008 9:06 PM | ReplyScore = 0
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Posted by: gfpzbnca hyodvcrp at April 15, 2008 3:27 PM | ReplyScore = 0
shara from my brightest diamond was there too....
Posted by: farva at April 16, 2008 7:07 PM | ReplyScore = 0
That live show was out of this world.
Nevertheless, I completely agree with the CD not capturing the band's essence, plus, if I'm not wrong, the drummer is not on the recording of the latest album? (The drummer was absolutely amazing!)
Posted by: MCarrillo at May 7, 2008 12:44 AM | ReplyScore = 0