Freitag, 19. Jun 2009, 15:53
Thu 18 Jun – mewithoutyou & The Dear Hunter
Lets start by saying I was so intensely excited for this show and I knew there was no way in hell I was going to miss it. The Dear Hunter and mewithoutYou were two of my favorite bands, and to get them under one roof with another pretty cool band then it was something I couldn't resist. Even after having the girl of my dreams ditch me the day we were supposed to go together I was still going, even if it was alone. And boy was I glad I still went.
The show started sometime around 7:30 - 8:00 with Bear Colony, they kicked it off with a swooning electronic-pop melody and while they weren't any where near as interesting or genre-bending as The Dear Hunter or mewithoutYou, they really gave everyone a begging taste of what was to come that night. They continued on with the only song I could recognize, their most played song here on last.fm, Hospital Rooms Aren't For Lovers which got even the people strictly there for mewithoutYou to get up and move about. Great hooks and fun, cute, almost baroque keyboard accompanied all their songs, and really put a smile on my face.
All around I don't think people were expecting much, but the people around be were impressed with Bear Colony. I will definitely say that live, their lead singer sounded very Casey Crescenzo-esque. Also as a side note, it was their first time in Albuquerque, and I hope we made a good enough impression on them to get em' to come back, I'd love to see their act again.
Next up was The Dear Hunter, and man was I excited. Their set-up was easily the longest, as they had the biggest band, everyone played guitar besides the drummer, who I'm pretty sure was Casey's brother, I don't know for sure though. They all seemed like talented fellows and they sounded amazing. They started off with The Church And The Dime, booming and swaying, this was what I came to see. I think they transitioned to The Oracles On The Delphi Express which held the best moment of the set. They all moved up to the front of the stage, even the drummer, and they all started to sing in an a cappella, barbershop quartet type manner that was just so much fun, and it really got the crowd excited and into their music. We were all clapping and singing along, enjoying ourselves. Following that I think they went with a new song titled He Said He Had A Story and man was it intense. Next up there was the song everyone knew and loved, Red Hands. Most of the crowd around me were able to sing along and we were all dancing. I noticed some couples kissing and hugging in light of the emotionally charged song. I think (really, note, I can never really remember much of the set lists, or in what order songs were played in, so if I messed up, forgive me.) they ended with the new song What It Means To Be Alone which, with all their songs, sounded amazing live. Casey's voice was amazingly close to his studio work, which I had yet to experience. Overall they were great live, and I was glad I was there to experience it.
mewithoutYou was coming up next, and you could feel the energy build in the crowd. The group took the stage and screams ensued, and the band begun with Yellow Spider, a song I was not familiar with because I had stuck to Catch Us For The Foxes and it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright rather than Brother, Sister. I will say that for the most part they played the new songs, and mixed both Catch Us For The Foxes stuff with Brother, Sister stuff.
Songs from the new album included: The Fox, The Crow, and the Cookie, Goodbye, I!, Timothy Hay, The King Beetle on a Coconut Estate, and Bullet to Binary (pt. Two). They sounded great, and even though some of the accordion parts didn't sound amazing it was fun seeing Aaron Weiss try his best. They of course played the fan favorite January 1979 which got everyone jumping, moving, and singing along. Other songs included Leaf, Four Word Letter (Pt. Two), and Son Of A Widow.
Everything sounded great, the atmosphere was fun and lighthearted, and on top of that, mewithoutYou were extremely humble and greatful to be there, thanking the crowd for their clapping after each song, making shout-outs for the people met when they were last in New Mexico, and just overall being very appreciative for everyone there.
After they left the stage, the crowd was ready for a bit more, chanting "One more song". Quickly after Aaron jumped on stage, and said, "You wanted one more, but we are gonna play two!" and the crowd exploded with cheers. For the encore they played Allah, Allah, Allah and In A Sweater Poorly Knit. They Slowly moved off stage, cutting each part out slowly. It was a bittersweet ending, and it felt great.
I'm sorry for the long, and probably boring review, but this was easily my favorite show I've been to, and I'm so glad I went. if you get the chance, go, you won't be disappointed.