Concert Review: Animal Collective at State Theatre (with pics!)
Let me preface this by saying I’m a huge fan of Animal Collective. I’ve followed them since 2005’s Feels, which mystified, intrigued and ultimately turned me onto the the experimental trio, and I think the new album, Merriweather Post Pavilion, is among this year’s best. Where other people find their experimental music abrasive and hard to understand, I dig the collages of chaotic electronics, the repetition, the fickle melodies, 
the whooped-chanted-sung lyrics. But while last night’s show had some pretty great moments, the overall performance wasn’t quite as dynamic as I’d expected, the subtleties didn’t translate very well in State Theatre’s high frequency-swallowing room, and the repetition that I normally enjoy was almost exhausting in a live setting. (Photos by Phil Bardi.)
The band had a pretty visually appealing stage set-up: two tall towers of speakers on either side of the stage covered in white sheets, a huge white ball hanging in the center over the stage, with animated projections and electro-lights playing against it (did these guys see Phish’s Hampton set up or what?), a huge backdrop featuring Merriweather’s dizzying optical illusion cover art, soundboard tables covered with white sheets that lit up in a rainbow of neon colors at various musical cues. (MORE PICS AFTER THE BREAK) Read the rest of this entry »
