Built to Spill
Date: July 13, 2007 The Need to Be Here Together With the line-up of the concluding weekend of Bluesfest not capturing my attention, my festival experience wrapped up on the second Friday. The last of nine straight days was also one of the more interesting, as I was looking forward to seeing three noteworthy bands for the first time each. As it turned out, the performances were quite varied but they were all very enjoyable, ending Bluesfest on another high. Even with a 6:00 start time on a weekday, a sizable crowd had formed in anticipation of gypsy punks Gogol Bordello. I knew that the band had a reputation for frantic concerts and it took very little time for the group to justify their glowing reviews. Frontman Eugene Hutz was especially energized. In a set that edged past the one-hour mark, Hutz seemingly paused only long enough to shed clothes, ending the set clad only in neon yellow spandex pants and a headband. At all other times, he was racing across the stage with his guitar, climbing his mic stand, or pounding the hell out of a fire bucket; and he was always engaging the rest of the band and the fans. Gogol Bordello had a full sound, with accordion and fiddle included in the lively mix. Shortly into the set, what had been a six-piece was stretched to eight, with Elizabeth Sun and Pamela Jintana Racine taking the stage to provide additional percussion and vocals. The two were dressed in identical uniforms, which complemented the rest of the band's attire, although the washboards that they wore were personalized with their names. While the music did not stray too far from a certain template throughout the set, neither did the excellent mood on stage and in the crowd. The audience was also very deserving of praise. Even though this was my most physical crowd experience of the festival, I saw zero conflict in a sea of smiling faces and pogoing bodies. After that workout, I raced to the River Stage to see Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes, who had already started playing. I was a big fan of Grainger's previous band, Death from Above 1979, so I was eager to get a look at his new group. With this endeavour, Grainger has moved from drums to guitar, backed by a rhythm section. The trio laid down some straight-ahead rock at a no-nonsense pace. With much of the crowd already anticipating the bands to follow, Grainger wasted little time on banter and simply went to work. The group played a strong set but wrapped up early. If this was an intentional sacrifice to donate stage time to Built to Spill, it was a great gesture, as that band was surely deserving of a headliner's slot. While Sebastien Grainger et les Montagnes were somewhat overshadowed by the great performances that bookended their show, I was still impressed by them. I noted that Built to Spill would have been ideal headliners; and I really wish that they would have been, for two reasons. Firstly, and obviously, the band is known to thrive in live situations where the music has room to spread, so any additional time given to them would have been a boon. Secondly, the fact that the act to follow them on the River Stage was Metric had me anticipating problems, as I have had universally poor experiences with Metric audiences. Sure enough, if the Gogol Bordello crowd was perhaps my favourite of Bluesfest, this crowd was the worst, with people shoving their way through, talking during the set, loudly asking their friends who was playing in the midst of the music, and generally adding annoyances. As a result, it was more difficult than it should have been to lose myself in the music. Having said that, Built to Spill is among the more perfect candidates for delivering an absorbing set. Despite a blank stage presence, Built to Spill offers a gripping performance. That might sound contradictory but the fact is that while, at any moment, the group's three guitarists might be staring into space or playing with their eyes closed, you may find yourself equally unaware of your surroundings, simply awash in the layered music and Doug Martsch's amazing voice. Despite the unpleasant crowd, despite the fatigue creeping in at the end of a long festival, and even despite the fact I lack a deep knowledge of the band's catalogue, this set was an undeniable triumph. The entirety of "You Were Right" was transcendent, a memory that will stand out in a festival with many highlights.
It was fitting that a festival that I enjoyed so thoroughly ended on a great note, with each of the three bands that I saw on my last day coming through with a strong performance. <--Prev (Xavier Rudd) | Next (Magnolia Electric Co.)-->Return to Concert ListReturn to Main Page |