FLEET FOXES: LIVE AT UNION HALL

Seattle quintet Fleet Foxes graced New York with their presence at two venues this week: Bowery Ballroom, capacity 498, Union Hall, capacity 100. The decision there was not a tough one. I, being high and mighty, didn’t buy a UH ticket the second they went on sale because it’s Union Hall. Then suddenly, they were all gone. As I just found out today, after the fact, Sub Pop bought themselves 40 of those tickets. Whether it was intentional or not, by selling out the Brooklyn show, they got a huge hype in a very short period of time and Bowery sold out too. I was pissed that I wasn’t going, particularly since I had only myself to blame.

So on Thursday at 10 am when they announced an additional midnight show, Dave was right on his game, reading BV. He tried to get them, and of course they sold out. We got nothing. When I checked Craigslist later, people were offering $160 for two tickets. Sick. I had already realized that this show wasn’t in my future. So when my boss asked me to go fabric sourcing in midtown at 8 or 8:30 the next morning I didn’t sweat it. Until 2 seconds later when Dave texted me that he had gotten tickets. In the land of irresponsibility, I am queen.

Every ounce of doubt dissolved in the first 3 seconds after FF started playing. I had heard that they really rocked when they played Bowery in March, so I was reasonably confidant that they would be good. Good doesn’t begin to do justice to they way that they performed. A lot of their music is dependent upon graceful harmonies and dissonance in their chorus. Whenever this is the case, I always fear that they are just working really hard for their studio takes, but in reality they will not be able to hit those notes live. Every pitch was executed, every rhythm was nailed, and every pause was suspenseful. They played a tight, ridiculously tight show. I was floored. I read a bunch of bitching on BV about the quality of the audiences, and a lot of criticism of the photogs, but that must have been for the first show of the night. At the second show everyone was respectful and the photographers were fine. People just look for a reason to complain about shit. Seriously, they should be so lucky to have been at that show. They have a flexibility on stage that allows them to push and pull throughout each song and they can remain in control. They are a band that is so much better live than in recording that I only hope to see them again, since listening to the record allows a faint nostalgia to linger.

The other thing that I really liked was the band’s random on stage banter. I know it annoys some people, but they were funny and witty. They seemed to think that they were playing pretty well, and so did I. They were clearly enjoying themselves and the crowd. A band that is at ease with themselves and having fun always performs better. Anyway, if you know what’s good for you, you will go see Fleet Foxes in any context possible. Also, buy their album and EP on insound.

<3 The Elephant