This show was likely the one circumstance in which I would (and did) find myself at an Animal Collective show; I, like many, found Sung Tongs to be a pretty excellent record, though I hated it for some amount of time before repeated forced listenings by one of my roommates made me come around. But I never really clicked with Feels, or got into anything else that they've done. Coupled with several friends telling me that AC were a terrible live show, I've not been in much of a hurry to see them. However, I am a fan of the free shows at South Street Seaport which allows me to check out bands I wouldn't likely see otherwise in a pleasant outdoor venue.

So I went, and I now I'll eat crow. Danielson opened the show, and they looked peppy in their matching forest ranger uniforms. They sounded pretty peppy too, I would say that I passively enjoyed their performance. Then Animal Collective came on, and started building delicate, expansive loops of sound that effectively hypnotized me, and rather quickly. It was intriguing and beautiful in this abstract kind of way. Sometimes it became rhythmic in a sense that reminds me of how it feels to see Liars (without really sounding like that band), and other moments focused on these very disjointed melodies and chants which were far more pleasing than I would expect them to be. I'm told that most of the beginning of the set was material from their forthcoming full length; if that's what their new record sounds like, I think I may become a big fan of this band yet. They did get into some older material later in the evening which pleased the rather large audience, but even though I like the older tracks they played, I'd take a concert just full of the new stuff. And perhaps I will.

Labels: Animal Collective, Concert Reviews