Animal Collective Live

On Thursday night I had the wonderful privilege of seeing Animal Collective perform live at the House of Blues in Boston. The concert only increased my awe and respect for the members of the collective, and solidified their status as my favorite band of all time. Following the more quiet, reverb-loving noise folk act Grouper (who also sounded pretty cool), Avey, Panda, and Geologist took to the stage with high energy and churned out track after track of danceable animal grooves. The band played continuously for about an hour and a half, rarely speaking but instead shouting random noises into the microphones and playing with the electronic equipment. They only stopped to take a brief break before the encore, to say "thank you" to everyone for coming, and to exclaim "that one was wild" after the audience got a bit too rowdy during "Slippi."

The stage was set up like a DJ dance/disco hall, with a giant floating orb projecting various images and videos while strobe lights flashed and rainbows erupted in time with the beats. The MPP album cover was draped across the back like a flag, and all the flashing lights served to enhance the optical illusion. There was also a drum set behind Panda's sound board, though it remained unused much to my dismay and was probably there just as a back-up.

The AC fans in the audience went wild during the more upbeat songs: people crowd-surfed, moshed, bounced up and down, and knocked into each other repeatedly as the pulsing rhythms filled the venue. I wasn't expecting anything like a dance party when I first got to the concert, but found it was really fun to lose myself in the movements of everyone around me. Clouds of smoke also erupted as various people lit up during the more trance-like parts of the concert, though some were asked to leave by security (not cool.)

Here's the set list (I tried to recreate the exact order, but some things may be mixed up):

Concert:
1. "What Would I Want Sky"
2. "Summertime Clothes"
3. "Guys Eyes"
4. "#1"
5. "Slippi"
6. "Who Could Win A Rabbit?"
7. "Fireworks Essplode"
8. "Bleed"
9. "Comfy In Nautica"
10. "Brother Sport"

Encore:
11. "Chocolate Girl"
12. "My Girls"
13. "Leaf House"

Click on the links to download mp3s of the new songs or see video clips I took of my favorite parts of the concert. (The videos for "Slippi," "My Girls," and "Summertime Clothes" were taken and posted by someone else.)

"What Would I Want Sky" is an awesome new post-MPP song that sounds warm, sunny, and a bit repetitive. "Bleed" is also new, though it might've gone unnoticed by many as it sounds similar to the sonic experimentation between songs. "Fireworks Essplode" is a medley where verses from "Lablakely Dress" and "Essplode" (from Danse Manatee) were inserted between the parts of "Fireworks" from Strawberry Jam. The tunes from older albums were also given new mixes, almost as if the band were updating its catalogue to fit in more with the new material. "Slippi," "Chocolate Girl," "Who Could Win A Rabbit?" and "Leaf House" were all set to a different backdrop of dance beats and electronic samples provided by Geologist and Panda, sounding as if they were part of Merriweather Post Pavilion. Another cool treat was the performance of Panda Bear's "Comfy In Nautica," which none of us were really expecting but went over really well. Though I was pleased to here all of the aforementioned, my favorite was definitely "#1," which sounded even stranger and more bizarrely ritualistic when coupled with the swirling onstage images and the hypnotic ambience that fell over the crowd. I would've liked to hear "Safer," "Daily Routine," or anything from Feels, which was conspicuously absent, but I guess that's what live albums are for and I really can't complain. Check out the audio streams of their other concerts (just search on Stereogum) to hear more.

The bottom line is, if Animal Collective ever comes near you while on tour, GO SEE THEM! I guarantee that you'll have a good time. Also, check out the video clips I took during the concert to get more of a feel for what it was like. Below is my video of one of the new songs: