Keep an open mind when you see Animal Collective live . I say this because there’s always the chance that a majority of the set will be dominated by new jams. If you go expecting to hear their “greatest hits”, you are setting yourself up for disappointment. Last night’s show at Prospect Park was a great performance even if was dominated by new songs that may have left some fans wanting more.
The only old songs the band played were “We Tigers”, “Did You See The Words?”, “Brother Sport”, “Summertime Clothes” and “Taste”. All are some of the collective’s finest, but it would have helped to hear some other old cuts just to balance things out.
With that said, the new songs that Animal Collective played were mind blowingly good. I stayed pretty clear of all the live bootlegs beforehand, so almost all the songs were new to be. They sounded a lot more dance/beat based, relying more on rythem and timing rather than vocal harmonies (as seen on MPP). Avey Tare was the man of the show, taking lead in practically all of the songs. Panda Bear stayed tightly behind an actual drum kit, singing lead vocals on only a few songs, mainly sticking to backing vocals.
This came off as an odd decision to me at first, but these songs are more on the experimental side, leading me to believe that they’re better suited for Avey. (It’s a good guess that this album is very Avey influenced.) It was cool to hear Deakin take lead vocals on “Change”, the guy can sing. One new song that stood out was “I’d Rather” which was a perfect start to the encore.
It’s well known that you should go into an Animal Collective show expecting them to experiment with new songs, especially when they are in the process of working on a new album. I got to tip my cap that they stick to their guns, and trust their fans enough to play almost all new stuff. But the Animal Collective geek inside us all was dying to yelp to “Leaf House”, get emotional to “Fireworks” and enjoy the fuck out of “My Girls”.
Anyone who tells you different is simply trying too hard.
Black Dice opened the show. I never will understand this band. I just don’t get them. I’ve seen them open for bands three times now, and it’s been the same thing. I’ll just leave it at that. Nothing against the band, they just aren’t for me.
Setlist (via):
Animal Collective @ Prospect Park Bandshell 7/12/2011
“Change” / “Stop Thinking” / Did You See the Words? / “Long Time Ago” / “Take This Weight” / “Knock You Down” / Brother Sport / “Mercury” / “Your Choice” / “Frights” / We Tigers / Summertime Clothes // “I’d Rather” / “Little Kid” / Taste
Manny M. — 14 Jul 11
Holy shit, Will! You need to start announcing shows you’re attending. I was there and I agreed with every single word in this post.
It was a very sweaty show, but I was very pleased. Really enjoyed the new stuff.
Are you going to Sufjan’s show there, next month?
Jen — 14 Jul 11
We have a recording of the show on our live music blog, two-sails.blogspot.com
Manny M. — 14 Jul 11
Sweet! Thanks, Jen!
hampsterdam — 15 Jul 11
Great review! Just saw Animal Collective at Merriweather Post Pavilion and felt like it would have been incredible/fitting if they’d played more tracks from that album. But they really do stick to a formula.
And man you were easy on the black dice. It was as if they were trying to make grating music to see how far they could push the “art rock” thing. I had to get as far away as possible when they were playing.
Will — 15 Jul 11
Manny – Check my twitter feed, I usually mention shows I’m heading to a couple days in advance. And yes, I’ll be at Sufjan.
Thanks for checking out the review guys. Hope you enjoyed the show!
We All Want Someone To Shout For’s Best Shows Of 2011 | We All Want Someone To Shout For — 9 Jan 12
[...] 20, 2011) 16. Death From Above 1979 // The Drums @ The Williamsburg Waterfront (July 22, 2011) 15. Animal Collective @ Prospect Park (July 12, 2011) 14. Caveman @ Glasslands Gallery (October 21, 2011) 13. Death Cab For Cutie @ Bowery Ballroom (June [...]