Recap Dirty Projectors at the Pabst Theater

Dirty Projectors occupy their own, highly idiosyncratic corner of the indie rock world, taking an aggressively unconventional approach to songwriting and performing. Instead of simply reworking the sounds of their influences and appealing to an increasingly pop-oriented market, they’re creating a new frame of reference to work in. It’s a challenging and often polarizing approach that runs the risk of turning away casual music fans. But as Saturday’s show at the Pabst Theater demonstrated, it’s also a lot of fun if you’re open to it, offering up giddy excitement and energy that move beyond the lofty concepts in favor of welcoming enthusiasm.

The band opened its first Milwaukee performance with the pulsing “Fucked For Life”; within moments the Projectors, led by frontman Dave Longstreth, established a complex vocal and musical interplay that made each performer a fascinating focal point. As dizzying as the compositions could be, there was also a consistent underlying urgency and danceability that kept a captive stage-side group of fans jumping around fanatically.

With the range of genres and moods that the band cultivated throughout the night—metal meshed with prog, R&B with indie, and jazz with Top 40 pop—the whole thing ran the risk of feeling scattered and disconnected. But at no point during the performance, even between songs like the slow, folk-tinged “Two Doves” and the sugary excitement of “Knotty Pine,” was there ever awkwardness in the transitions. From beginning to end, it felt as though all of the songs could have been written to be played on this specific evening in this specific order.

Ultimately, what made the performance so incredible was the undeniable warmth woven throughout. On record many of the tracks, though still excellent, can come off as calculated, sparse, and distant—even if they aren’t. In fact, the live show was so inviting that it’s easy to imagine those who are unfamiliar with the band, or put-off by its brash, artsy pastiche, might finally come around. 

No others in pop right now are taking such an exciting and challenging approach to their music. No matter how manic and schizophrenic the songs can be, Dirty Projectors are able to combine all that headiness with heart, which puts them leaps and bounds ahead of many of their avant-garde contemporaries.