Grizzly Bear at The Pabst Theater
The Brooklyn band dazzles in four-part harmony
CJ Foeckler
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Brooklyn’s Grizzly Bear has managed to soar over a trendy heap of Brian Wilson aspirants and shoegaze revivalists by using imaginative songwriting and exquisite musicianship to augment rather than emulate those influences. The multi-tasking quartet made a well-attended return Monday to The Pabst Theater, suggesting that Grizzly Bear’s incredible live show may finally be getting the audience it deserves.
When the foursome walked onto the foggy stage, they wasted no time working into the opening chords of the explorative “Southern Point.” “You’ll never find me now,” crooned singer-guitarist Daniel Rossen as bassist Chris Taylor and singer Ed Droste came together on soaring harmonies. While it’s not unusual for Grizzly Bear to erupt into beautiful four-part vocals, one of the most awe-inspiring aspects of Monday’s performance was that each member somehow juggled singing duties with at least two other instruments. Drummer Christopher Bear (whose family was in the audience) nailed his back-ups while hammering out ridiculous jazzy polyrhythms during “Colorado,” while Taylor built gorgeous layers of flute and clarinet with a loop pedal during the moody meandering of “Lullaby,” and sent his shaky tenor flying through various effects pedals during “Knife.” When Droste wasn’t picking at sparse guitar melodies, he cradled his auto-harp like a newborn infant while exchanging lead vocal duties with Rossen, who hopped between guitar and a Fender Rhodes keyboard.
The set pulled largely from the band’s new record Veckatimest—the crowd went batshit when it recognized the opening piano chords to the single “Two Weeks”—and 2006’s Yellow House, while Rossen also grabbed an acoustic guitar for a rendition of “Deep Blue Sea,” the quartet’s contribution to the Dark Was The Night compilation.
Grizzly Bear closed its proper set with a shining rendition of “On A Neck, On A Spit,” returning moments later to perform the highlight of the night, its heart-wrenching rendition of The Crystals’ “He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss).” The dramatic intensity was compromised somewhat by a “Fuck yeah!” screamed by some idiot toward the front of the theater. The entire band immediately began laughing and Droste finished the otherwise morose tune with his own “Fuck yeah!”
“I think that is the first time any of us have sworn on stage,” Droste added before the band waved goodbye and walked off.
