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Review Tue Apr 28 2009
Review: PB&J and Chairlift @ Metro, 4/23/09
Chairlift, photo by Andy Keil
(see more photos from the show at the Transmission Flickr page)
While Peter Bjorn and John may have ruled the stage last week at Metro, Chairlift did a good job opening the evening. The crowd enjoyed their shoegaze atmosphere and captivating voice of Caroline Polachek. They played as a three piece (which made it obvious there was a lot of backing track) with Patrick Wimberly sometimes on bass, sometimes on drums. There was little activity on stage, except for Polachek who appeared most moved by the music with what little she could express from behind the keyboard and without leaving the mic. They played their most energetic and most known song "Bruises" towards the middle of the set and kept the crowd engaged as the room filled up for the evening's headliner.
Peter, Bjorn and John photos by Andy Keil.
PB&J definitely stole the show this night, though. If you were looking for a cheery pop concert however, you were in the wrong place. "Young Folks" was played in the encore, but trailed off into some weird avant garde noise that you thought might return to the melody, but just awkwardly ended.
But to criticize this show solely based on the less than stellar encore would not be fair. They certainly hit their highpoint in the middle of the show and what a show it was. I had almost forgotten how animated Peter Moren is on stage--he is no question a front-man. The crowd was very much into "Nothing to Worry About" and "Lay It Down" which were among the material they played from their darker experimental new album, Living Thing. They also revisited some of the best tracks from Writer's Block (Nothing from Seaside Rock, however--this writer is pretty bummed there was no "Inland Empire" on the setlist).
As Peter pointed out during the show, the trio has been together for ten years now, and there is no question they have hit their stride. I for one am excited to see what these Swedes will surprise us with next.
