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Review Sun Mar 27 2011
Review: Godspeed You Black Emperor @ Metro, 3/26/11
Godspeed You Black Emperor (photos by Kirstie Shanley)
Godspeed You Black Emperor's hiatus has done wonders for their publicity. This weekend's Metro shows sold out six months ahead of time and the queue snaked around Gingerman before doors had opened. And all of this for a band who, in my experience, basically has contempt for the type of people who'd pay money to see them perform. (Let's just say I was not pleased when I last saw them eight years ago minus a week. Though, while I have an aside, the first time I saw them is one of the best performances I've ever heard.)
The 8-person collective (3 on guitar, 2 on bass, 2 on percussion, 1 on violin) took the stage one by one shortly after 10PM and built into "Hope Drone", a low-key drone while "Hope" flashed on a screen. (Good title, right?) From there they transitioned into compositions spanning their career, from sections of their debut F♯ A♯ ∞ to two lengthy parts of their breakout Lift Your Skinny Fists... and their last official release Yanqui U.X.O. They even dropped in something that never made it to an album. And the evening closed with both sides of their brilliant Slow Riot for New Zerø Kanada EP. They excelled with crescendos and were absolutely enthralling when the tempo picked up, and even sometimes when it didn't and their dense brooding style tugged at emotions.
Godspeed You Black Emperor (photos by Kirstie Shanley)
The most striking aspect of their performance is the atmosphere. They barely acknowledge the audience, keep the lighting low and look as if they'd rather be anywhere else. Bleak visuals accompany their dark and sprawling music. Some of the scenes included desolate areas shot from a train, a garbage dump, city street plans and stock exchange crawls. (Only "BBF3" had color visuals. The rest were a stark black and white.) GYBE tests the patience of their audiences. They appear as if they're simply rehearsing, and we're looking in on them. Some of the members even face away from the crowd. But it all adds to their aesthetic as a politically-charged experimental post-rock band. However, that disconnect can eventually lose an audience's interest. Most were engaged through at least the 90-minute point, but after that it wasn't difficult to see people whose minds were elsewhere — nervously smiling to each other, texting, conversing, etc. People walked out; to leave because they'd gotten enough out of it or simply because they couldn't physically stand any longer. Still, over the two and a half-hour set, the band hardly missed a note and turned in an exemplary performance.
Godspeed You Black Emperor (photos by Kirstie Shanley)