Grand Archives with The Acorn and Builders and the Butchers
3/8/08
Schubas Tavern in Chicago
This was a fantastic night of music, headed by Seattle’s Grand Archives, a five piece led by Matt Brooke, previously of Band of Horses and Carissa’s Weird. Grand Archives stays truer to form to Carissa’s Weird with more of the darker introspective sense than the overblown rock band I’ve always found Band of Horses to be a little guilty of. Because of that, it’s perhaps easier to connect with on smaller stages and a nice balance between both of these previous efforts. Brooke also seems like a sweet and modest guy, thanking Chicagoans for buying his record (apparently the 2008 Sub Pop release has sold really well in Chicago in particular.) Their set wasn’t incredibly long in length due to the fact that the band’s incarnation is recent but they did play a new song not on the record and ended with a long medley of covers beginning with the famous “I Started a Joke” by the BeeGees.
The Acorn also played a fantastic set. The six piece band out of Ottawa, Canada is clearly animated and showed great dynamics with different band members singing closely with one another at times, creating a great sense of both timing and aesthetics. They mixed their set up well with some real upbeat pop songs helping out some of the slower ones in the live setting to prevent their set from dragging too much. Lead singer Rolf Klausener has a curious stage presence (exactly what you would expect from someone who lists the periodic table, Oedipal complexes, and crippling dread as influences) and vocals that seem reminiscent at times of Bob Dylan.
Beginning the night was the five piece Oregon band The Builders and the Butchers whose post pop franticness were slightly left of center. Their boisterous energy musically was cut by the vocals of the lead singer, who recalled Frank Black’s somewhat nasal but infinitely recognizable style. Though they were the first opener, it was rather easy to find them instantly likable. With the dual drumming, they had an added energy that seemed the most constant than any of the other two sets. Handing out toy instruments to the audience helped drum up support and their appeal. Members of the crowd were all too happy to contribute to the music happening on stage. It’s not too often that you run across songs that click with you rather immediately on the first try and it was clear this band could easily headline a show like this themselves. In any case, the three bands made for about four hours of great songs that was only regrettable in the fact that it had to come to an end.