The Low Anthem & The Barr Brothers

[lsamuel3]

Hey everyone,

Hope some of you made it out to see The Low Anthem & The Barr Brothers last night. It was truly an amazing performance. Head over to http://backin15mins.blogspot.com/2010/04/show-review-barr-brothers-low-anthem.html for a review, pictures and some video (to be posted soon).

Thanks!

Edited April 11, 2010 by Guest

[Weirdness]

Yes, the Barr Bros were quite good and the crowd was incredibly receptive. I've never seen an opener that presumably not many people knew sell so many CD's after their set. Having a listen now, it's pretty good.

That being said, The Low Anthem were amazing. I can't recall being more impressed by a band that I've seen for the first time in recent memory. The Fruit Bats were good but this was just SOOOO GOOD. You have to dig on the Americana stuff to really enjoy it I think but if you do it just simply doesn't get much better.

Not just one more Saturday night you might say. Anyways, apparently the Barr Bros are opening for Plants and Animals at the Horeshoe on 4-20 so look out for that one too...

[lsamuel3]

I was actually shocked by how many people were lined up to buy the Barr Bros. cd after their set. So happy to see these guys moving product, hopefully they start selling the discs online too. I bought the cd it's really good with nice production.

[bradm]

Anyways, apparently the Barr Bros are opening for Plants and Animals at the Horeshoe on 4-20 so look out for that one too...

Confirmed. P&A plus the Barrs is also playing in Montreal on Thursday, April 22.

Aloha,

Brad

[lsamuel3]

Their sound may not translate too well to the typically loud Horseshoe. Church of the Redeemer was literally silent for the entire performance.

[AD]

An extended version of 4′33″?

[lsamuel3]

did anyone get the low anthem setlist by the way...

here's the barr brothers setlist, not necessarily in the right order

Beggar in the Morning

Ooh, Belle

Old Mythologies

Deacon's Son

Lord I Just Can't Keep from Cryin'

Give The Devil Back His Heart

Was That So Long Ago (tentative title)

[zero]

Okay seriously who is this fucking Lucas guy. Hate on him for awhile. I had to fart around with my mp3 recorder and transcribe interviews with Brad, Andrew and Carlin Nicholson from Zeus at The Golden Dogs show afterward just to piece together the setlist. And yes your setlist is fairly accurate and your essay and photo account of the concert informative and engaging. Thank you for freeing up some time for me to write about other bands like Land of Talk (don't tell me you LOVE them too), The Golden Dogs,Zeus, Jason Collett and Bahamas.

I'd suspect the show at the Horseshoe will be considerably more raucous - I don't doubt they'll stick with a fairly similar setlist to what they played - which was fairly hushed and reflective befitting both the locale and the undercard they were on- that said they did veer into some electric post-blues rock territory that will play alot better in a bar than a church. I was also definitely chuffed for the boys having such an astute audience of good listeners.

I'd bet this 'Lucas' kid knows their material best and his setlist's accurate but I hava Alta Falls (sic.) between Lord I Just Can't Keep From Cryin' and Give The Devil Back His Heart.

[lsamuel3]

I do like Land of Talk.

Glad to free up some time for a fellow writer!

Cheers.

[zero]

But what's the deal with Alta Falls brainiac, seriously I need to know for the completist sake and tracking Weirdness' recording of course (which is working it's way to the top of his pile).

[lsamuel3]

To be honest, never heard of Alta Falls, and I have a few older "Barr Brothers" recordings when they were calling themselves "Super Little". If you want to send me an audio clip or something I'd likely be able to identify the track. lucassamuels@hotmail.com

[Jay Funk Dawg]

[zero]

Alta Falls definitely fits in where I mentioned. I talked to Brad about it after. In any situation particularly musical I'm into detail so a geographic place (see Ybor City in the Hold Steady's repertoire) immediately sends up a red flag for me, I made him spell it out but curiously there's not good story that goes along with it I guess because the name is actually mispelt and the mispelling stuck. I think that's the gist of it. So the place must be something that sounds like Alta Falls. Altough Falls?

Oh and

Andrew delicately brushed the symbols of his drum kit, painting a careful backdrop for all of the group’s ambient noise to float upon.

He brushed the symbols of his drum kit did he, the symbols of his drum kit. Was he doing some light brush work on the ride symbol? Brother I do not know where to start with you.

[lsamuel3]

Brad would definitely know best, no question about that.

"He brushed the symbols of his drum kit did he, the symbols of his drum kit. Was he doing some light brush work on the ride symbol? Brother I do not know where to start with you." - I'm going to assume these are just friendly little chirps.

I just write how I feel about what I hear and see at the show...if you don't dig it that's totally cool but I know the guys like my writing as I just wrote the new bio for SMMD (look for that soon!)...

Also I'll assume Weirdness was the dude taping at the show. I was the guy who came up to him right after the concert ended asking where he was going to post it online.

Edited April 12, 2010 by Guest

[AD]

I think he was commenting on the cymbalism in your writing.

[lsamuel3]

well that's an easy fix

[bradm]

jahdawg went to the Montreal show last night, and reported the Barr Bros. set list as

01.Hello, I'm A Monster

02.Ooh, Belle

03.Suffocation Keep

04.Deacon's Son

05.Cloud (for Lhasa)

06.>Brad banter & apartment story segue<

07.Sarah Through The Wall

08.Let There Be Horses

(I think "Hello, I'm A Monster" is also or now known as "Beggar In The Morning.")

Aloha,

Brad

[zero]

Sometimes Brad's hazy about setlist's but this was a sedate setting and we were talking in this little kitchenette cloister behind the pulpit. He was very matter of fact about this one so it makes me think they closed with Devil, again I'm barely familiar with the Barr Bros. repertoire and that Alta Falls is the unnamed song with the lyric Samuel mentioned. I genuinely don't know.

I'm just riding you Samuel I just thought it was funny that I'm transcribing these interviews dutifully the next day and this guy named 'Lucas' (maybe you don't know my name's Luke) who's also a massive slip fan has a whole review with great pics up on his blog. It's funny.

[AD]

Luke, any thoughts about the Low Anthem?

[zero]

The Low Anthem I can confidently say are making a new and manifold contribution to the New Weird Americana. Feist seemed dutifully wrapped up in the proceedings. Most musicians I've talked to, say Carlin Nicholson from Zeus and others have been genuinely interested to know what it was like whereas predominantly people are so bagged and caught up with their own shows they don't think much of contemporary bands or at least get out to see them.

I knew absolutely nothing about them going in, except that notably Weirdness - who's one of my oldest childhood friends, an insane audiophile and studious about at least contemporary Americana in particular by way of new vinyl releases - said he was coming for Low Anthem and that Barr Bros. alone wouldn't be worth the drive in from Guelph. To me, knowing him that was telling and proved really heavy. His recording will be intense if he ever gets around to mastering it but I suspect it's bumping up his pile. Even the crappy recordings I took for notation sake tracking out little mp3s on a panasonic hand recorder sound pretty damn good because the place was pindrop quiet and the acoustics so stunning.

The stainglass and iconography of the Church were also really integral to the performance for me at least. I'm not aware of this church being used as a venue but it's one of the most prominent churches in the downtown core and everyone knows it from their thoughtful sermons posted prominently as you drive past. I had a few suspicions that would appeal to me more personally about the significance of the stainglass panels and also that the organ was as it turned out a Casavant Frere (likely a very very good one). And that the church was built in a Gothic revival style, which of course means something quite different from American Gothic, or the 'American' and 'Gothic' music (much like Romantic means a great many things) that The Low Anthem make. It was in effect the most perfect and admirable setting for a performance of this nature which manages to be bravely modern and present while being firmly rooted in the past.

The Church of the Redeemer building was designed in a Gothic revival style. During the early years of the parish, there was seating for approximately 500 people. Between 1906 and 1929, stained glass windows were installed, depicting key moments in the life of Jesus and his disciples. The window immediately behind the altar, for example, illustrates the story of the Road to Emmaus. Most of the windows were designed by N. T. Lyons, a stained glass firm known for its naturalistic, three-dimensional style.

In 1904, the Casavant organ was installed in the Church. The only other Casavant organ in the diocese of Toronto that is older is presently housed in St. James Cathedral. The Parish Hall was built on the north side of the property in 1881 and the Rectory, to the east of the Church, was erected in 1891. The Parish continued to grow in strength and numbers throughout the first century of its life. While the landscape around the Church changed from one generation to the next, moving from veritable country lanes to a bustling downtown core, the property that was Church of the Redeemer continued to remain a constant at the corner of Bloor Street and Avenue Road.

[YearsAlongTheSea]

Luke, any thoughts about the Low Anthem?

He was discussing the meaning of life and the effect of the Bermuda Triangle on chord progressions with Knox Miller over a glass of chardonnay in a dark corner of the church when Gratefully Deadicated Soundsystem walked in and we're all left to wonder: what the fuck does this have to do with the Dead?

[lsamuel3]

Cool Luke I figured that was the case. Thanks for the heads up about that little spelling mistake there too. I was supposed to interview The Low Anthem and after that show I'm so pissed that I canceled on them. I really think that was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Easily in my top 5.

[Northern Wish]

What a difference a couple of years makes:

The first time I saw Low Anthem they were opening for SMMD at HIgher Ground (almost 2 years ago today actually April 18 2008).

There were maybe 6 people watching TLA- but at least I was one of them....

[allison]

I was really disappointed to miss this (crazy cold)as I had been really looking forward to seeing The Low Anthem."Oh My God, Charlie Darwin" is a stunning album...just washes the world with a pure aching beauty.

The sort of shy revival tent spiritualism quality to the bands work would so, so suit a church setting...and the title song would be made even more poignant in a church.

Anybody else but me not give a flying fuck that Feist was there?

[zero]

It was a detail, the Feist thing, she looked comfortable and a friend had brought her on a whim everyone gave her respectful room and treated her like everyone else. The crowd was older, the type that appreciats certain concerts you have to be dead quiet for and turn off your cellphone unless you're told to turn on your cellphone and make whispering murmurs of sound like the rumour that came through your town.