Blitzen Trapper – Pitchfork After Party – Empty Bottle

One of the great things we learned quickly about the Pitchfork festival is that the bands do, indeed, enjoy performing music.  I grow tired of bands that whip through a quick set and hit the road as quickly as they entered, all with a lackluster attitude and nonchalance that borders on confrontational.  It’s an all-round excellent show of passion for a band to set up their stage, perform a 15 song set at 4:00 and load up the gear just to do it all over again that night at a different location.  If you’re an avid reader of our site, then you’re undoubtedly aware of our Blitzen Trapper man crushes.  When we first began this blog, it was essentially an intense discussion about the merits of their 2007 album, Wild Mountain Nation, and their follow-up, Furr that got the proverbial ball rolling.  The differences between the two albums are well-documented, but each record exudes it’s own unique aura and sprawling canvas of western-infused rock electricity.  For me, it’s the eclectic and angular first record that is impossible to take off of my pretty hefty album rotation.  For many, however, it’s the sentimentality and more structured arrangement of the second that’s appealing.  In any event, Blitzen Trapper rolled up their sleeves after a, no doubt, exhausting Pitchfork performance and rocked out The Empty Bottle to a sold-out crowd until the wee hours of the morning Sunday night.

James and I strolled in a little late, on account of a horrible cell phone disaster that left me phoneless and a Chicago cabby about 500 dollars more wealthy.  James lives just a couple of blocks from the venue, so the extra encouragement to get our asses down there was pretty easily managed.  The electric lemonades we had been pounding at the festival certainly numbed the pain of losing my iPhone, too.  Nonetheless, the place was packed immediately, and we came in to the bouncy jam, “Saturday Nite,” that always kills live.  In our pretty rude march to the front of the crowd, I heard someone mentioned they hit “Sleepytime in the Western World” first and I was pissed we hadn’t shown up earlier.

One immediate observation, to avoid sounding a little obtuse, was that Eric Earley was having a blast. Usually more introverted and shy, Earley was smiling and chatting back with the audience as they shouted out requests (although James’ repeated screams for “Murder Babe” were probably a little uncalled for).  This is a focal point of this review because it honestly has renewed our enjoyment of the band, as the added fame and attention can be a deterrent to audience involvement.  To put it bluntly, the fellas put on a show, slamming through much of Wild Mountain Nation and a lot of Furr as well.  The most attractive thing about the entire situation is that the band didn’t construct a set-list prior to the show.  It was all group huddles and audience participation this night.  Super cool.

The band also hit the song, “Texaco,” from their 2003 self-titled album, which reached the ears of the die-hard fans in the Empty Bottle.  Throughout this song, Earley danced a bit, joked a bit while playing, and the intimate vibe was stellar.  It’s important to mention the other five members of the band, as well.  All five were probably tired as hell from the grueling three show 24 hour period, but didn’t show any signs of it.  Marty Marquis not only shredded as usual on backing guitars and vocals, but also managed to talk with us a bit after the show.  He’s always generous, and always endearing to his fans.  Erik Menteer rolled out in the same blue t-shirt he wore at the festival (actually, they all were wearing the same clothes) and slayed on the keys and guitar.  He wields a Les Paul bodied-guitar with what looks to be a salvaged neck and he makes it sing throughout.  Along with bassist Michael VanPelt, the duo is vastly underscored unfortunately, but anyone with a hint of musical understanding recognizes their importance in the entire sound.  If you take out these two, the Blitzen Trapper signature sound goes nowhere fast.  Some other highlights included a stomping “Gold for Bread” and “Murder Babe” which we’re fairly certain they played just to appease James, whom they referred to as “Murder Babe Guy” throughout the set.

As the night ended and we tossed back a brew and chatted with Eric and Marty, we realized this was the perfect way to wrap up an excellent weekend of music.  Blitzen Trapper is a band we’re going to dig no matter what levels of popularity they achieve, and the Empty Bottle show will stand up there with the other live performances of BT that we’ve seen.  If you’re living underneath a rock or in an uninhabited bog somewhere and haven’t heard the band, we’re posting “Texaco” for you (a song that goes way back), and “Gold for Bread,” off of the most recent Sub Pop release, Furr.  Get out and see them live on this current tour.  You won’t be disappointed.

Blitzen Trapper – Texaco

Blitzen Trapper – Gold For Bread