The Low Anthem – Grog Shop 8/5/2009

This review isn’t intended to short-change any of the other three acts that performed at The Grog Shop Wednesday night.  No doubt, Joe Pug’s countrified folk amply brought the house down to close the night out and lollapalooza festival mates April Smith and the Great Picture Show kicked ass, as well.  This is a review from a fanboy and I’m not going to make any excuses.  The Low Anthem’s release, Oh My God, Charlie Darwin has been on perpetual repeat for me for the last several months and unless something miraculous appears out of nowhere, it’s my favorite album of the year.  When I heard two weeks ago that they were making a stop in Cleveland on their way to Lolla, I snagged tickets quickly and anticipated hearing some of their gorgeously art-inspired folk melodies in a live setting.  Even if you don’t make it to the end of this review, make sure to listen to the live MP3’s of the show we’ve posted below.  Notably, the live version of “To Ohio” is not only a good recording, but captures the atmosphere in the Grog Shop on Wednesday.  The trio met and exceeded my lofty expectations for the night and I won’t get all super critical in this review.  As a music reviewer, I too often go to shows as a journalist.  Damn it felt good to just kick back and be a fan again.  A whole shitload of PBR’s and chats with the band afterward were all I needed to wrap up a heck of a night.

The dark and dusty Grog Shop venue was an excellent location for their set.  Their WWI-era pump organ sat like a rickety enigma on the stage and the thick dark paint on the walls set the mood for a pretty magical set.  The trio, first of all, comes in dressed like coal miners from America’s grittier and labor-intensive days and all shenanigans aside, they completely pull it off in hipster smart-guy fashion.  Bassist/Drummer/Jack-of-All Trades Jeff Prystowsky is musical confidence personified as he rotates back and forth through just about every instrument on the stage.  Likewise, frontman Ben Knox Miller’s raggedy hat and dusty trousers go hand in hand with all of the Americana descriptions the music receives.  On the appearance front, these three have it all.  Jocie Adams contemplatively wails on the clarinet and her juxtaposing fragility and musical talent is jarring in a live performance.

The pump organ swelled with the opener, “To the Ghosts Who Write History Books,” one of my favorite songs off of OMGCD.  Fittingly, this track requires no chit-chat or noise in the building.  The Grog Shop fans complied completely.  Other than the music, only a faint whisper or occasional cough were the only sounds in the opener.  It’s difficult to pinpoint what the difference between live and recorded material is, but the trio seems to just dive right in live.  The obviously complex and artistic arrangements aren’t nicely translated into a live setting but they manage to still unleash a sonorous and roomful of beauty with minimal instrumentation.  Brushed cymbals, organs, clarinets, bowed chimes (for lack of a better name), wood blocks, harmonica and mild acoustic is pretty much the standard.  To put it blunty, they put their audience in a trance.  They’re Ivy League educated and the influences in the music are abundant.  One second it’s like you’re thrust into an early 19th century pub anthem, and the next you’re weeping through an emotional slave spritual.   They’re not pulling from one arena and this is entirely captured live.  They played “Charlie Darwin” in B-Flat and Miller still managed to belt it out and send chills down my arms.  I didn’t write down the particular track, but at one point, Miller pulled out two cell phones and held them up to the microphone.  His subsequent singing into one of the phones created a magical digital swirl of sound echoing from the two phones.  Not only did this stun the audience, but left everyone entirely aware of how talented the three are musically.

Interestingly, the band steered clear of the more raucous material on the album, offering about 10 songs with deeply enigmatic power.  “Ticket Taker” wound up being as stellar as I thought it would be, as it’s really the best Americana folk song I’ve heard all year on record.  When they dropped into “Cage the Songbird” the audience was fully involved, and I was proud of my Cleveland concert-goers tonight.  Sometimes I’m known to bash the tardiness or lackluster attendance my city produces when great bands tour through our town.  However, I was impressed that we showed up in fine fetter, singing the tunes out loud and having a good time.  They closed with “Cigarettes and Whiskey” which I believe is covered by everyone from Jim Croce to The Muppets, but the heartfelt moment of the night was when they launched into “To Ohio.”  Miller joked just before they began, “Everywhere else in the country, this has this incredible exotic appeal, sort of like, ‘what is this place?’ Well, here we are. We’ve never done this one before.”  I cocked my ears back and heard Clevelanders singing in unison with Miller and it was an amazing experience.  The bandmates smiled all the way through the song and left, for at least a second, the more cerebral and contemplative mode for just this track.  Hopefully in the MP3 version, you’ll at least be able to capture a little of the aura we caught.  Stellar.  You’re probably not going to hear that version live too often.  If you’re anywhere within a 100 miles of a live show, make sure to gas up and drive fast.  As a fan, I don’t have much of a critique here.  I was seven beers deep by the time they hit the stage, and I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.  If these guys are new to you, make sure to buy the album immediately, as well.  You’re missing a grand narrative of sound if you skip it.  We have MP3 recordings of “To Ohio” as mentioned, but also a great version of “Ticket Taker.”  Our version of “To The Ghosts Who Write History Books” starts off a little fragmented and then ends up well. Enjoy ‘em.

The Low Anthem – To Ohio (Live from Grog Shop)

The Low Anthem – Ticket Taker (Live from Grog Shop)

The Low Anthem – To The Ghosts Who Write History Books (Live from Grog Shop)

And, as we always try, we got the setlist.  Judging from the scribbles on the list, you can tell they think things through thoroughly.  We’re so, so glad they did for us on Wednesday.