Blitzen Trapper & Alela Diane @ First Avenue

Blitzen Trapper

With their latest album Furr (and especially the title track) garnering lots of positive reviews, it is no surprise that the crowd size at the last few Twin Cities shows by Blitzen Trapper has grown at an exponential rate. In addition to the extra attention brought by their great new CD their last show in the cities at the Turf Club was a searing success that showed the band making huge strides in their live performance. Combining these two things, it wasn’t too big of a surprise that this show, which was supposed to be held at the smaller Cedar Cultural Center, was moved to the much bigger First Avenue mainroom a few weeks ago. What was surprising was that the venue, which holds over 1,200 people, was almost full (and may have even ended up selling out). Unfortunately the band, who seemed genuinely surprised by the turnout, never reached the heights of their last show and left the near capacity crowd longing for more as they struggled with low energy and a lackluster performance.

Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper

This was the third time I have seen Blitzen Trapper in just over a year, and none of the shows have been the same. I don’t mean they changed the songs played, stage setup, or band members, but that their energy and connection with the crowd seem to be something that is a variable that changes with each show. The first show was at the 7th Street Entry, where they were uninspired and overshadowed by the then relatively unknown Fleet Foxes. Their last show was an amazing event that found the band reaching the dizzying heights of their scintillating last two albums Wild Mountain Nation and Furr. Maybe I was expecting too much from the band, but I tend to think my feeling of apathy towards their performance was shared by most of the crowd who never mustered much enthusiasm for the band during their 105 minute set. There was nothing overtly different from their last show (which was amazing) and the First Ave. show Wednesday night (which was decidedly not), so one is left to wonder what made the one show feel so electric and Wednesday’s night show feel so mundane. Maybe Blitzen Trapper are just not meant for the cavernous mainroom, where their fractured alt-country and Pavement influenced songs seem to sound more hollow and less engaging than at the Turf. Maybe it was the rust from being the first show of their tour. Maybe it was all the doe eyed underage kids in the front who looked confused about concert protocol and were scared to cheer too loud (just kidding youngsters). No matter what it was, the goodwill the band garnered by selling so many tickets was squandered quickly as they lost the crowd’s attention and played a dull set.

Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper

The show, which was more boring than outright bad, did have some highlights. Some of the early set highlights were Furr standouts “God + Suicide,” “Sleepy Time in the Western World” and a solo acoustic version of “Not your Lover.” The middle of the set, with the crowd’s attention dwindling, saw versions of “Miss Spiritual Tramp,” “Black Country Killer” and “Gold for Bread.” These three songs failed to get the crowd going and really served as a death knell for the band as they struggled to find any semblance of energy or rapport with the crowd. By the time they played their final two songs, “Devils A-Go-Go” and “Wild Mountain Nation,” the crowd that was left seemed to come alive ever so slightly, but most of the energy was lost when they went off stage for their encore.

Blitzen Trapper

You know things are not going well when you leave the stage for your preplanned encore break and instead of a rapturous response from the crowd, a large portion turn and head towards the exit. When the band did come out again the crowd had thinned out significantly, and the band lost any facade of crowd enthusiasm they had built up before exiting the stage. The three song encore started with a low key cover of Tom Paxon’s “Last Thing on my Mind,” followed by a brand new song, the frantically upbeat “Woof & Warp of the Quiet Giant’s Hem.” The song, which contains some frenzied guitar licks and the full band screaming the repetitive “Yeah Yeah Yeahs” chorus, proved entertaining, but at that point, the crowd that was left had been strung along with such an inconsistent performance that they had no energy left to spare.

Blitzen Trapper

Blitzen Trapper

Alela Diane

Alela Diane

Opener Alela Diane, who was promoting her excellent new album To Be Still, was very good in her with her quaint five piece band playing some really strong alt-country pop music. Her talent was undeniable and I was a little disappointed that in all of the different places I stood to watch her performance she was on a losing end of a battle with people talking in very loud voices. Maybe it is just the curse of Blitzen Trapper openers, as their last show had the great Horse Feathers playing to a crowd that seemed hell bent on drowning them out with their drunken chatter. I hope to see Diane sometime soon in a more intimate setting with a crowd that is a little more appreciative and a little less consumed with their conversations.

Alela Diane

Alela Diane

Overall, the show was a resounding disappointment on many levels. It may have been my high expectations after seeing their impressive show at the Turf, but like I mentioned above, I feel like my general thoughts towards the show were felt by a majority of the crowd. It might be time to resign to the fact that Blitzen Trapper, who have absolutely killed on their last two studio albums, are never going to be a consistent live act in the sense that you know you can bring a friend to their show and they will always be blown away. It isn’t their songs, which are great, or their overall effort (it’s not like they were fall over drunk), so it is a hard thing to wrap your head around. Either way, the band will get lots more chances to impress on their upcoming tour with more sold out crowds, and hopefully will bring their “A” game the next time they roll through town.

Alela Diane

Alela Diane

[Review by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm.]

Blitzen Trapper: Official | MySpace | Wikipedia
Alela Diane: Purchase | Official | MySpace | Wikipedia

Also: Alela Diane “To Be Still” Review