It’s tough not to refer to a band as being “art-rock,” (a term I usually loathe) when they are playing a theater in an art museum. But the Dirty Projectors certainly have that sound about them, as well as a plethora of other styles and influences, and all of them were on full display during their lively set at the McGuire Theater at the Walker on Friday night. Guitarist/vocalist (and head Projector) David Longstreth brought with him a five-piece backing band that kept up nicely with his often frantic pace and unorthodox time and tone changes, and filled the theater with a unique and unconventional blend of discordant rock and classic 1960’s style Beach Boys-like harmonies.

Debuting a batch of brand new songs from their forthcoming record Bitte Orca, which Longstreth claimed the band have only played live once or twice before, the set was filled with music that the group is still refining before a string of SXSW dates and a UK tour. The songs were dynamic and bold, with Longstreth demonstrating his often astounding and seemingly effortless technical skill on the guitar, all while the three female vocalists, Angel Deradoorian, Amber Coffman and Haley Dakle were not only providing experimental and stunning harmonies that layered in and out of the song structure, but also added support and direction to the songs on guitar and keyboards. Bassist Nat Baldwin provided the low end, keeping up with the frenetic and sensational drumming of Brian Mcomber, who really propelled the songs forward in both an explosive and understated manner. Longstreth’s idiosyncratic vocals were a bit of a combination between the high-pitched histrionics of Antony Hegarty and Jeff Buckley, and often matched his manic guitar playing which the rest of the band kept pace with amazingly. He is the sort of gifted guitar player, like Stephen Malkmus in a way, where even his mistakes seem to flourish within the confines of his often strident songs. He takes a lot of chances with both sound and structure while he’s playing, often reveling equally in what works as well as what doesn’t.

The group performed a three song acoustic session halfway through their 90-minute set, complete with stools, which David jokingly insisted was necessary for any acoustic portion of a set. Initially it was just a duo, but by the third song it grew to include four of them, with Baldwin playing a stand-up bass. It was a nice change of pace from the louder moments of the early part of the set, and was something they would revisit for their encore. The night was a continual challenging experiment in sound, with hints of influences as varying as Peter Gabriel (via Vampire Weekend), Black Flag (whom they covered with their impassioned re-imagining of “Rise Above”), Rufus Wainwright and the more experimental works of the Beatles. But all of it was original in both sound and scope, with daring time changes and relatively few easy chord progressions layering the music, demanding each musician to not only concentrate fully on where Longstreth was taking the song, but also to allow themselves the freedom to explore a different sonic direction that only added to the carefully constructed cacophony.

Longstreth was an engaging and earnest front man, who seemed genuinely encouraged not only by the enthusiastic reception that the full theater was giving to his music, but how good it sounded in his own ears, often exclaiming positively after a song was finished. And after the acoustic portion, going so far as saying, “Well, that was how that went. And I think it sounded really good.” A sentiment the crowd wholeheartedly agreed with. He and the band seem to be still fleshing out the arrangements of some of the newer tracks, exploring and experimenting with them further, adding and subtracting layers at will, and that freshness and immediacy only added to the vitality of the music. The sound was very urgent and genuine, both tenuous and unrestrained.

After playing an excellent version of “Knotty Pine” from the Dark Was The Night compilation, prefaced by Longstreth telling the crowd he hoped they wouldn’t be disappointed that David Byrne was not there to sing his part, the band finished the set with a fantastic rendition of “Ascending Melody” that left the crowd enthused and amazed, sending the band off with a standing ovation. That ovation continued until Longstreth came back out with Deradoorian and Coffman to do an unamplified, acoustic encore of another interpretation of a Black Flag tune, “Spray Paint (The Walls),” from the edge of the stage that proved that even without the effects pedals and aids of any microphones, their music was still soulful and interesting. It was an affecting way to end a show that continually explored the boundaries of music and sound while still preserving its heart, that even while occasionally beating in a time all its own, still managed to give life to something both ambitious and grand.

[review by Erik Thompson, photos by Jon Behm]

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