Plants and Animals @ Pitchfork Music Festival 2009
For a festival that seems to be anchored by both classic bands and hype-propped youngsters, Plants and Animals filled a strange niche. The band isn’t exactly new (it formed in ’05 and its debut came out early last year) and it is far from classic. What does a band that falls in the lineup purgatory do in this situation? It rocks the fuck out, playing what ended up being my favorite set of the day Saturday. The three piece group out of Montreal, which plays folk-y indie rock, blasted through a great 45 minute set that highlighted the songs on its amazing LP Parc Avenue in addition to also showing off some new material that the band is working on.
Starting out with a new number, which was a slow, burning jam that highlighted the duel guitar work of Warren Spicer and Nicolas Basque as well as the intricate drumming of Matthew Woodley. With lyrics like “Tell the girl she was right/this place looks better in the light,” Spicer used his impassioned voice to drive the dark but redemptive song. The band followed up with a stuttering version of “Good Friends” from Parc Avenue. Since seeing Plants and Animals last (at Minneapolis’ 7th Street Entry where less than 30 people were in attendance), the band seemed have a new level of confidence, boasting a muscular performance which was evident during the re-imagined Parc Avenue tracks. Basque switched over to bass for “Feedback in the Field,” which found the band adding a layer of funk to its normally more straightforward song. While I always enjoy hearing bands change up their sounds and alter their songs, I admit I was a little disappointed that the large crowd which gathered to hear the set wasn’t able to hear the songs as they were originally recorded on album.
That being said, the new, more active and commanding live performance was something that left me even more excited to hear the band’s sophomore album. Plants and Animals has clearly taken its time on the road as a chance to become an even better band, as evident by both its awesome altering of old tracks and its great new songs. After “Feedback in the Field,” the group played a rousing version of “Mercy” that had sections of the crowd singing along. Next up was a new song propelled by a chugging guitar riff that also contained the lyrics “The kids just want to be left on the outside.” Like the set opener, it was a really great song and fit in nicely with the material from Parc Avenue. The group ended with the multi-part “Faerie Dance” and the awe-inspiring “Bye Bye Bye,” which was sped up and played with much more bravado than I remembered from the last time I saw them. The fact that they played my favorite set of the day despite not playing my favorite song (“New Kind of Love”) goes to show the impression the band left on me. Even though the band may not have easily fit into a certain faction of bands at the show, I think Plants and Animals proved to be more than worthy to the crowd that witnessed its early afternoon set. Hopefully the band’s outstanding set will be followed shortly by a new full length and another show in Minneapolis, this time with a turnout more deserving of this supremely talented band.
[Review an video by Josh Keller, photos by Jon Behm]
