The New York indie-rockers flashed alluring three-part harmonies and top-drawer instrumental virtuosity for the concert series’ smallest crowd of the summer. (Review, photo gallery)
Tearing It Up: Grizzly Bear’s Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen at Meijer Gardens. (Photos/Anna Sink)
There were moments Saturday night when the alluring beauty of Grizzly Bear’s ultra-pleasing harmonies meshed oh-so perfectly with the ultra-loveliness of the lush setting of Frederik Meijer Gardens & Sculpture Park.
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Indeed, the New York indie-rock band’s debut at the outdoor amphitheater was nothing if not a sumptuous and near-perfect display of boundary-pushing folk, prog-rock, psychedelia and artsiness – in other words, everything the ardent crowd of mostly younger fans expected on a magnificent summer evening.
Far more puzzling – to band devotees, the concert promoter, Meijer Gardens and this particular music critic – was the surprisingly woeful turnout for one of the most talked-about, buzzed-about shows of the season: about 800 people were on hand to catch the hipster-hot act on its way to Lollapalooza in Chicago, the smallest attendance for an amphitheater show in 2013.
Maybe that was due to the flocks of West Michigan indie-rock fans streaming to the Windy City for Lollapalooza’s weekend of musical marvels, a la Mumford & Sons, The Lumineers, Phoenix, The Cure, Nine Inch Nails and more. Maybe it was budget-conscious fans having to choose between back-to-back Meijer Gardens concerts spotlighting highly touted live acts – the John Butler Trio regaled a raucously gleeful audience of 1,700-plus on Friday night.
Devoted Fans: The audience was small but inspired.
Regardless, Grizzly Bear – singer-guitarist Ed Droste, bassist Chris Taylor, singer-guitarist Daniel Rossen and drummer Christopher Bear – treated its staunch Grand Rapids area fan base like it was a sold-out crowd of treasured family members, unfurling an epic 89-minute show, filled with multi-instrumental virtuosity, intricate three-part harmonies and a startlingly loud rock undercurrent.
After all, it was a milestone event: Droste noted that Saturday night’s concert was the band’s 100th of the year. “You guys are incredible. Thanks for coming out,” he said. “This setting is incredible.”
Concentrating much of the night on material from its latest, highly praised recording, 2012’s “Shields,” the band launched the evening with “Speak In Rounds” – the album’s second track – and finished its main set with the final song, “Sun In Your Eyes,” an anthemic affair that unleashed psychedelic lighting and projections, stage fog, band members playing everything from a saxophone to a classic Wurlitzer keyboard, and Grizzly Bear’s standout vocal arrangements.
Grizzly Bear was adventurous, edgy-yet-soothing, always seeking the right tone for their music – whether that meant fiddling with effects pedals or choosing the right instrument for the task at hand.
As a prog-rock band with an experimental folk heart, Grizzly Bear may not be aptly named in terms of its lilting, stunning vocals, but this unique musical animal certainly rips into its music with a certain reserved ferocity. And that surely demands a heftier crowd the next time the banks make a trip to Grand Rapids.
Grizzly Bear
THE VIBE
It’s rare these days to see a half-full amphitheater at Meijer Gardens, which boasts sold-out-show after sold-out show every summer. But the band showed genuine appreciation for the loyal group of enthused 20-somethings who gathered at the amphitheater for the group’s first Grand Rapids show in at least five years. Droste hailed them all, even thanking Meijer Gardens subscribers, aka members, for coming to the show while not knowing anything about the band and likely being “mildly confused” by what they saw.
THE NIGHT’S BIG MOMENTS
“Yet Again,” with its three-part harmonies and ultra-cool lighting, also featured touring band member Aaron Arntz toiling behind a bank of Roland, Moog and Yamaha keyboards and synthesizers, with his dad cheering him on in the audience. “Ready, Able,” meanwhile, from 2009’s “Veckatimest” album, represented everything that makes Grizzly Bear stand out – and stand up ferociously on its back paws – with a haunting mix of creative vocals, prog-rock rhythms and compelling lyrics. Of course, the band’s most well-known tune, “Two Weeks,” was a crowd favorite.
GRIZZLY BEAR: THE LOCAL SPINS PHOTO GALLERY (AUG. 2, 2013)
Email John Sinkevics at jsinkevics@gmail.com.
Copyright 2013, Spins on Music
