Photo by Bao Nguyen for Brooklyn Vegan
Concerts like this get compared to religious epiphanies, but to be totally honest with you, it was something else. Hearing a crowded hall chanting the emphatically epic chorus of "Wake Up" felt huge and unforgettable. The band was insatiable in their movements, flailing with the music, jumping up and down like the kids they so often sing about. The kids we used to know, that kind of spirit that lays dormant inside all of us as we shuffle in the modern day to day (us pseudo-adults at least), could not be contained during this set.
Spoon and
Owen Pallet played as well, the icing on the cake for me, but once the crew unveiled the giant overpass background (a huge highway complete with sign), the realization started to sink in; this was going to be legendary. Win and company took the stage and the whole room buzzed with anticipation... although I'm not sure they could have played anything that would be disappointing.
The Suburbs exists in its own world, its own kind of trials and preoccupations, but it was clear that the entire discography is related and cohesive.
Several of the "Neighborhoods" from
Funeral and "Keep The Car Running" suggested that the band put a lot of thought into the narrative of the evening. Staples like "Crown Of Love" and "Wake Up" (arguably their most popular creation) seemed suddenly massive when painted on the backdrop of
The Suburbs, and amplified by the enthusiasm of the room. I was accused of tearing a few times, but who can say for sure. I think it was just my brain melting out of my eyes.
The event had funny billing on the MSG pamphlets... it seems like a silly time to be calling anything "indie rock" anymore. It's time to admit that this is the future, and the kids always seem to know first. -
joe puglisi
Setlist:
1. Ready to Start
2. Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
3. No Cars Go
4. Hati
5. Half Light II (No Celebration)
6. Rococo
7. The Suburbs
8. The Suburbs (Continued)
9. Crown of Love
10. Intervention
11. We Used to Wait
12. Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
13. Rebellion (Lies)
14. Month of May
15. Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
Encore:
16. Keep the Car Running
17. Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
18. Wake Up
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Album Review: The Suburbs
MP3: "The Suburbs"
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