Hi all,
As I mentioned earlier in the month, I had an excellent time at the Of Monsters and Men show in September. I had quite a bit to say about the show so I thought it would be preferred if I covered those separately in today’s post.
First, I finally understood that I always prefer music where a group plays together to emphasize the work of one other member (or sound) (1). This runs counter to what I suppose many expect of OMAM given their folk origins. But when I think about their work that I like best, the process of band members harmonizing in the background to support someone’s individual effort is the consistent feature. It helps that Nanna, one of their two lead singers, brings a unique voice to their music – often this very question of emphasis is resolved merely by letting her sing without excessive distractions.
Speaking of Nanna, as I watched the show I realized that her talent is stretching beyond the limits of the band. This helped me better understand the strange stories I read in the buildup to their new album regarding a songwriting process that was far less collaborative than was the case for their first two albums. Basically, the songs she sang as the lead were vocally challenging whereas the other songs were a little... simpler (let's call it 'basic pop'). The key moment was ‘Ahay’, their third song of the night. ‘Ahay’ is entirely forgettable on the new album but in concert it revealed the gap between her and the band. When she stepped in to sing the final verse, the crowd reacted with a collective gasp, as if she’d started levitating on the stage or suggested that the $15 beers were a good deal. I had full goosebumps until the end of the song. At the end of the show, she wrapped up the concert by going full Bono and turning the perimeter of the Bank of America pavilion into her own private racetrack. As she sprinted a wide arc around the crowd, I wondered if this was it, their last ever tour, simply because it was impossible to imagine what was so plainly in sight – the band couldn’t keep up with her. It wasn’t even going to make the effort.
My final thought is about the general concert experience. The best shows I’ve been to reach a point over the final few songs where each performance feels like the end of the show. I think this is different for each band, the feature manifesting by varying elements of intensity, focus, or creativity in the performance. It's also true that some groups are better at this than others. When I dig out the old U2 footage via the Information Superhighway, I’ve always thought that they’ve really mastered this aspect of concert performance (although it wasn’t true for their concert I attended a year and a half ago). The OMAM show was also a good example of this in action. The best personal example I have of this is Lake Street Dive. They always seem to make each of their final few songs sound like the finale. At some point, this creates the effect of making it seem like the show is never going to end.
Footnotes
1. In other music news…
I confirmed this hunch at a much different type of concert just two weeks later. Again, the highlights of this second show saw band members stepping aside for someone else to take the spotlight.
