all words and photos: Joel Mittleman
When I saw the Low Anthem last Thursday at the Sixth & I Historic Synagogue, it was my fourth time watching them perform. I was introduced to the band in 2009, when I happened to catch them on a side stage at the XPN music festival outside Philly.
Last winter, I saw them again, opening for the great Josh Ritter at the 9:30 club. And then, when they played the Kennedy Center’s Millennium Stage last spring, I cut out of work early to catch part of the set. Each of these performances was good, but all of them left me feeling like I wasn’t getting the best the band had to offer. The spaces just weren’t right: they were too noisy or too big, the crowds were too indifferent and the sets too short.
When I went last Thursday, I went thinking that Sixth & I would finally be the perfect place to see a Low Anthem performance. I was right. For those who haven’t been, I’ll tell you the same thing I’ve been telling all my friends: You need to see a concert in this space. It’s beautiful and strange.
Even without the menorahs framing the stage and the Star of David stained into the glass above it, the room demands reverence. And, whether they were performing or listening, everyone there Thursday delivered a full measure of it (with the notable exception of the first opener, former band member Danny Lefkowitz, whose thoughtless profanity and idiotic lyrics imploring President Obama to martyr himself were unworthy of both the space and the bands sharing the bill).
The Low Anthem came to Sixth & I to debut songs off of their third album, Smart Flesh. Released just two days before the show and almost definitely their best album yet, Smart Flesh perfects the formula set out by the band’s first two albums: richly orchestrated folk songs told with a kind of casual wisdom. The band primarily deals in wistful lullabies, full of delicate echoes and harmonies.
Perhaps owing to their having been recorded in an abandoned factory, the songs on Smart Flesh sound at once distant and disarmingly intimate. The band recreated this sound Thursday night, regularly stepping back from the mic to form an arc and sing out into the sanctuary. Even songs that come through somewhat tinny on the album gained deeper resonances in the quiet of this space: for example, the brief ballad “Take Out Your Ashes,” was dedicated to a friend of the band “if he’s listening up there” and genuinely breathtaking.
More than they are a great band, the Low Anthem is a group of great musicians. Former music majors at Brown, each member played a full array of instruments throughout the night: guitar, drum and bass was joined by a set of crotales, a bowed saw, and a French horn, among others. Despite this changing repertoire of instruments, the performance was unerringly precise. When encouraged to clap along, the crowd seemed palpably nervous, afraid to disrupt the meticulousness of the music. We tried, but quickly embarrassed ourselves by losing the beat. Still, the band didn’t seem to mind, so grateful to be making music together and starting a tour that will take them across America, Europe, and the UK.
After a few songs by the eminently unlikable Lefkowitz, his clean-shaven brother’s band properly opened the night. Simply named Bobby, the Bennington College six-piece was an excellent surprise. Charmingly nervous and with a sound that reminded me of a more playful version of the Album Leaf, Bobby is a band I strongly suggest checking out. If the voice holding the band together sounds familiar, it’s because it belongs to Molly Sarle of last year’s blog darlings, Mountain Man. Bobby’s first proper release is due out in June on Brooklyn’s Partisan Records.
Previously in Live DC:
- 5/22: LiveDC: Spirit Animal @ Red Palace
- 5/22: LiveDC: Astra Via @ Black Cat
- 5/22: LiveDC: Father John Misty @ Rock & Roll Hotel
- 5/22: LiveDC: Drive-By Truckers and Lucinda Williams @ Merriweather
- 5/22: Photos: Summer Camp takes the "Ladies of Town" Drag Show
- 5/22: LiveDC: Penguin Prison & Class Actress @ RNR Hotel
- 5/21: LiveDC: James Morrison @ 930 Club
- 5/21: Photos: Que Sera L'Anniversaire @ Napoleon
- 5/21: LiveDC: La Sera/ Beach Week @ Red Palace
- 5/21: LiveDC: The Black Keys & Arctic Monkeys @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
God loves a cheerful giver.
Man that looks like hard lightning to shoot in... great job, Joel!
yeah, they were basically playing in the dark, it wasn't great. btw, i should have mentioned that npr has the full concert streaming here: http://www.npr.org/2011/02/25/133968114/live-thursday-the-low-anthem-in-concert
Not only does NPR has it streaming, you can download the whole thing as part of their "All Songs Considered" live concert podcast series.
Frankly, while I agree with the assessment of Dan Lefkowitz's performance (though his initial screw-up did endear him for a time), I was left cold by Bobby. They just seemed too rough around the edges, not really listening to each other perform - a bit like the nascent days of a high school garage band. And they had zero connection with the audience: no between-song banter, just a lot of amp buzz and nervous milling about as they dialed in synths and instruments. Given time, they may gel, but right now they're painful to experience in a live setting.
As for The Low Anthem, their performance was magical - a perfect fit for the venue.