By Eva Lettiere
From my seat in The Anthem’s lounge, directly behind the fenced-off area near the soundboards, I played a game with myself when I wasn’t distracted by the surprisingly artful stage lighting choices: how famous could I assume the song playing was based on how many phones ascended into the air to record it? Not that I really needed the entertainment, but it was an interesting way to judge what songs or performances people wanted to remember, and the kind of experience they wanted to get out of the concert.
On a visual level, the most trippy recordings I saw through the narrow phone screens were the black-and-white kaleidoscopic projections playing behind opener Frankie Rose—though much to my consternation, I couldn’t really see. Her set took place almost entirely in the dark. The admitted lack of light did nothing to dull my appreciation for the fresh sound, which was heavy on mutating guitars and dreamy melodies, all enhanced by Rose’s airy voice.
Of the two co-headliners, the Jesus and Mary chain went first. Before the show I’d read that this band was notable in helping develop what would become the shoegaze sound. I am not, by any means, fluent in what constitutes different genres, especially not shoegaze; even so, there seemed to be a disconnect between the Jesus and Mary Chain’s sound and what I understand shoegaze to be. The Jesus and Mary Chain’s set was heavy on the guitars, but they didn’t sound distorted and the show wasn’t overwhelmingly loud (I forwent earplugs, though this may have been a function of my particular seat). There were extended guitar riffs aplenty, but feedback was conspicuously (and perhaps beneficially) missing. I was a fan of the Jesus and Mary Chain’s set, and I appreciated being introduced to a band I hadn’t extensively listened to before, but the genre label mismatch was confusing.
The Psychedelic Furs, on the other hand, I understood. Sounding distinctly new wave, they played a hefty mix of new and old, expertly slipping famous songs in among the lesser-known ones. Where the Jesus and Mary Chain had been staid and mostly unmovable on stage, the Furs, specifically lead singer Richard Butler, strutted, posed, and grooved during almost every song. Their popular 80s releases ”The Ghost in You,” “Love my Way,” and notorious movie theme “Pretty in Pink”—which I was familiar with and in fact listen to regularly—provided an energy boost for an otherwise still crowd. The songs were also performed exactly how I wanted them to be, confirming once again that there’s nothing quite like an artist playing “that song you know.”
Because the Jesus and Mary Chain and the Psychedelic Furs have been around the block and know how to keep a show on track, the night proceeded on a tight schedule. There was little banter for both bands, who focused instead on putting their energy into the music; while I did appreciate the pace at which the show moved, part of what makes a concert so valuable is what unpredictably happens on stage that can’t happen in a recording studio. The lack of interaction among the musicians (in both bands) felt a little clinical, like they were ticking off boxes on a list of songs as opposed to creating an immersive experience.
I imagine my concert-going experience on Sunday was akin to what it would’ve been, say, when my mother saw these bands in the 80s—two groups who defined an era dedicated to their craft, giving authentic performances. Just like it would’ve been—minus the phones, of course.
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