Future Days Festival: Low live at Andrews Lane
July 2, 2008 by John Unknown
Filed under Reviews
Low, Atlas Sound
Future Days Festival, Andrews Lane Theatre
The second night of the Future Days Festival rolled in with the much anticipated second appearance of Atlas Sound in Dublin, the first being the unannounced support to Animal Collective in Whelans a few weeks ago. Loathe as I am to write anything that could diminish the wonder of Bradford Cox I couldn’t help but feel that the audience was somewhat cheated by his appearence, if it can be called an appearence at all. Hidden away sitting at the front of the stage some pedals and buttons were toyed with. If you weren’t two feet from the front, and with the sound level barely audible, it would have been altogether very easy to ask the question “When is Atlas Sound coming on?”. I still anticipate a proper debut from Atlas Sound.
Low’s recorded output has always been something to relish but it has always been their live shows that allows one to really see and hear what they actually are. Sedated when commited to the studio process, on stage another side emerges. Maybe emotions come easier to them when confronted with a few hundred faces staring back at them, an audience for their confessions to be heard. Tonight was no exception, indeed previous shows, even the stardust memeories of the Christchurch gig, were knocked to the ground and trampled on.
Starting in a somewhat languid manner with “Murderer” and the droney “Pretty People” it takes the double blow of “Sadinisita” and “In Silence” to be delivered before the signs of what was to follow emerged—-both were concise and immediate. A dreamy “Dragonfly” and a dipping “Silver Rider” allowed the waste of the American mid-west to stretch out in your mind before “Almost Fade” laid itself out in a fashion of Neil Young circa-Zuma. “Sunflower” gradually rises to its homely conclusion before “Point of Disgust” floats across like a plane in slow motion against a night sky. “Dinosaur Act” thumps its angry paws as never before leaving a crowd desperate to see no end in sight. “Little Arguement With Myself” and “Done” give the illusion of a sleepy climax before an elongated and angry “Canada” and “Breaker” crash and rumble out of the gate.
Somewhere tonight there was a little anger within Low, let the anger continue.
[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmo7tyrtGW0]