Live Review: Pelican in L.A., Aug 10, 2007
I was really looking forward to this show. Good thing it didn`t disappoint.
I took my 17yo son and his 18yo friend, neither had really heard Pelican before. My son became converted quickly.
Pelican are one of the “post-metal” bands, heavily influenced by Neurosis and Isis. They’re actually on the record label that the singer from Isis owns, Hydrahead.
It was at the Troubadour, which is an ok venue. Not my favorite, but I appreciate that their shows are all ages. I`ve seen Pelican three times before this, and I think I like it better when I`m right up front against the stage. I was lazy this time and got front row balcony instead. It`s nice to be able to sit and see everything, but I missed the up close action.
I wasn`t expecting to be wowed by the opening bands, but wow. Your Black Star are GOOD. They reminded me a bit of an old Seattle band called Room Nine. They`re a three piece, with the guitarist doing vocals. He actually sings, rather than shout or growl. The guitar was sort of swirly, to me it seemed like there was more than on guitar playing, but he all sorts of pedals and effects going on.
Sometimes, I see a band live, and I just get euphoric. Isis can do that for me. Pelican do that for me. Lots of doom bands can do that for me—Bottom, Yob, Graves at Sea, High on Fire. It`s just so awesome. Your Black Star did that for me. I`m not even sure why.
Clouds were ok, not something I was in the mood for, I guess. I think I would`ve liked them fine in a different setting or on a different night but I just couldn`t get much into them. They were noisier, with shouted vocals, and I guess I wasn’t in the mood for it.
Pelican were excellent. I love seeing these guys play. Afterward my son said, “They`re kind of mathy. Like, I`d be banging my head, and then suddenly I wouldn`t know when to bang it.”
I so know what he means.
They’re an instrumental band, no vocals. Their music is slow and pretty and then gets heavy and wonderful. I feel like their songs are telling a story, but I’m never sure exactly what they’re saying. Sort of mysterious to me. I love it.
The crowd was very thin when the show first started and I was worried there wouldn`t be a very good turn out, but by the time Pelican came out, it`d filled in a lot. I`d been hoping I could slip down front to get a few pictures up close but it was too crowded by then.
Mike D, who comments here, was there. Fun to hang with you again, Mike.
At the end, the two guitarists from Cloud joined Pelican for a really sick encore. I have a thing for multpile layers of guitar, I guess.
My dream: Pelican relocates to LA and plays every weekend with Isis.
I`ve uploaded some video clips to youtube:
You can check them out more at their Myspace page.
Um, wow. Their Wikipedia entry says they’ve relocated to LA already. Dreams do come true.
Posted on August 11, 2007, in Live Shows, Music, Reviews. Bookmark the permalink. 4 Comments.
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i for one happen to love the troubadour. the sound there is usually good and i love the balcony. it’s so small that you can always get a good view of the band. and the best thing about them is that you can order tickets via fax for the same price as at the door, w/o that extra $7-10 for ticketmaster.
as for pelican, they’ve become one of my favorites, definitely in heavy rotation on my ipod. i understand why you say their music feels like they’re telling a story. to me their music is very uplifting, at times even triumphant sounding. i could see them once a month and never get bored of it. at a lot of shows towards the end i start feeling bored and wish the band would wrap up their set. but the two times i’ve seen pelican i’ve wished they’d keep on going for another hour or so.
You can get a good view of the band if you’re not 5’2″.
It is one of the better venues. The sound there is especially good for quiet bands—seeing Low there is perfect, for instance. (They play next month.)
You’d like Red Sparowes, Mike, you have to catch them next time they play.
I saw Pelican just last night in Portland, OR. I’ve been a fan for a while, and love their massive, earth shifting sound. However, this show seemed to attract an odd assortment of indie hipsters, heshers, metal heads, drunk & disorderly middle aged men, and groove-core kids (aka metal rap fans). I suppose it is due to the fact that it’s difficult to pigeonhole Pelican in a specific musical genre, so therefore an odd assortment of fans emerge from seemingly disparate backgrounds. This can be good and bad; it ended up being kind of “okay” the other night in Portland. I didn’t have the greatest time standing next to a sweaty/smelly drunk man yelling inane things at the band in between songs. Maybe he misses the ol’ Metallica days? I dunno. Pelican were very good. HOWEVER, when the drummer took his shirt off to reveal pierced nipples I thought, “Oh shit man, for chrissakes put yer shirt back on!” He is a talented drummer, but just looked ridiculous with his pierced nipples and all. Nothing is worse than a shirtless drummer, I don’t care what kind of band you are in. Pelican are an intelligent band, but having a shirtless drummer just made them look like a bunch of poseurs. I was not expecting that from them. C’mon guys, get yer act together, you don’t have to resort to such tactics to look “cool”. Just play, and keep those damn shirts on!
You made me curious, Joe, so I went back through my pictures of previous Pelican shows and couldn’t find any with any of them with their shirts off.
I was wondering if Laurent’s tattoo on his arm was new, because I didn’t remember seeing it before, but it’s not.
Just be happy Daughters wasn’t opening for them again this tour—the singer liked to pull his pants down.