Plants and Animals have a lush, anthemic sound, thanks in part to the many guests the band enlisted to flesh out its latest album, 2008’s Polaris-nominated Parc Avenue. Going in to Wednesday night’s show at the Biltmore, I had expected the trio to be accompanied by backing musicians to help replicate its studio sound. Only the three original members were present, however, meaning the group’s sound was stripped down to its basic parts.
The band turned up the gain to compensate for the sparse set-up, and the result was a chaotic set that transformed the lush arrangements of Parc Avenue into muscular blasts of noise. Unlike its choppy, vaguely funky recorded form, “Good Friend” was lumbering and punkish, with the low end turned up high to accommodate for the lack of a bassist. “Feedback in the Field” ended with a gleefully noisy solo by guitarist Warren Spicer, with swells of guitar feedback and muted strumming over drummer Matthew Woodley’s steady backbeat. Nicolas Basque switched between guitar, bass, and keyboards, also providing some awkward banter about “sensual dinosaurs.”
Amazingly, the minimalist arrangements were no less powerful than their grandiose studio incarnations.”Bye Bye Bye” was soaring and majestic, with hollered vocals and cascading drum fills. “Fairie Dance” was drawn out to epic proportions, prompting an audience sing-along in its sped-up final movement. Best of all was “Mercy,” which evoked the jammy dance-party atmosphere of a Phish concert without any of the unfortunate hippie-stoner connotations.
Local four-piece DRMHLLR opened up the show with a solid set of instrumentals, resembling Broken Social Scene at its most easy-going (think “Pacific Theme”). Unfortunately, the band isn’t likely to get far without a vocalist, but that’s beside the point, since the catchy guitar riffs and danceable jazz-funk grooves provided enough to capture the audience’s interest.
The band turned up the gain to compensate for the sparse set-up, and the result was a chaotic set that transformed the lush arrangements of Parc Avenue into muscular blasts of noise. Unlike its choppy, vaguely funky recorded form, “Good Friend” was lumbering and punkish, with the low end turned up high to accommodate for the lack of a bassist. “Feedback in the Field” ended with a gleefully noisy solo by guitarist Warren Spicer, with swells of guitar feedback and muted strumming over drummer Matthew Woodley’s steady backbeat. Nicolas Basque switched between guitar, bass, and keyboards, also providing some awkward banter about “sensual dinosaurs.”
Amazingly, the minimalist arrangements were no less powerful than their grandiose studio incarnations.”Bye Bye Bye” was soaring and majestic, with hollered vocals and cascading drum fills. “Fairie Dance” was drawn out to epic proportions, prompting an audience sing-along in its sped-up final movement. Best of all was “Mercy,” which evoked the jammy dance-party atmosphere of a Phish concert without any of the unfortunate hippie-stoner connotations.
Local four-piece DRMHLLR opened up the show with a solid set of instrumentals, resembling Broken Social Scene at its most easy-going (think “Pacific Theme”). Unfortunately, the band isn’t likely to get far without a vocalist, but that’s beside the point, since the catchy guitar riffs and danceable jazz-funk grooves provided enough to capture the audience’s interest.
