we saw: Animal Collective @ Grand Ballroom

"Am I Really All The Things That Are Outside of Me?"

(Photo by Jonny Leather)
Wow. That was one hell of an Inauguration. As if they'd been locked in a travel dog cage for months, Animal Collective absolutely tore the 7th floor of the ole Manhattan Center apart. Frightening squiggles of sound, industrial strength polyrhythms and guttural bass, the evening felt as much like a celebration of all things AC as it did a welcoming party for some bizarre new world order. The folks at BV said "the show could have been louder", which is perplexing considering the sound was, for lack of a better term, "in your fucking face." When Geologist dropped the bass during "Guys Eyes", I could literally feel my legs buckle. The sheer physicality of it was so raw, you couldn't help but feel moved. So much so that during "Brother Sport" I was fairly convinced the floor at the Grand Ballroom would give out and a handful of revelers would fall through and end up on the 6 floor only to continue dancing, listening as sound trickled through an Alice-like rabbit hole above. Not only did this show eclipse the mega-hype of MPP, but it proved, once and for all, that, if anything, Animal Collective are band of the people, and they do a damn good job of making the people happy. As if my general lack of hearing, and the "my face was melted by the arch of the covenant" look wasn't enough to take away from the show, NYC Taper, God bless his soul, captured the evening and has made the whole thing available in both FLAC and MP3. Download Animal Collective Live at the Grand Ballroom HERE.



Setlist (from NYC Taper)
In The Flowers
Leaf House
Blue Sky
Guys Eyes
Summertime Clothes
Daily Routine
Lion in a Coma
Lablakely Dress
Fireworks
My Girls
Brother Sport
Encore
Beat
Slippi