To a fan who has only encountered Animal Collective’s harmonious, mellowed-out studio recordings, the group’s raucous live show is overwhelming.
Unlike merely listening to the brilliantly layered mellifluous sounds on their albums, the group’s live incarnation incorporates head-spinning visual and audio elements, as well as an unfettered tribal energy. Combined with a dark, eerily lit stage and the four band members maniacally dancing and pummeling everything in sight, Animal Collective’s performance at the El Rey Theatre on Nov. 22 was nothing short of phenomenal.
A New York City-based group formed from childhood friendships in Baltimore, Md., Animal Collective is comprised of Avey Tare (guitar/lead vocals), Panda Bear (drums/vocals), Geologist (electronics/vocals) and Deakin (guitar/vocals), who all perform under stage monikers.
Although the members are notorious for performing under different names and varying configurations, their Nov. 22 show – one of only three U.S. tour dates – was a rare appearance of the full band, blowing the audience away with a live set that was equal parts indie-folk and performance art.
The eccentric yet mediocre performance of the opening band Amps for Christ left the audience restless and yearning for an extraordinary opening. Animal Collective started off disappointingly, beginning with a seemingly desultory performance of the lengthy “Banshee Beat” from their recently released album “Feels.”
However, following the opening song, the group entered a more natural habitat as Geologist began matching dark, heavy, synthetic beats with the shadowy stage lighting to smoothly transition into an unreleased new song titled “Chores.”
At that point, the band’s surreal synthesis of hues, rhythms, layered sounds and spinning melodies began to emerge. Unlike the band’s comparatively quiet, sleepy recordings, its live performance quickly became loud and wildly visceral as “Chores” evolved into a jarring acoustic and visual assault.
Panda Bear furiously drummed while standing and shouting booming vocals into his mic. Tare periodically retired his guitar to pound on Panda Bear’s cymbals. Geologist employed every sound imaginable on his mini-disc recorder. And Deakin hunched in the corner furiously unleashing a string of melodic chants and background vocals.
The rest of the show contained an assemblage of recent songs, such as “Grass” and “Flesh Canoe,” older favorites such as “We Tigers,” and even some of their lesser-known tracks, such as “Reverend Green.” Though the majority of the set focused on songs from “Feels,” the band meticulously crafted a set that neither focused too heavily on the well-liked songs nor clustered around the old and obscure.
The highlights of the night were “We Tigers” and “The Purple Bottle.” As soon as the band started coaxing into the mad jumble of screaming that comprises the “Sung Tongs” track “We Tigers,” the audience broke into a riot of jumping, throwing up hands, and whooping alongside the band. Both Deakin and Tare abandoned their guitars and unhinged their mics for the chorus, while Geologist left his machinery and Panda Bear nearly pulverized his three-piece drum set as the cymbals came crashing down mid-song.
Shortly after, the band succeeded using a cover of The Grateful Dead’s “We Bid You Goodnight” to transition into their energizing performance of “The Purple Bottle.”
The audience created circles of frenetic tribal dancing among the crowd while screaming the lyrics along with Tare. Accordingly, at the end of the song, all four members dropped their respective instruments and merged with the crowd in screaming the final lyrics “Get that! Whooo!” as everybody danced around in a hysterical entropy until that final “Whooo!”
After the show, those who returned home to their speakers and headphones doubtlessly found the records to pale in comparison with the live show. Animal Collective is a beast that belongs in the wild.
-Hae Jung Shin