Dirty Projectors w/ Grizzly Bear

Dirty Projectors hit Montreal's Main Hall the other night with Grizzly Bear....

Brooklyn's Dirty Projectors rolled into Montreal's Main Hall the other night with Grizzly Bear. With a stripped down lineup this time out, I found myself missing the rich, full sound of the larger version of the band that hit the stage with Xiu Xiu last year at Sala Rossa. Nevertheless, this lean mean quartet version of the Projectors more than made up for what they lacked in lushness with an extraordinary, ferocious intensity that the previous show lacked.

Songs were all at full throttle, and the nimble-fingered dual guitar work was mind-melting. I don't know where the hell Dave and Amber learned to play like this but it's a marvel to witness the two of them playing their mesmerizing lines in tandem.

Alongside some amazing songs from last Projectors masterpiece New Attitude, the group once again charmed and amused audiences with clever reworkings of Black Flag songs from their upcoming reworking of Flag's Damaged; "Police Story" and "Rise Above" were both totally unique renditions of these songs. In the middle of the latter, Dave had what looked like a nervous breakdown that seemed very appropos of the song and to the notion of Black Flag - some readers may recall the Flag had an EP by that name. It was an uncomfortable moment - it was hard to discern if he was channelling the Flag in some ultra-cool performance art way or if he was just kind of freaked out. Methinks the former. He hammered away on a single chord while the band stood and watched, confused - he was looking frightened and freaked out and stumbling backwards into the drumset as though looking for a place to hide - this went on for a while and the audience began to laugh nervously. The drummer was cutting in and out gently and tentatively as though not sure if he should be playing along or not and then boom - the band all launched back into the song instantly with perfect precision.

It was clear the band won a great deal of new fans - I heard audience members nearby commenting on their awesomeness. It's just a shame - I can't see how a band this musically sophisticated and conceptually interesting can possibly crossover into larger success. They're way too inaccessible. I hope that I'm wrong because I'm serious when I say that I think this is quite possibly the greatest band currently playing - and if not "the", then definitely "one of the". Not that I have any noble interest in seeing this band succeed - mine is purely self-interest, dear reader: I want the Projectors to come headline a show so they play a longer set next time - and are actually allowed to take the encores that audiences demand! Because quite frankly The Dirty Projectors keep wiping the floor with the bands they open for and it's a drag to have to sit through anything else after this band has left the stage. Like everybody else that knows about it, I'm totally psyched to hear this upcoming version of Damaged if it's anywhere near as cool as the live renditions of the songs. If you don't already know and love this band - run, don't walk, to your local record store and pick up a copy of New Attitude.

http://www.westernvinyl.com/dirty_projectors.htm

Gordon B. Isnor