Live Review: British Sea Power, Colormusic, Monday March 3rd @ Doug Fir

Jesus… This one’s a rambler… here you go:

I’m standing outside the Doug Fir, making sure this jackass who just rear-ended a parked motorcycle does the right thing. Two men dressed in completely white, matching tracksuits walk by. Who are those fucking guys?

They better have an ass-load of coke or be in a band.

Well, to the dismay of some, they are in the band. They jumped on stage as soon as the first act finished and for the next half and hour plus they fiddled through soundcheck. It was ridiculuos. "You're the openers! Just play!" I shouted. I thought it was rude (them, not me). They KEPT fiddling.

Finally Colormusic fired it up, and yes, the sound was pristine. At first they rocked a little harder than I thought, but it wouldn't last. Huge, bombastic pop songs with every little stop. It was like an iPod commerical. Every fucking song.

It was started becoming goddamn static--every show a carbon copy commerical of the last, just searching for that one uber-hit. But what they came through with was way too rehearsed, and British Sea Power would later diagram expertly: when songs have heart and emotion, then a pop gem is thrown in, by contrast it shines brighter.

Well these dudes haven't learned that yet. Or they just don't have any charisma. Probably both. Anyway, it was an ENTIRE set of would-be iPod commercial songs and a whole lot of posturing--ridiculous guitar flails, drumsticks in the air, and whipping lims--and none of it felt sincere. It's hard really, when you're playing along with a laptop to get that sense of radical rock spontenaeity. (Can you imagine if pete townshend did windmill guitar strums TO A COMPUTER!!? That'd be almost as foolish as being caught with CHILD PORNOGRAPHY!)

So they were up there, all dressed in iPod white. The instruments too. But what we got wasn't an iPod single. Maybe something more suited for the Zune, some crappy serious satalite radio or a bogus cellphone.

...

The moment I first heard British Sea Power I fell totally in love. It was the very begining -- the first song of their debut album. it was angular and irreverant, catchy, and punk as hell. It was what i hoped new rock music--along with bands like Les Savy Fav-were begining to sound like, I hoped. But from there it was downhill.

Not in any radical way, but that first song was just so much rougher and rawer than the rest. But I still like the rest. And just like their debut album--and aesthetic in general--British Sea Power have become became less harsh. But I've stuck with them, happily. It's a testament to their craftsmanship and melodic intuition. Not bad, I'd say. Usually when a band goes the opposite direction you're hoping, there's a divorce (or is it just a toilet flushing?). But this is at least the third show I've seen British Sea Power, and the third consecutive album I've rocked. We're talking about years here people. Maybe five or more. Consistently good.

BSP has always been literary. At first it was more literary punk, or minimalism, with flourishes of grandeosity. Now the minimal moments are all but gone. Even on songs that stick to a respectable pop timeframe and structure still pile on the air. But unlike so many bands BSP is able to maintain a vibrancy and immediacy the belies their production and touring experience.

The revolutionary war costumes are gone. So is the foliage (as a matter of fact, it was gone last time around too). This time the stage was dressed with flags. A bunch of them strung up everywhere.

The set was bombastic, though not always flaming, from begining to end. A violnist joined the band for most of the set, contributing rarely more than white noise in all but the most subdued movements, much the same as the keyboard player who occasionally blew the cornet. The wall of sound--from two guitars--is the wash of the British sea. Bass carries, somewhat subtly, the majority of the melodic duties.

BSP kicked it up and played a longer set than most Doug Fir acts usually do, keeping a Monday audience, burdened by a rotten grey day, highly entertained. Throughout the guitarist and bassist traded songs and instruments, neither getting the better of the other.

Beginning with tried and true early material, BSP eventually wove in songs from their recently released "Do You Like Rock Music" smoothly, in the end touching on the newest and rarer tracks. But even when the band played their older songs there is a sense of fluidity--it's not a note for note sort of deal. If someone wants to shout, they do. a little extra note here, or walkdown there, fine, no problem. Towards the end of the set the songs became somewhat more free, pulsing and changing organically. The band was warm and they rode it.

And the way they hammer on their instruments, even if their not ending up on the floor or riding on each-other's shoulders anymore, British Sea Power still seems to be enjoying what they do, letting the performance flow from the heart.