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March 12, 2007
Under Byen, Live @ the Bowery Ballroom, New York City 03-05-07
photos by Devon Banks
There was a moment at the beginning of the 00's when it seemed like we were all moving past good old rock n' roll. Albums in sort succession from Sigur Ros, Mogwai, and Godspeed, You Black Emporer! had us leaning towards a future that was all ebbs and swells, all drama and emotion without a reliance on verbalization. Then there was Kid A of course, which was the main coffin nail. Who were we to want straight verse chorus verse if Radiohead didn't? You can convince yourself of these sorts of things in college. This mini "post rock" boomlet didn't last very long, obviously, stone dead by the time the Strokes and the White Stripes broke. But for a second, there, it did feel like popular music was going in a grander (and more pretentious) direction. Apparently, in the cold environs of Scandinavia, this sort of thing still thrives.
Denmark's Under Byen played the Bowery Ballroom last Monday, to maybe the smallest crowd I've ever seen assembled there. Maybe the unfashionable style, the week day slot, or just a general hype deficiency led to the spotty turnout, but the epic scope of the performance itself was unaffected. From the first notes to the encore, the stage was covered in ever changing patterns of colored light, obscuring the band's features and offering motion to what was a pretty static stage set up. Having no guitar player, the band bases most of their compositions on strings and percussion, with two players assigned to each. The duel drumming, though used regularly for pounding climaxes, also proved quite subtle at times. One player complemented the other by striking a set of steel pipes while the other kept time. Their songs, typically multi-part and quite long, swung organically from whispering and piano tinkling to total electronic feedback freakout. Far from being used as a novelty, the sections when the music faded out to feature a theremin-like bowed saw were flatly lovely. In general, for an eight piece ensemble, there were many more moments of sparse and minimal beauty than you might expect. The restraint to not over pack every moment with bombast showed an uncommon maturity.
Singer Henriette Sennenvalt hid in shadows behind the strong section, her presence shy and withdrawn, despite her huge Bjork-ish vocals. Considering that she's patently gorgeous, it seems completely counterintuitive to bottle her up, or continually mask her apperance in washes of patterned light. But I suppose this isn't the sort of band to desire a focus on any individual component as much as the entirety of the immersive sound.
Under Byen - "Af Samme Stof Som Stof"
If a lack of dynamic stage movement occasionally made the evening feel like watching chamber music, the band still sounded bright and clear and huge. Those who did attend were very enthusiastic in their appreciation, although it's a shame that this sort of ambitious, unconventional music doesn't have a fraction of the attention that a million three chord wonders do.
Another track, that they sadly didn't actually play, here:
More pictures in the usual spot...
Posted by Jeff Klingman at March 12, 2007 03:05 PM
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Comments
Hey, I was at the show and am trying to find a set list. Do you have a list of what was played and in what order?
Posted by: jeeperstseepers at March 25, 2007 04:36 PM
I don't. The Danish song names don't exactly roll of my tongue or stick in my mind. The best I could do was, "The long one with the double drumming," or "the long one where the tall guy freaked out playing a Jonny Greenwood circuit box." Sorry.
Posted by: Jeff K at March 25, 2007 09:38 PM
