A Night Out w/ Ohbijou & The Acorn, HPX, St. Matthew's Church (23/08/09)

Last night Terri and I hit the Halifax Pop Explosion, taking in what could probably be described as the most adult-friendly, CBC-approved show on the entire festival bill: Ohbijou and The Acorn. Heck, it was even in a church. Whatever - I'd been looking forward to seeing The Acorn for some time now, and the last time I had an opportunity to see Ohbijou, they were battling for my attention in the same time slot as Explosions In The Sky at Osheaga (and, shunning compromise, I dragged everyone with me to EITS... besides, I had no idea who they were at the time).

We thought we were arriving early, but literally seconds after we sat down Ohbijou took the stage, which was crammed with a big rack o' guitars, banjos, ukuleles, xylophones (sorry - "bells"), keyboards, a cello, a violin, a trumpet, two drum kits and a great big percussion stand. Plus, purdy blue and green Christmas lights were draped over the mic stands and amplifiers.

Unrelated to anything musical, it should be noted that Ohbijou are really, really short. Like, tiny. Just an observation.

Stature aside, one of the first things you notice about the band is that each of their songs is some variation on a simple, finger-picked guitar line, which builds and repeats, with subtle shifts, to a big crescendo before the song ends. Also notable/noticable, especially in a live setting, is that each vocal follows similar patterns and rhythms. This is not to be taken as negative - similar comments could be made re: many of my favourite bands (Low, most post-rock) - it is quite hypnotic when it works, which was often. Also: charming, likable, pretty, good. Fave song: Steep.

Soon thereafter, The Acorn took to the stage. At this point, the venue was pretty packed - either because The Acorn are much more popular than Ohbijou or everyone else was fooled by the wonky start time listed on the tickets. The Acorn, as it were, are much taller than Ohbijou, but they used no less instrumentation. At least two guitars. Two drum kits. Three ukuleles (!).

Now here's where things get a bit weird for me. I really really really love all recorded Acorn music - from their first EPs to the near-perfect Glory Hope Mountain full length. But, while it was by no means terrible, I didn't love this concert. Maybe it was the mix. Maybe it was the awkward, momentum-killing time between songs as each musician picked up and tuned a new instrument. Maybe it was the song selection. Maybe it was their completely unexpected frat-boy comedian stage presence, which was a jarring contrast to their pretty, earnest, folky songs (I guess I was expecting them to be more like timid hippies). The band were at their best when both percussionists were slamming away at the drums - creating HUGE beats, propelling the songs forward - or when they were completely stripped down and acoustic, with just guitar and harmony. Between these two extremes, there were a good number of mid-tempo songs that, while great on record, lacked the intensity of the fast songs and the prettiness of the acoustic songs.

But at the end of the night, I can't say it was a bad show, just... different than expected. AND Terri and I got out of the house - so, win. Fave song: Crooked Legs.

End report.
Love Aaron.