You never know what you’re going to get when you attend a Deerhunter concert. Obviously you go in expecting a rip-roaring attack of indie rock. Bradford Cox, lead vocalist, and team leader of the experimental rock group brings an expert level of charisma and unpredictability to his performance.
The show begins with Cox explaining, dressed in camo pants and a fur vest, that they would begin by improvising a song about waterlilies. Watching the song grow out of nothing more than a funky synth, was like watching pure inspiration.
After warming up the pipes, Deerhunter took off in the six speed clunker down the K-10 highway. Jamming through killer live slayings of “Cover Me (Slowly)” and “Agoraphobia”, it was evident that these guys do things onstage that most other bands only dream of. It’s something that they’ve learned in their 16 year existence. Great live music takes great live performers. And Deerhunter is exactly that.
Their multi-instrumentalist percussionist played literally anything that could be a played including a Jamaican Benta, some strings with empty shells that you rub together, and no kidding, even a whistle. Dude was literally so official, that he got himself a whistle for the occasion.
Bradford Cox was the main event though. Once he got going, he was a one man parade. After taking off the fur vest, he was revealed to be wearing not camo pants, but camo OVERALLS. Total game changer. He said he wore them specifically for Lawrence, one night only, because he could get away with wearing them here. Even his banter was incredible. During an equipment problem with the drum pad, he improvised a song about loving dogs, and it was adorable and endearing, and true.
The show kept rocking, and never stopped. The jamming was incredible. Songs could sprawl for minutes and it would be like no time went by. Deerhunter is a veteran rock and roll band that seriously knows how to deliver a fantastic live show. Complete with phenomenal rhythms, superb stage presence, and impressive jamming, this is a show anyone could appreciate. Next time, and every time Deerhunter is in my area, I’ll be there.