Grizzly Bear played Town Hall

This band has been dominating my blog and life as of late. Their new album has been one of my most anticipated of the year and when it leaked in March I will admit that it did not live up to my expectation. However when the video for "Two Weeks" came out last week my hopes were once again elevated. On Tuesday I made my way to Other Music and purchased the album on vinyl and downloaded the legitimate version. Since then this album has been on repeat and gotten better with each listen. Everything culminated last night with their first of three New York shows. We arrived just after the opening act had finished and patiently waited for Grizzly Bear to take the stage. When the lights dimmed the four men walked onstage in matching outfits and quietly began to do what they do best. These guys put so much painstaking time into their music and the venue really let them play to perfection. The acoustics were amazing and really let these guys showcase their amazing talent. Quickly they launched into three tracks off Veckatimest and I was already won over. "Cheerleader" has been growing as one of my favorite tracks, but it was "Fine For Now" which really blew me away. In particular the guitar work of Rossen on these two tracks and "I Live With You" were astounding, but it was Chris Bear's flawless percussion that stole the show for me. I cannot think of another drummer that plays to such perfection as this man and I strongly encourage every fan to pay attention to the work this man has been putting on these albums. The only old tune of the night was "Service Bell" which they brilliantly transitioned into "Knife". The lighting of the show was especially aesthetically pleasing and Ed made note to tell us that was specially for New York. Overall these guys fully proved what makes them such a great band in today's modern music world. Their delicate precision and exquisite layering of their songs comes across brilliantly when performed live. In addition to thier own brilliance, they were backed by the Brooklyn Youth Chorus which only added an angelic nature to the performance and easily took songs to another level. They played far fewer tracks from Yellow House, but the cover of "He Hit Me" starting off the encore really sealed the deal on the entire evening.

Set-list:
southern point
cheerleader
fine for now
service bell ->
knife
little brother (electric)
two weeks
colorado
ready, able
i live with you
foreground
while you wait for the others
--
he hit me
on a neck, on a spit