Billed as their first big headlining show ever with octet members flying in from numerous countries, the anticipation was high for Fievel is Glauque as they came to Brooklyn's Music Hall of Williamsburg and delivered a wildly eccentric set that spanned their catalogue and included some new tunes as well. Main members Zach Phillips and Ma Clément were joined by a majority of the musicians who played on the album and the sound board was handled by the person who recorded the group's last record Rong Weicknes, one of my favorite albums from 2024, so this felt like as close to a proper Fievel is Glauque show as one could get. Opening with "Love Weapon" from their latest album, the group instantly set off on their cosmic adventure that would cull inspiration from across genres and keep the audience entranced with their ever expanding grooves and wandering rhythms that put the notion that not all wandering vibes are lost as the band would snap back into a locked beat before meandering letting things suddenly fall into destined disarray. Cramming as much as they can into each track, their tunes don't last long enough for their maze-like rhythms to allow for anyone to fall off course, but if you also weren't paying attention, it'd be easy to think that there were moments on stage when everyone was playing to the literal beat of their own drum. Yet what made the show most magical was just how free everyone looked on stage and how their ability to always find one another made it seem like they were telepathic and incredibly in sync. Between songs, keyboardist Zach Phillips would address the crowd and excuse the band for any fumbling that happened on stage as live performances were rare for them and even though he did his best to try and convince us of the band's slightly chaotic assembling of songs, it was clear that their extreme talents were hard at work to deliver space-age jazz-pop that was equally delightful as it was challenging, but still had everyone in the room grooving along to these chic jams. There were moments of calculated guitar solos like you'd expect from the '90s Chicago post-rock and jazz, but not jazz jazz scene like the work of Jeff Parker in Tortoise mixed with trip-hop vocals you could expect from U.S. Girls by way of Charlotte Gainsbourg. Taking the jazz-fusion elements and adding a krautrock inspired lounge beat under saxophone and flute riffs also added to the celestial tones that would have the band fitting right in at a cantina in a galaxy far, far away right or taking the stage before Stereolab at the hottest club in the sunken city of Atlantis. Whatever nerves or bashfulness may have been floating off the stage from the band's core members, the crowd was ready to bat them away as they cheered after each track with enthusiastic applause and the call outs for the members of the octet highlighted the dedication of those in attendance. Spanning over twenty-three songs, the band jammed through an epic set that felt like a trip through hyperspace and brief fever dream of musical madness, but in one that produced such euphoric sensations that it could've continued until the band was out of material. Like a comet in the night sky, a live show from Fievel is Glauque isn't a common occurrence so to see them at all is a something special and for them to give such a remarkable performance solidified the experience as an early contender for one of the year's best.
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