Animal Collective at Stubb's; 06.05.2009
words by Ryan Ffrench
photos by Randy Cremean
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The basic sentiment of Merriweather Post Pavilion is an alluring one: accept life for what it is and fall into its simplest pleasures. It is, after all, an album that cherishes moments with lovers, moments with family and moments alone; it is an album that triumphantly rises above the clusterfuck of the city, the insularity of subcultures and the suspicions of youthful anxiety; it is, in an almost pre-academic sense, an album about finding the things in life that are worth keeping and holding them up in celebration.
And isn’t this why we love music? Isn’t this why we care more about art than economics? Probably, yes— but I am constantly disarmed by how easily it slips away into stupidly fastidious debate-making and puerile editorialism.
And suddenly I just don’t give a shit. I don’t care if Merriweather Post Pavilion ends up on anyone’s end of year best-of list. I don’t care if it’s critically divisive or aesthetically envelope pushing or if its pop or if its fucking not. Really, it’s not something to talk about at all. Nor, for that matter, is the Animal Collective live show. They are things that you either experience or you don’t. So I’ll try to keep my talking to a minimum. Actually, I’ll let Avey Tare do it for me:
“There we could be dancing
And you'd smile and say, "I like this song"
And when our eyes will meet there
We will recognize nothing's wrong
And I wouldn't feel so selfish
I won't be this way very long--"
That’s “In The Flowers”— MPP’s opening track and the first song of Friday night’s show at Stubb’s— and it could tell us a lot about itself if we would only shut up and listen. Here, Animal Collective’s newfound extroversion is wrapped up in a playful exuberance and banged around with Afro-house percussion until, as the lyrics suggest, the experience of listening and dancing reduces and simplifies to “hold you in time”. Not galvanize with intelligent conversation or bestow with indie-rock street cred— hold you in time.
Of course, this has always been the intention of the band’s psychedelic-leaning live shows— only now, with their fuller/louder/bass-ier sound, it’s a lot easier to really feel. Because all of a sudden, Animal Collective’s notoriously challenging performances have shed their cerebral noise-rock envelopment and become a viscerally engaging hour and a half of sound. They have become simpler: a thing for body and soul. So open up your throat.
