The Low Anthem at GAMH 03.26.10

I stole that picture of Jocie Adams of The Low Anthem from the SF Chronicle... I was there too, but with no camera. More Chronicle pictures here.

The Low Anthem put on a great show- their style is hard to describe. They played a set of slow sort of atmospheric tunes like Charlie Darwin and To Ohio, with soft ethereal harmonies... and then the guy on standup bass (Jeff) starts playing a pretty intense solo, and the rest of the band busts out with Don't Let Nobody Turn You 'Round, and the singers are howling and the drums are banging... They played about 2/3 soft and 1/3 loud overall. I really enjoyed it, but I think my friends were a bit dismayed at the dichotomy (I took pity on their jetlag and we ended up leaving after the first song of the encore). The band members switched instruments every few songs- they all sang, I think they all took a turn on the drums, the guitar, the WWI organ, and the ringing bowed xylophone bell thingy. Also involved- the standup bass, clarinets, tenor saxophones, and a saw. Yep, a saw. I really love the "all hands on deck" multi-instrumentalist approach- it's something I aspire to. I'd love to be able to play drums, guitar, bass, banjo, violin and whatever else comes to mind at a passable level- and then just jump in wherever.