Wildbirds? Yes. Peacedrums? Not Quite.

June 10, 2011
The Waldorf Hotel
Vancouver, British Columbia

I went to the Waldorf Hotel for the first time a couple of weeks ago to see experimental Swedish freak-folk duo Wildbirds & Peacedrums. Californian psych-rockers Therapies Son "kicked off" the night, having played for an audience of about ten at most; that's including their friends and the venue staff. Nineteen-year-old lead-singer Alex Jacob commented during his band's set that it was like playing at a high school talent show; at several points, Therapies Son seemed as though they might have benefited from having practiced at a few high school talent shows: not only were their and Wildbirds' sets marred by considerable amounts of feedback (so much so that Wildbirds songstress Mariam Wallentin flinched and had to cover her ears), but at one point, Therapies Son made about five attempts to start one of their songs, struggling to keep time with their laptop-looped backtrack to which they played most of their songs and struggling to keep from laughing at their own repeated failures to start the song.

Amateurish screw-ups aside, I really enjoyed Therapies Son, even though I was ready to hate them the moment I laid eyes on them. Jacob's fluttery, near-falsetto recalled Grizzly Bear's Daniel Rossen, as did the waltzy, carnivalesque aspect of Therapies Son's unconventional psychedelic blues rock. Their guitar-work was simultaneously rocking and dreamy; the bass lines were punchy and stood out on their own; and the drumming was creative in its sparseness and surprisingly hard-hitting, considering how loosely the drummer seemed to have hammered away at her kit. Overall, Therapies Son were original and skilled enough to have earned the pretty-fun-and-accessible stamp (patent pending).

Shortly after Therapies Son finished their brief set (which was only about thirty minutes long), Wildbirds & Peacedrums took the stage. Now at least touring as a three-piece with an added keyboardist, Wildbirds & Peacedrums wasted no time filling the room with their primal, polyphonic, often cacophonous drumming. Mariam and husband Andreas Werliin unleashed their simultaneous percussive assault with an array of instruments including a Jamaican drum, xylophones and a shaker of some sort. All the while, Mariam completely controlled the room with her hauntingly beautiful voice, even more so when she stood at the very edge of the stage and performed a mic-less, partially a cappella number near the end of their set. The fact that the room was so small and intimate accentuated her complete command of the audience's attention.

The only slightly disappointing parts of Wildbirds & Peacedrums' set was that they only played songs from their latest album Rivers (The Leaf Label, 2010), aside from their first encore. Rivers, which was originally released as two EPs that same year (Retina and Iris), is pretty difficult to find; at the time, I hadn't heard it. Furthermore, Rivers is their most adorned album to date, and I far prefer their sparser material.

Minor complaints aside, Wildbirds & Peacedrum'’ entire set was incredible - one of the most spellbinding shows I'd ever experienced. Also cool was the crowd-atmohttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsphere at Wildbirds & Peacedrums: I'd been to many small venues before, but I think Wildbirds & Peacedrums (not counting Therapies Son) was the most sparsely attended show I'd ever been to up to that point (see my upcoming review of the Intelligence with Sex Church and Manic Attracts, also at the Waldorf Hotel). I'd also never seen people not only keep as far a distance from the stage as they did but sit on the floor and even move their chairs into the first few "rows" as well.

The Waldorf Hotel is definitely a great venue for those who are tired of large crowds and sleek bars and clubs; while the Hotel has a bar, the venue is more similar to a café in set-up and atmosphere. The people one will find at Waldorf shows are people who are there for the band rather than a show for the sake of being at a show. The distinction makes a bigger difference than one may think.

Click here for more photos of Wildbirds & Peacedrums and Therapies Son.