Battles Live at the Rickshaw Theatre

July 23, 2011
The Rickshaw Theatre
Vancouver, British Columbia

And then there were Battles: the last show of my four-night concert-bender back in July.

I've been front-and-dead-centre countless times, but I don't think I've ever had a better view at a show than I did at Battles. There was nothing as epic as my view, especially with drummer John Stanier towering over me, one of his cymbals extended probably six feet above my head and even less feet in front of me. There was nothing like the feeling of anticipation during the slow, sterile, futuristic droning intro/build-up of Gloss Drop opener "Africastle" to kick off the set as the screen behind the band emanated vivid lava-coloured light through the faint smoke (dry ice). The first simultaneous hard note of keys, drums and guitars appropriately came like an eruption against that wall of solid colour. Every second my eyes were opened, I felt as if I was looking at a moving flip-book of the greatest band pictures ever.

Taken from pretty much my vantage point (by the person beside me).

Unfortunately, Battles experienced obvious technical problems throughout the night. Guitarist/bassist Dave Konopka was visibly frustrated that some of his gear didn't always work. His technical difficulties were made all the more noticeable by the other two members' extended jamming. Additionally, keyboardist/guitarist Ian Williams also fidgeted with his keyboard stands pretty frequently.

Speaking of Ian, minor technical operations weren't the only things that seemed to have been off that night. John's drumming was tight as fuck - probably the most furious, most precise drumming I'd ever seen, maybe besides John McEntire of the Sea and Cake - and Dave's guitaring was at times sharp and at other times chunky, but while Ian's keys were the clearest I'd ever heard (I always find keyboards blend into everything), his timing often sounded juuust a little off compared to the rest of the band's. And Ian's soloing/improvisation sometimes sounded a little questionable to me. Ah, hell, his soloing/improvisation sometimes just didn't sound very good to me.

I can't say much about particular songs other than they were all pretty straightforward - great for sure but not outstanding by any means. I will say I was disappointed that Battles ended "Tonto," possibly my favourite song of theirs, prematurely. They never reached its manic breakdown guitar solo. Instead, they segued into, if I remember correctly, "Ice Cream" - a good song but certainly no "Tonto." All of that notwithstanding, the band was a total delight to watch (see: again, John's drumming).

I'd wondered how Battles were going to perform the vocal parts sung by former member Tyondai Braxton and Gloss Drop guests Gary Numan, Kazu Makino (Blonde Redhead), Yamantaka Eye (Boredoms) and Matias Aguayo. I was not disappointed to see that Battles didn't skip those parts entirely but rather played pre-recorded videos of each of those vocalists (except Braxton) singing or at least lip-synching their respective parts, even if the pre-recorded vocals were a little quiet.

Battles' crowd rocked harder than I'd expected it to. I would have joined in more, but I was still feeling the effects from Les Savy Fav the night before. The guy behind me kept propping himself on my and the guy beside me's shoulders to jump up and down. I had to take off my jacket and throw it on a speaker up front so he didn't tear my jacket. He still gave my shoulder a good twisting though. He also felt the need to clarify after the show that he was "just having a good time" and was "not hitting on [me] or anything."

All in all, like I said, Battles were a great show for sure, and they were quite a marvel to watch live (mostly for their technical skills), but they were pretty straightforward and had a few bugs in their system that night at the Rickshaw. Regardless, I hardly blame the band for its bugs, and, especially for a mere twenty dollars, I would see Battles again in a frigging heartbeat.

Click here for more photos of Battles live at the Rickshaw Theatre, and click below to watch Battles perform "Ice Cream." Video and partial photo credits go to Claire Hellblaue who took the video and photos from right beside me: