This Will Destroy You – Live at Lee’s Palace
While waiting for the show I was asked to describe what This Will Destroy You sounded like. The best that I could formulate spur of the moment was ‘sprawling, epic, grandiose noise-scapes’. That was based merely on a few listens to 2011’s Tunnel Blanket and a very brief encounter of TWDY’s live show a few years ago. That show left me asking ‘What was that? Why am I just hearing this for the first time?!’
I was determined to witness the full effect of their controlled post-rock chaos up close this time around when they came through Toronto on February 4th. Playing to a much larger room than my previous exposure, the band’s material expanded nicely to find every nook and cranny of Lee’s Palace and dig in. So engrossing is the material that at times it felt as though I was witnessing the birth of the songs in a small rehearsal space rather than being surrounded by others in a full venue. Veering from delicate and sparse to explosive and over-the-top, the music has a way of seeping into you and forcing you to ride a roller coaster that may or may not be about to veer wildly off the tracks.
While saying nary a word the quartet plowed through a set list that covered Tunnel Blanket and their earlier material, giving the crowd plenty of time to get lost in the soundscapes and the hypnotic waveforms projected onto Alex Bhore’s the kick drum. The show was marred only by the intermittent cutting out of one of the guitars early in the set, causing the sound to become just a little too sparse. Finally, before the last song of their set, guitarist Jeremy Galindo spoke a very brief “Thank you for coming”. The encore consisted of only one song – The Mighty Rio Grande from their self titled 2008 release which was also included in the 2011 Brad Pitt film Moneyball.
TWDY created a musical experience which made my worry the intensity of the evening would cause a micro black hole to form and that Lee’s Palace would disappear into the abyss. Though it wasn’t the case, a little part of me almost wishes it was because, really, that would have been an okay way to go out.
This Will Destroy You. See them. They Will.
Written by Guest Blogger Mikey Riot. Follow him @Mikeyriotphoto
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