Close your eyes and feel it. That’s Eric Earley’s (lead singer of Blitzen Trapper) approach. Photos by Lucia de Giovanni.
It feels like Southern Alabama in July. It smells like pondscum and pot.
The is sold out. — the heralded Portland six-piece — is knee-deep in their rambling, unfocused set before I realize the abnormal number of baseball hats in the audience.
Whatever. Bands grow and evolve, and Blitzen Trapper — with its lush, ’70s-sounding recordings — certainly deserves a bigger audience. I’m fine with them growing. But the whole “evolving” part is a curious part of fandom, and even criticism. Blitzen Trapper songs are succinct slices of country life on record. When played live, the band takes liberties that turn some indie snobs off. And while I made it past the Grateful Dead acoustic noodling at the Hi-Dive on Thursday, I wasn’t quite able to understand the curious keyboards.
The keys sounded like many of the Phish bootlegs I’ve accidentally happened upon from time to time, and their placement in these lulling songs was completely unnecessary. Sometimes it completely dampened the song, the mood, the life that fills this band of merry men.
That said, cheers to frontman Eric Earley for not taking the easy, expected way out. While the band’s most recognizable songs were played faithfully — “Sleepytime in the Western World” early in the set and “Furr” much later on — the band had a lot of fun (and took a lot of freedom) with the rest of the music. They dipped where they normally would have bopped, and they looped when they would have normally laid low. I actually liked the “St. Stephen” homage (whether it was deliberate or not), and I appreciated the spirit of the show — even if the sound sometimes disagreed with me.
A mid-set “Big Black Bird” was a highlight with mad-loose harmonies and tons of spirit. It reminded me why I was initially drawn to this band a couple years ago. Earley’s voice alternates between Beck’s plaintive delivery and Kevin Barnes’ electric flight with an impressive dexterity. He’s a madman behind the mic, and his voice defines each song with a certain glow — Dylan’s straightforward magic, Beck’s undeniable attitude, Barnes’ effervescent explosion.
The band closed the night with “Lady on the Water,” a song that’s easy to fall in love. Looking across the audience, it was clear that few people had left. Everyone was still in the house. And while Blitzen Trapper didn’t woo me as they had in the past, it was still a damn fine showing.
Ricardo Baca is the founder and co-editor of and an award-winning critic and journalist at The Denver Post. He is also the executive director of the , Colorado’s premier festival of local music. Follow his whimsies at , his live music habit at and his iTunes addictions at .
Lucia De Giovanni is an award-winning photographer and internationally known photojournalist. You can view more of her work on her and follow her Project 365, a Photo a Day, on her .
ALELA DIANE
BLITZEN TRAPPER
