Animal Collective @ Henry Fonda 2/26/09

On Thursday night at the Henry Fonda Musicbox Theater, Animal Collective played to a sold out audience in support of their recent release, Merriweather Post Pavilion. The concert was a rescheduled performance for a previous postponed date in the month.

Thursday’s ecstatic set proved that the band -- Avey Tare (David Portner), Panda Bear (Noah Lennox), Geologist (Brian Weitz) -- were in rare and fit form. Opening with the velvety textured “In the Flowers,” the band, immersed in purple mist and blue light, unraveled sinuous melodic lines and bucolic blips. On the beatific “My Girls,” Panda Bear and Avery Tare laid down the harmonic foundations with their intertwining celestial singing while the Geologist, wearing a headlamp, dropped seismic bass beats that shook the floor. Building the layers, loops and textures, the New York-based lads brought the audience to honeyed horizons - arms raised high, heads and bodies bobbing, all atoms ablaze in the shimmering colored lights.

Known for wearing animal costumes during their earlier shows, the band looked unassuming and “normal-looking” in t-shirts at their Los Angeles Henry Fonda performance. But Animal Collective is definitely not your normal band as critics desperately try to categorize their genre-defying music. The result of their sonic shamanism invokes a free-flowing passage that is redolent of airy vocals drenched in reverb and multi-layered repetition. Shouts, howls and wails from the vocals overlap into each other while beat clusters pound into the undercooked folds of grey matter. Whether it’s the angelic harmonies of Panda Bear and Avery Tare that are reminiscent of the Beach Boys or the skittering, frantic white-knuckle electronic noise salvos that remind us of Aphex Twin, the music of Animal Collective remains distinctive and joyously compelling.

Switching from guitar to keyboards or just a microphone, Avery Tare provided an excellent center between Geologist and Panda Bear. Hunched over the microphone, Avery Tare swayed and sang as his band mates created sonic structures that radiated into the air. On “Slippi,” the group carried the song to a cosmic crescendo as the six light pylons behind them rapidly flashed multi-colored lights.

After the set the band left the stage for a few moments. They returned for a short encore that included the Panda Bear composition, “Comfy in Nautica,” which brought the sparkling loops and soaring vocals to a hallucinatory peak.

What makes Animal Collective live performances unique is the balance between chaos and control. Though the song structures may seem unconventional, the three talented musicians allow the music to breath and pulsate. Free-form chaotic-sounding jams are suddenly drawn into focus with precision and feel at diamond-clear moments; songs are dotted with ecstatic yelps and howls while drone-heavy phrases pulsate. Overall, as Animal Collective explores more experimental shores, many will find the journey welcoming.

Special thanks to Animal Collective, Domino Records, Motormouthmedia