Chronic Negress

The Negress decided to go see the Fleet Foxes at the Chicago Theater Oct. 1 because she still does love music and the band kind of confuses her. She is trying not to be one of those bipolar cynics, swinging wildly between youthful disdain (I’m too cool for all of this so it all sucks) and ancient weariness (I did all this stuff the first time so it all sucks). Besides, she sings tenor in her church choir (when she goes to practice) and she likes harmony singing because it’s gorgeous when done well. As mentioned in a previous post, she had been in New York mixing it up with the other members of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame nominating committee. The committee is a bit like Fight Club in that we don’t talk about we do and then get vilified and bitched about when the ballot comes out. The Negress has only one public observation about the ballot: Hip-hop is nearly 30 years old and is a grandchild of the blues’ baby, rock ‘n’ roll. Also, rock has influenced and absorbed pop and dance music so don’t assume it’s all guitar bands with white men. Rock’s going on 60, which also means some of these idiots should take a page from REM’s book and break up and stop touring.

The obligatory cell phone camera shot of the show marquee

Sorry. Back to the Fleet Foxes. First of all, the Chicago Theater is a great venue for good singers because it’s majestic acoustically as well as architecturally. The Foxes can sing, but they sound like sexless angels (we can save the debate on sexuality of heavenly beings for another post, preferably fueled by a good rye). Also, the best harmony singing requires impeccable diction, and these guys are more pre-pebbles Demosthenes than show choir.

With that said, the Negress was lightly mesmerized. Part of the lack of full embrace of the music was due to a small belligerent contingent at the show seated near her. She counted at least three fights that broke out during the set, and considering this wasn’t GWAR, that was just weird and distracting. Also, the band played under a huge film screen backdrop that alternated between a film loop of falling snow and some geometric patterns that could best be described as Not-So-Angry Quilting.

So, since the band has been compared to Simon and Garfunkel and Crosby Stills and Nash and other outfits with memorable vocal blends, what do they sound like? Someone suggested Neutral Milk Hotel but that’s just plain wrong (a trip to Spotify confirmed what had just been a hunch before). The Hotel people (doesn’t the name sound like a safe house for La Leche? Honestly.) have a unique sludgy underpinning to their vocal mix, and they seem to sing less harmony and more off-pitch unison. Also, her Neutral Milk Hotel is not your Neutral Milk Hotel so the Negress tries to avoid comparisons of the it’s-like-(band A)-mixed-up-with-(band B)-in-a-blender-on-acid variety.

What Fleet Foxes does make her think of is church youth group singalongs, a signifier she suspects is not big with the Pitchfork crowd. The best example of this is “White Winter Hymnal.” The Negress could visualize the youth pastor in a turtleneck strumming away while the kids scarfed down the pizza and sang well enough to keep their folks happy. Picture the United Methodist Youth Fellowship and you’ve got it. But she’s a sucker for a round so she succumbed  happily. They do kick this stereotype in the teeth with “The Shrine/An Argument,” which throws in a bit of dissonant sax playing, but that only happened once all night.

The Negress enjoyed the show as much as the nearby fisticuffs would allow, but she thinks she did find the key thing that keeps her from going all in on this band. The most memorable live shows are paced impeccably, building almost unbearable tension before a final amazing burst of, well, something. The Foxes seem to have a handle of this dynamic within individual songs (see “The Plains/Bitter Dancer” or  the show finale “Helplessness Blues”), but the kids are still getting feel of pacing a whole set. If they get handle on that, then the downloading will commence.

Openers The Walkmen grabbed a lot more of the Negress’ heart than she was willing to admit. Besides, you gotta love a band that worships Johnny Cash and the Pogues (blender and acid optional) and a singer, Hamilton Leithauser, with rockstar lung power. She even got over the triangle they pulled out on one song (that instruments conjures up visions of wriggling kindergarteners and a teacher playing “Mr. Whole Note Takes a Walk”) The word “rockstar” has been devalued of late (inept Iraqi spies, energy drinks and outlaw Wall Streeters have devalued the word without permission), but this guy has what it takes. The band favors old-style instruments but their music is timeless. It’s been growing on the Negress with each listen. They’re next up on Spotify after the Series 7 exam.

Fleet Foxes likely set list from the Chicago Theater Oct. 1 (from the always reliable Interwebs)

The Plains / Bitter Dancer

Mykonos

English House

Your Protector

Battery Kinzie

Bedouin Dress

Sim Sala Bim

White Winter Hymnal

Ragged Wood

Montezuma

He Doesn’t Know Why

Lorelai

The Shrine / An Argument

Blue Spotted Tail

Grown Ocean

Encore

I Let You (new song)

Sun It Rises

Blue Ridge Mountains

Helplessness Blues