Pretty late, girls make graves
Show a success despite venue’s lateness
TIMOTHY BROWN STAFF
On Friday night, Pretty Girls Make Graves played the Albert. Apparently, it was supposed to start around 8 p.m.. So, naturally, I arrived a little after eight. It seemed odd that there was no one working the door, and that there were only seven or eight other people there. After grabbing a beer, I decided to wait, thinking it should only be a little while. Two and half hours later, the music started. The two-and-a-half hour-wait wasn’t a complete waste though: it turns out the photographer arrived almost when I did, also thinking it started at eight. So at least there was someone to talk to. The Albert, of course, hadn’t changed since the last show, but they did manage to replace those missing urinals.
While the waiting wasn’t exactly exciting, the music was excellent. Kicking off the night was Night Canopy, an indie folk/pop band from Seattle. Night Canopy consists of two members, Amy Blaschke and Nick deWitt (who is also the drummer for Pretty Girls Make Graves.) This folk/pop duo put on a sombre, lowkey performance that, surprisingly, worked well. Whether is was Blaschke’s voice or deWitt’s eclectic use of almost all the instruments on the stage, something made this set entertaining.
Next up, from Los Angeles, were the Moonrats, a three-piece indie/rock/pop group that brought in elements that were missing from the first set. They were faster, louder, and groovier. There was excellent chemistry between the band members, each doing their own thing, but feeding off each other as well. They commanded a very powerful presence on stage, which was quite astounding given the fact that there was so little showmanship. They played their songs, hardly talked to the crowd, and seemed kind of timid. Nonetheless, they managed to grab everyone’s attention and keep them entertained throughout the entire set. The only real concern I had was with the vocals. Maybe it was the bad sound, or poor acoustics, but it was difficult to understand or even (at times) hear the vocals.
Finally, just after midnight, four hours after I had arrived, Pretty Girls Make Graves took the stage. While it wasn’t as insane as the Three Inches of Blood show a couple weeks ago, it was still damn good. Most impressive was their ability to transform their newer material, which is much slower than their first two albums, and integrate it into a much faster, more powerful set. Whether it was the quick and sporadic movements of the band on stage, or just the precision of the music itself, the performance was excellent.
Mixing newer material with the older stuff can, at times, be problematic, especially when a band’s style has changed dramatically. That wasn’t the case with Pretty Girls Make Graves. They knew how to use the material and keep a consistent sound. Their older stuff is faster, and much more intense, but their newer material is more complex and very mature. One can’t help but admire both styles and how well they worked together. Naturally, there was an encore of two songs. Pretty standard for a headlining act, but it was far from being mediocre: they ended their set with just as much energy and passion as when they started. It was well worth the wait.
