Peter Bjorn and John @ the Roxy on 2/1/07
After reading some tepid reviews of their third New York show and seeing the flat performance on Conan, I was very nervous going into this show. I ran into some scenester people who made me even more nervous, “I haven’t heard the album yet, but I hear their awful performers.” It seemed like the backlash had already started. I’ve been listening to their second and third records non-stop for the past eight weeks, and I didn’t want my experience affected by people talking throughout the performance. If you’re going out just to be seen and to get snapped by photographers for your Myspace profile, then go see one of those indie dance DJs, not a mellow Swedish pop group. The club was packed and the temperature was already rising inside.
PB&J came out strong with “Let’s Call It Off,” and thankfully - they sounded great. The haters who are saying things like “they’re a studio band – dreadful performers” must be hanging out places I’ve never been, because these guys are really good. (Just for some background, I’m a guy who has seen at least three bands a week for the past 12 years.) Peter is an engaging performer with loads of charisma and a little bit of a Ben Gibbard vibe. Dancing around, joking with the crowd, directing singalongs - Peter seems to be having a really fucking good time when he performs. He was extremely complimentary to the opener, Cass McCombs (who I really like, but unfortunately missed), implying that they were humbled to have such a great artist open for them.
The crowd erupted when Victoria Bergsman from the Concretes joined them onstage for their big single, “Young Folks.” I already knew they used a backing track with the whistling, so it didn’t bother me, but some people were put off by it. Bergsman doesn’t have much stage presence, but it worked in the context of the song. Peter danced at her and she looked really nervous and coy, and it came off really cute.
The only disappointing part of their set was when Bjorn took over to sing one of the highlights of Writer’s Block, “Amsterdam.” Peter warned the crowd to quiet down or they wouldn’t be able to hear Bjorn’s vocals. Most of the crowd complied, but Bjorn still seemed to get flustered and ended up only half singing the song. Unfortunate, but it didn’t wreck the set. Bjorn’s backing vocals were perfect on all the other songs, but he didn’t seem interested in having the focus on him.
I didn’t write down the setlist (and I drank a little too much so my memory is wrecked), but some of the other highlights were: “Objects of My Affection,” “Paris 2004,” “Far Away, By My Side,” and “Big Black Coffin.” [Editor's note: I just read Buzz Bands, and apparently the drummer tonight wasn't John, but Lars. Apparently John went back to Sweden? Obviously I didn't even notice. All Swedes look alike - or something.] I will very happily see them again the next time they come to town.
7 comments:
What, no pics????
the pics came out really small. i wish i'd taken my real camera...
I thought PB&J performed their very catchy songs with enthusiasm and charisma. Obviously I don't blame them for the crowd being chock full o' d-bags. Lately, bad audiences are getting to me more and more. It's prolly just another side effect of me being old and cranky.
The crowd was awful, but so was the sound in the place. Basically, the show was almost impossible to evaluate. The one point made over in Buzz Bands that I totally agree with, though, is that they could really use a little fleshing-out of their sound. Some keyboards would help immensely. I have to say, I was pretty disappointed. I missed Morrissey for that?
This show should have taken place at Spaceland. I think the band would have been more at home. They would have definitely benefited sonically: the sound at the Roxy sucked (the low end frequencies were killing me while the mid & highs were lost in the mix / bad acoustics.) [And I agree with Steven on beefing up their sound with keyboards or pre-recorded parts]
Not sure if the crowd would have been any better, as I'm sure the same douche-bags would have descended on Silverlake faster that you can say "I was there, man."
If you guys think the sound was bad, you obviously don't go to many shows at say The Echo or The Avalon or The Wiltern Or Silverlake Lounge or...
For what it's worth, I see lots of shows at those places. The sound can be iffy at all of them -- although I think the Echo is surprisingly good, if you stand in the right spot -- but this was particularly bad. It was just poorly mixed, and muddy. If you heard a show that sounded like this even at the Lounge, you'd be stunned. Let's hope the sound guys at Coachella take a little more care with PB&J.
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