By: Jen Paulson
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Tim DeLaughter of The Polyphonic Spree - Photo by Stacy Schwartz
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I think people who don’t like The Polyphonic Spree aren’t familiar with them at all. I can guarantee those people have never and might never see one of their live shows due to their bias—and that’s a damn shame. Not only is the music technically top of the line and orchestral—the empowering, optimistic lyrics are beautiful and profound. In my opinion, their recent release, The Fragile Army, really is one of the best albums of the year, hands down.
Everything about The Spree is enormous—the sound, the sheer volume of members in the band and the general spirit involved makes even the smallest space large. Frankly, I have been honing my dance moves since I was first, truly affected by them back in July when they played a staggeringly awesome show at the Fine Line. I wasn’t enthusiastic before that, but I left that gig as more than a fan. I left it with the overwhelming desire to follow them everywhere.
Frontman Tim DeLaughter is a warm, master showman and ringleader. There is something about his energy and his joy that is infectious. Jammed into the end of a three-band headlining gig with Rooney and The Redwalls at the Pantages Friday, I was hoping for a nice long set again, but as I managed to catch a glimpse at the setlist, it looked like that wouldn’t be the case. The hour-plus set centered on the new album, but did not include my personal favorite—its title track. “The Fragile Army” is a perfect song on the perfect album. For the most part, the show contained its usual high energy, and thankfully did not include the older, “Light and Day,” a song that I have an unusual, highly irritating past with. It left more room for other songs. Their performance of “Justify (Watch Us Explode)” had me freaking out like a 13 year old at her first stadium show.
In lieu of the originally planned two-song encore and their riot-inducing version of Nirvana’s “Lithium,” they played “When the Fool Becomes a King,” their10-minute-plus sing-along of epic proportions. The Pantages’ high ceilings allowed for a long-term rain of confetti that concertgoers reveled in. And instead of the usual stage exit at the end of the show, DeLaughter gave a nice little speech as if it were the end of a rock and roll sermon, while one of the guys behind me shamelessly flirted with one of the choirgirls.
Between the rocking, stomping exuberance of the choir, and the unorthodox community of the multitudes of incredibly talented musicians, the show itself was a non-stop festival of musical joy. The mystery might have been taken away a bit by my eye spying members promptly changing out of their robes on the side of the stage, but nothing can take away the drive to sing along loudly while dancing my nerdiest dance and transcending any self-consciousness that one has in their daily life. And that is the heart of the experience right there—acceptance.
Location Info:
Pantages Theatre
Artist Info: The Polyphonic Spree
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