Grizzly Bear’s new album Painted Ruins was just released last Friday (8/18) and is their first new LP in five years. In support, the band booked four northeast dates before a full tour takes them through Europe and the United States beginning in October. Two of the four shows took place at BSP Kingston, which is not far from beautiful Allaire Studios in the Catskill Mountains outside of Woodstock, NY where the band recorded Painted Ruins.
By the time Delicate Steve wrapped up an enjoyable opening set of instrumental guitar rock, the cavernous 1900’s vaudeville and movie house performance space were filled to near capacity for the August 16th show. The Grizzly Bear set was a nice mix of cuts from the new album and older material. They began the show with two songs from the new album, “Four Cypresses” and “Losing All Sense”, that gave fans their first taste of the band’s beautiful new album showcasing the group’s incredible harmonies and intricate melodies. Grizzly Bear is fortunate to have two talented lead vocalists, Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, and both were on full display for “Yet Again” and “Speak In Rounds” from the 2012 release Shields.
The moody, “Glass Hillside”, also from the new album, grew in intensity and displayed the powerful harmonies of all four band members. Pulsating bass and drums from bassist Chris Taylor and drummer Christopher Bear began “Ready Able” that soared with rich vocals and hypnotic guitar. Ed Droste picked up an electric guitar and Daniel Rossen switched from a hollow body to a solid body electric guitar for the stirring “Fine for Now” from the 2009 Veckatimest LP.
Another song from the new album, “Systole”, dramatically grew in intensity and paired nicely with “Sleeping Ute” that began more bombastic before drifting to a mellower finish. “Mourning Sound”, perhaps the most commercial sounding song from the new album, mixed some radio-friendly hooks with their intricately layered atmospheric style.
Droste joked that you knew they were really going “old school” when he took out an autoharp for “Lullabye” from the 2006 album Yellow House. Daniel Rosen took a seat at the electric piano for a snappy version of “Two Weeks”. Rossen remained at the piano and Chris Taylor showed his versatility and dexterity switching from bass to woodwinds during “Foreground”.
Grizzly Bear finished the set with one more song from the new album, “Three Rings”, and the rhythmically charged “While You Wait for the Others” from Veckatimest for a big finish. The band would return to a fierce ovation for a two song encore that began with “Shift”, which was announced as the oldest song in the band’s catalog from the first Grizzly Bear album, Horn of Plenty. An incredible version of the explosive “Sun In Your Eyes” left an exclamation point on an excellent show. The performance was a great mix of sonic nirvana and artistic lighting.
Grizzly Bear returns from a trek across Europe and begins their complete tour of the US on the first of November at House of Blues in Boston and is scheduled to end with a two-night run at the Wiltern in Los Angeles on the 13th and 14th of December.
