J. Tillman took the stage at the Middle East Upstairs for a late show on Sunday night. But then again, it was only 8pm in Seattle, the west-coast town that this drummer from Fleet Foxes calls home.
The performance was a family affair, with J. Tillman’s brother Zach opening as a solo act called Pearly Gates Music. Zach Tillman offered us a stripped-down version of his already sparse style: leaving behind all unnecessary instruments, he came to us as one man and a guitar crooning blues and covering Pavement’s “Shoot the Singer.”
The Middle East Upstairs is an intimate venue, allowing audiences to rub noses with the performers. Zach Tillman self-deprecatingly commented on this lack of personal space: “Whoa, dude. You guys are close. Last show, there was like a 15-foot perimeter. And not because there was security or anything. People just chose to be that far away.”
After Pearly Gates, the flannel-clad, full-bearded band backing J. Tillman took the stage to a surprisingly chill audience. The place was packed, but these hipsters were polite, exerting themselves only just enough to pass as decent human beings. Was it Sunday night after a long weekend of parties?
Or maybe it was simply that the performance took a few unexpected twists. If I could have listened to J. Tillman’s soothing croon all night, I couldn’t have asked for more. It’s what I was expecting from a Fleet Fox.
Instead, J. Tillman vacillated between a straight-up folk artist sound à la Sam Beam and smash-and-shred noise-fests à la Sonic Youth. It made for variety, but not in the peanut-butter-and-chocolate vein of brilliance. More like peanut-butter-and-salsa. And it made me queasy.
There were moments (of pure peanut-butter smoothness) where the steel and acoustic guitars and J. Tillman’s voice transported me to heights of pure nostalgia, a place where things couldn’t have been more right with the world.
And the encore brought the lullaby tunes I had been craving all night: J. Tillman and his acoustic guitar serenading an audience with “James Blues” before we stumbled home to bed. This, folks, was all I really wanted.
DOWNLOAD: J. Tillman - Though I Have Wronged You (MP3) or Follow us for more J. Tillman MP3s (Twitter)
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Avey Tare was in attendance, along with Angel from Dirty Projectors.
by David on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 08.35 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
Good catch, oh masked marvel.
by Ari Sommer on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.42 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
St. Sincent...ha.
by anonymous on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 02.04 pm from the entry: St Vincent + Wildbirds and Peacedrums - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR; Feb. 6, 2010)
Aan was amazing.
by jarrod on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.02 pm from the entry: Blue Horns + Morning Teleportation + Aan - Doug Fir Lounge (Portland, OR Jan. 30, 2010)
I’d like to clarify that for this show they cut off the back half of Neumo’s floor with a curtain and had the upstairs bar closed. It made Neumo’s obviously seem much smaller than it is. Unfortunately, now having seen Neumo’s fully open at another show I can say that this show was very empty. Still White Denim and Brazos rocked.
by Chris on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.57 am from the entry: White Denim + Brazos - Neumos (Seattle, WA; Jan. 24, 2010)
I agree, it’s very good. Way to deflate their balloon.
by colin on Mon Feb 8, 2010 at 01.03 am from the entry: Third Annual Portland Music Awards - Crystal Ballroom (Portland, OR; Jan. 28, 2010)
Love the photos. And that “Walkabout” song is the drugs.
by Beth Doreian on Sun Feb 7, 2010 at 01.14 pm from the entry: Atlas Sound + Neon Indian - E&L Auditorium (New York, NY; Feb. 4, 2010)
