Animal Collective – Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol 22/03/09

As an audience member at a concert, I usually like my presence to be acknowledged. It doesn’t have to be much, the band don’t even really need say anything, and long diatribes are actively discouraged. But simply looking at the crowd, encouraging a reaction, physically engaging yourself with the fans by appearing to realize they’re there – it lets the audience, for a moment, feel even more a part of the band’s experience, like they’re doing this for you and not just having a private jam anywhere in the world.

I understand that after taking on a mammoth tour like Animal Collective have, it’s difficult to turn up every night and play with an unwavering enthusiasm. But this was not just lacking in charisma – it was a set plagued with technical problems, and furthermore, it was an Animal Collective gig, a band who’ve always had problems transferring that brilliant recorded sound into an equally revelatory and transfixing live experience. Extending a hand to your fans and letting them into your world for an hour and a half can make all the difference between an average gig and a great one.

Sadly Animal Collective prefer to let their music do the talking, and while there’s no doubting the quality of the tunes on show here, there is an inherent trait in their music which juxtaposes with what traditional indie gig-goers have come to expect from a live performance. All samples and loops and pre-records, it’s difficult to actually see where the music is coming from, which again takes away from any uniqueness the night may have had – it may not be the case, but it certainly felt like seen one AC gig, seen them all. They certainly try and tailor the songs to make them more suitable to the live environment, so that despite the use of samples and pre-recorded loops there is a different experience to be had here to the one on record – but on many songs I found the lengthy build-ups and segues from one track to the next quite irritating. The most brilliant thing about both ‘Brother Sport’ and Strawberry Jam’s ‘Chores’ is their openings, sudden and surprising. Here they wrapped them both in minutes of swirling, building, enveloping soundscapes, which was unarguably atmospheric, but detracted from the immediacy and power the original recorded versions had.

Of course, most of these complaints are born from disappointment rather than because of a bad gig. Merriweather Post Pavilion is easily my favourite record this year, and seems destined to stay that way, and just to see 8 of it’s 11 tracks was a joy. ‘Lion In A Coma‘ was the inevitable highlight, mainly because Avey/Dave actually picks up a guitar, rocks out, and lets some of those trademark screams go. A powercut in the middle of opener ‘Guys Eyes’ and problems with Noah Lennox’s monitor, so he couldn’t hear himself for half the night, were problems I can hardly blame the band for, and in many ways the difficulties their music has live is because of the way they craft it so brilliantly on record. It all builds towards an enjoyable, but frustrating experience, you’ll love what you’re hearing but lament a missed opportunity for something truly great.

Animal Collective on MySpace