As a preface, a few words on Berlin's crowds: the pretension level in Germany is surprisingly low. It's as if the general populace is so comfortable with the fact they collectively create the hippest city in western history that there's really no point in proving it every night at some American indie rock show. "Amateurs!" they scoff, as an "avant-garde" band like Animal Collective writhes about. "I do that in my living room after dinner!"
Thursday night, said band graced the stage of VolksbÂhne at Rosa-Luxembourg-Platz in Berlin. This may not be of particular interest to anyone in the District, but Animal Collective does hail in part from our lovely neighbor to the north, Baltimore. A general feeling of "Aw, home!" was invoked on the stage of the majestic, pre-Nazi era theater.
For Animal Collective, being able to stir up enough interest in these faraway lands to play a gig in a place about half the size of D.A.R. Constitution Hall is pretty remarkable. Their recent show in Amsterdam promptly sold out with a line of eager Dutch kids winding out the door, despite the concurrent performance of the Âber-precious Sufjan Stevens at the very same venue. The crowd occupying the lush seats at VolksbÂhne appeared rapt with attention as vocalist Panda Bear went through the standard, "Hello, Berlin!" call-and-response efforts.
There is something to be understood about an Animal Collective show: a set list is a tentative subject. If they do choose to play something off of an album or two, it's usually disguised with a completely different key or a ton of screaming. Such was the case on Thursday, as they plowed through what could actually be interpreted as "Leaf House," "Kids on Holiday" and "Winters Love" from 2004's "Sung Tongs." But it's not like any one track off of any one album is particularly discernable in itself, so that should be taken into account as well.
This was actually a big step up from their show at the Black Cat this April. Back then, the solid two-hour set was almost unlistenable, with nothing but high-pitched squeals and way too much fuzzy reverb. It was unfortunate because Panda Bear's voice is actually a major highlight, and when there's something melodic to comply with their near-theatrical onstage gyrations, an Animal Collective performance can be quite transcendental. Yeah, transcendental.
Thursday's show was a definite treat. The band seemed to be intentionaly showcasing the vocals, providing a high level of coherency and flow. They have refined their live act in such a way that they spend less time involved in bumbling around on stage in a sort of "l'art pour l'art" way. The primary focus is more on being in synch with their music, proving that Animal Collective has massive untapped potential.
It was like a drug. VolksbÂhne became something of a cocoon, the walls resonating with a slow hum as roughly 200 Berliners curled up in velvet chairs. It was Animal Collective the way they are meant to be seen.
Unfortunately, the rapture only lasted so long. After reaching the 30-minute mark, many people were vacating their seats at a rapid pace, seeming more content to stand outside the theater and smoke a Rothandle cigarette (y'know, the ones without the filters that existentialists smoke). So many left that at one point, the band uncharacteristically blurted out, "You have no idea how weird it is to have the people up front just get up and leave"
