last night

Anathallo is a Michigan band that recently relocated to Chicago, but they came back to Grand Rapids to play a gig last night at the FAC. The band might be the lovechild of the Polyphonic Spree and Sufjan Stevens. And The Arcade Fire is probably in the family tree too.

For all of that promise, I was a bit disappointed. Lisa and I both felt the same way about the music--we liked a lot of what was happening in its parts and the concepts being bandied about where fun, but it didn't quite all add up to a moving musical experience for either of us (though clearly the crowd loved them). That said, there was one guy on the stage (one of the many people on stage) that just made me happy to watch. He played everything from trombone to kettle drum to wood blocks and kept time with his whole body. It was unclear at times whether he was playing the music or the music was playing him.




Pictures from K.O.A. Zine