Freelance Whales’ performance on Wednesday was a bit like my experience with Hurricane Sandy: One minute was jubilation at the prospect of no work for two days, and the next minute was a mellowed out restlessness, presumably from staying inside for too long.
That is definitely not to say that the performance was by any means terrible or disengaging. Rather, it simply means that the group from Queens meandered through most of their current catalogue, which consisted of the poppy, upbeat Weathervanes and the recently released, mellow, ambient Diluvia.
For popular catchy songs like “Generator ^ First Floor,” “Hannah,” or “Ghosting,” the crowd was quick to nod their heads, raise their hands, and sing along.
But those songs were spaced out and filled with longer, slower tracks from Diluvia like “DNA Banks” and “The Nothing,” at times taking the energy level down and crowd participation — and, for some, attention — with it.
But when the band was on, they were on. They marched onto the stage clad in Halloween costumes, definitely adding to their show, even if they weren’t dressed like whales, as a few of the audience members were.
While they didn’t give out any treats, the ear candy more than sufficed.
Brandon Hook is the Online Assistant at Sojourners.
Photo by Andy Sheppard/Redferns
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