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Bonnaroo Concert Review: Gomez |
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Written by Branden Hart
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Sunday, 21 June 2009 |
 Gomez rocks South by Southwest. Image courtesy of Flickr's IFC-the-Internet.
The band mounted the Which Stage in front of a backdrop made of banners illustrating the cover of its latest album, A New Tide, and immediately engaged the crowd with banter indicative of most of its shows. A friendly atmosphere abounded as the crowd began dancing to the music, but it wasn’t until the band played “Natural Reaction” from ANT that they truly connected with the Bonnarooers. The live version, bearing very little variation from the studio cut, was a treat to hear, with lead singer Ben Ottewell belting out the vocals with more energy than you could pick up from even the most high fidelity stereo system.
At first, I was unsure whether Gomez was really the right band to get festival goers started on Friday morning – during the first songs, few people seemed moved by the music, and patrons were more likely to pick the dried mud from their legs than bob their heads. But by the time the show was five songs deep, more people were dancing than weren’t. The fifth song was “Mix,” also from ANT, and people all around me were singing along with the music – proof positive that the indie outfit has effectively connected with the American market. By this time, the sun was proving a formidable opponent, but the band redoubled its efforts and increased the intensity of its performance with a great cover of Led Zepplin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.”
[F]or the first time that day, I closed my eyes and put down my notebook to let the music engulf me.As the crowd continued to grow, the band launched into the first single from ANT, “Airstream Driver.” This song is, by far, the most commercially appealing Gomez song (and my least favorite), and seeing it live didn’t change my opinion that the catchy chorus and happy-go-lucky melody betrayed the jagged, visceral feeling Gomez instilled in its earliest albums. Regardless, the crowd got into the fast tempo and catchy chorus, which intensified the energy for the next song, “Little Pieces.” Also from ANT, “Little Pieces” is one of my favorite Gomez songs, and for the first time in the concert, the live performance far exceeded the studio cut. Ottewell lashed out at the song’s chorus, screaming into the mic while maintaining perfect tonal composure, and for the first time that day, I closed my eyes and put down my notebook to let the music engulf me.
The band closed with “How We Operate” in what was by far its strongest performance of the day. As the song reached its climax, the crowd exploded with excitement in my first goosebump-inducing moment at Bonnaroo this year. Once the last chord was struck and the applause finally subsided, I was exhausted – not just from the blazing sun, but from seeing one of my favorite bands rock the stage in my first full concert of the year.
[Front page image by Flickr's "IFC-the-Internet"]
Branden Hart, TheSequitur.com's managing editor, works as an editor in San Antonio.
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