Plants And Animals Played The Rock Shop - Pictures, Review, Setlist

Last night we braved the late-fall rain to stop in at Brooklyn's Rock Shop for a set from Montreal's Plants and Animals.  The band, who recently announced their third full length's arrival in February, decided to play a couple of one-offs before they go on tour next spring.  The show saw the arrival of a new bassist to the band's lineup, and a handful of songs off the new record.  And, as per usual, these HAD faves delivered an absolutely killer live set.

Over the course of an hour and twenty minutes, the band traversed both of their previous full length records, as well as delivering three tunes from The End Of That, which drops on February 28th.  The new material (which included the already released "Lightshow") was surprisingly straight-ahead in it's delivery, and was at times reminiscent of Jonathan Richman, or Dylan at his most melodic. It's unquestionably a new sound for the band, but one that worked extremely well, and left us hankering to hear the rest of the record.

The older material also took on a new life.  The addition of a full time basis allowed the band to explore more nooks and crannies of the tunes, and also gave way to some more fleshed out lead guitar. The closest thing the band has had to a hit, "Bye Bye Bye", was radically reworked in a manner that removed a fair degree of its grandiosity, and replaced it with a garage-y feel that placed the emphasis on the melody, rather than the arrangement.

Despite clocking in at over an hour, the set still felt incredibly quick.  This is a band who is positively riveting on stage, and gives it their all every time we see them. Moreover, their intricate, syncopated arrangements never seem to get old, and breathe new life into the tunes time and time again.  The End Of That is unquestionably one of our most anticipated records of 2012, and last night's show served to remind us of why. If you decided to stay in last night because of the weather, well, we're sorry to say you missed out.

More photos at the HAD Archive


Setlist:
Faerie Dance
Lightshow
Game Shows
Mama Papa
Good Friend
The End Of That
Undone Melody
Bye Bye Bye
Mercy
New Song (Holy Matrimony)
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New Kind Of Love