I still have dreams of having Bishop Allen play the basement. I felt I was close a couple years ago when they had a night off on a tour with John Vanderslice, but they ended up on the Terrace instead. Looking at the decent sized crowd assembled for a rare Sunday night show at the free campus venue, I figured my chances of ever hosting them were gone. Maybe not. Only thirty some, reasonably priced advance tickets had been sold for tonight’s show. The crowd was sparse through the openers, and only filled in slightly more before Bishop Allen took the stage.
I can certainly understand wanting to miss the openers, I know I wish I had. I arrived 45 minutes late and first opener Darwin Deez had just started. It’s hard to imagine a stranger looking band. There was the lead singer, Darwin I’m guessing, with his variable length curly hair reined in by what looked like a glow stick that had long ago quit glowing, and his ugly sweater contest winning sweater. Then there was the backward-cap wearing keyboard/guitar playing girl with a mustache who was way less enthusiastic about the synchronized dance numbers that finished every song than the cheerleader type on bass. Their bald drummer looked alternately bored, embarrassed and amused, all emotions that I could understand. Ultimately it just seemed they were trying too hard to be weird. Fortunately, good looking second opener Throw Me the Statue was completely inoffensive, but also basically unremarkable. Their lead singer looked distinctly Scandinavian so it was always a surprise when he spoke with an American accent.
I’ve seen Bishop Allen many times, and on a scale of best to worst (though still pretty good of course) this show fell somewhere just shy of the middle. The set list was good, a fair sampling of their last couple full lengths. Crowd pleaser “The Monitor” was a highlight, as was the unexpected “Butterfly Net.” Xylophone/melodica player/vocalist Darcy doesn’t always tour with the band, but the latter song alone is worth bringing her along in my opinion. I’m usually not a fan of the girl singer, especially one as girly and breathy as she is, but those qualities are perfect for the flit of a song. And with her brightly colored sleeveless dress exposing her thin pale arms, she actually looked a lot like a butterfly.
Bishop Allen’s most recent ’08 release Grrrr... isn’t as strong as their previous, the terrific The Broken String, but I can hardly fault them for that. Not only is String practically a perfect record, but by releasing an EP every month the year before they had 48 quality songs to select from. It’s hard not to be charmed by their catchy songs and by the band themselves. The only two constants in the band are the charmingly nerdy Justin Rice and equally endearingly geeky Christian Rudder. However, the rest of the line-up has solidified this year. In addition to butterfly Darcy, the adorably boyish bassist and the handsome drummer have been with the band the last couple times I have seen them.
It’s unfortunate that a bigger crowd wasn’t there to see them tonight. It has been awhile since they have played Madison and if that is all the support they get, it might be another long while before they come back.
Darwin Deez
Throw Me the Statue
Bishop Allen
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