Photo of Bishop Allen at the Kilby Court by Earl Cahill, 2008
Last Friday night, New York's Bishop Allen came to Utah for the third time. The first two times, they came to Provo and played to a decent-sized crowd at Club Velour (classy name!) This time, they played the Kilby Court in Salt Lake, which holds roughly a third the number of people (even though the attendees at Kilby Court shows tend to weigh about thirty pounds less than those at other shows, making it easier to pack them in). I'm not sure the picture above properly represents the "closeness" we all felt as we watched the performance - not that it's not a good picture (thanks Earl!) The other difference this time around was the material Bishop Allen played. The first time they came through Utah, they were touring the songs on their 2006 EP-a-month project, and they seemed genuinely surprised that anyone showed up to see them. The second time, they were touring on The Broken String and played a very different setlist. This current tour, they are warming up material for their new album Grrr, which is due to come out next Spring. Knowing that they were not going to play all the old favorites going in to the show, I was able to relax a little and let the new songs soak in.
There were three opening acts, only one of which is worth a mention - An Horse from Brisbane, Australia were an indie pop duo that played a nice set of K-Records-style upbeat pop, reminiscent of the first Spinanes record. They managed to get a really full sound from one guitar and drums by sticking to simple song structures and using boy-and-girl duo vocals well. By the time Bishop Allen took the stage, the small "room" was packed tight, but the crowd's real enthusiasm for the group and their songs made the show really enjoyable. Unlike some, I didn't mind that many people sang along on the choruses of the familiar songs - enough of the set was brand new to prevent it from being a pub-style sing-along. The new material is good, although it is, as Christian has said on the band's site, more of a throwback to the Charm School sound. The story-song approach of the EP project has largely been replaced by more hook-oriented, bouncy pop, with layered harmonies and long, wordless "oh oh oh" choruses. Among the new songs, "Ancient Common Sense of Things", "Oklahoma", and "Shanghaied" stood out as real winners. I have enough trust in the skills of Justin and Christian, the band's songwriters, to count on liking their new album a lot. Their energy level was high and they got a great mix out of the Kilby's less-than-stellar sound system, so the show did not disappoint.
Unfortunately, the band's tour van died in Colorado the day after the show, and they ended up leaving Christian behind to get it fixed, traveling on to Chicago with another band that picked them up. I hope that doesn't tarnish their memory of the show - I'd like to think they'll keep their promise to come back in the Spring and play again. For now, here's one of their best story-songs from the February EP, available at their website. It's "Queen of the Rummage Sale".
"Queen of the Rummage Sale" by Bishop Allen
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