Original image by There Stands the Glass.
I’d been listening to Animal Collective all wrong. I spent 20 years discounting Animal Collective as a flighty jam band. Only during the pandemic-induced lockdown did I come to realize the group isn’t merely a more fashionable version of Phish.
The confluence of my deep dive into opera, a dalliance with dark drones and frequent exposure to free jazz improvisations compelled me to reevaluate Animal Collective’s inventive psychedelia. A concert at the Truman on Thursday, July 21, validated my newfound appreciation.
Less dependent on constrictive conventions such as tidy songs with ingratiating melodies, I’m finally willing to capitulate to the absolute sound rendered by one of the most influential bands of the new millennium. Yet receptivity is not to be confused with the absence of critical acuity.
Not everything about the band’s two-hour performance pleased me on Thursday. While it’s a compelling instrument, I could have done with a lot less of the voice of Avey Tare (a.k.a. David Portnoy). Almost all of the more than 600 people who purchased $35 tickets went nuts during an interpretation of the manic underground hit “The Purple Bottle,” but I remain indifferent to Animal Collective’s rave-ups.
The best bits of the concert in support of the delightful new album Time Skiffs were the sublime instrumental passages that alluded to early music as well as to contemporary classical innovations. Animal Collective is the rare set of rock musicians who are best in their most musically adventurous moments.
The excellent sound field reproduced the subtleties of the band’s performance in exquisite detail. The lighting was equally remarkable. Appearing cheap and tawdry before the lights went down, the stage set was wondrously transformed into a glorious array of colorful 1970s-style graphics.
Much as I initially underestimated the prospect for compelling visuals, I’d misjudged Animal Collective since 2000. Even so, I don’t feel too badly about missing out. I sense that the best- whether in a continuation of the band or in its members’ solo endeavors- is yet to come.