[ATTENDED: March 30, 2018] Darlingside
Sarah and I saw Darlingside just three months ago at SOPAC. I was surprised that they were coming back to the area just a couple months later (even if by the area I mean two cities which are 90 miles apart). Even my son, who doesn’t always seem to pay attention to what we do said “Didn’t you just see them?”
The reason I was so intrigued to see them again so soon was three-fold.
- Their new album wasn’t out yet when we saw them in December. Now it was and I assumed they’d play more from it.
- SOPAC was a quiet, sit down, well-behaved place and I was curious to see if they performed differently in a bar/club.
- They are amazing, so why not?
Really the big question for me was the second one. What would they be like in a noisy club. Well, they still sounded amazing and just like Darlingside. They didn’t really change their game that I noticed. And in fact, the crowd changed for them. While there was some chatter, the crowd was there to hear them, and we knew what we’d be getting, so we were quiet when we should be (with some exceptions).
The biggest difference was between songs, when people went pretty wild, and the guys responded appropriately–not getting wild themselves, but ramping up their own outgoingness.
The guys have a stage patter in place. After a couple of songs, one of them will step up to the mic (they only ever use one mic which is magical because it picks up every breath and utterance) and addresses everyone with a story.
After playing two new songs (including using their Septavox, on “Eschaton” which adds a small element of electronics to their otherwise acoustic set). In SOPAC they talked about this gadget, here they did not. It was their first time to address us.
Cellist/guitarist Harris came up and was just so full of smiles and goodwill that it really set the mood for the night. (He raised him arms and shouted Yes!). He told us that last night they tried “Philadelphia Vanilla Ice Cream” for the first time. 
Which he was not even aware of this being a thing before then [nor was I]. He tried to describe it and the crowd responded appropriately (with someone shouting “Phanilla.”
And then they he told us that “Go Back” is based on Back to the Future II, which I did know.
They played some flawless songs from Birds Say (they do actually have quite a number of releases even if they focus on the two newest ones). The harmonies on “White Horses” (and , honestly every song) are just breathtaking.
David, who plays bass and an underrated kick drum spoke about opening act Twain. All of the bands whom Twain opens for seem to really like his music or at least him. So he raved about Twain for a bit and then joked about how much fun it is to substitute the word “twain” for other words in sentences. I can’t help but wonder if we are missing something. There was also some talk about toilet paper, with David being shocked that not everyone folds it into a perfect square.
The crowd enjoyed the new songs and showed great appreciation for the old songs. I was amazed at how great all of the songs sounded, but especially the really soaring ones like “My Gal, My Guy.” And when the smaller more fun songs like “Harrison Ford” began, there was thunderous applause.
It was also cool when Harris sat at cello for “The Ancestor” but you could still hear his vocal contributions even some three feet from the mic.
Guitarist/banjoist Don told us that he had signed up to donate blood marrow and that we could too (I could not, as the requirements are surprisingly strict). That wasn’t the usual fun banter, but it was perfectly in line with them as decent human beings. And I say that unironically. The four of them seem like the nicest guys in the world. (And when we met them it all seemed genuine).
The band doesn’t “do a lot on stage.” They switch positions a bunch depending on who needs to be doing what. I always enjoy seeing Auyon on the mandolin like on “Whipoorwill.” But mostly they huddle around that amazing microphone and sing like four-part-harmonious angels. I’m amazed that the bass doesn’t clatter against things–they must all be very well used to playing in small spaces.
Auyon is a crowd favorite. So when he got up to speak there was thunderous applause and he acknowledged it by saying it was appreciated but over the top. He often introduces the band and he did so tonight by discussing what was on their rider.
They’ve had a rider for a long time, bu only recently are venues starting to look at them. He says its difficult to make one because what you want when you are sitting on your couch at home making up a rider is not necessarily what you want the night of a show.
He says they try not to be wasteful. Don overheard the guys at Union Transfer discussing the requests, saying that tit’s all healthy stuff and very very specific. The phrases” lack of imagination and daring” were thrown around as was the word “restrained” but not in a positive way.
He told us that Harris does push ups to stay in shape. But he is worried that he apparently massive chest will ruin his writs making him unable to play, so he doesn’t really do them, after all.
When he introduced Don, and the crowd roared, Don pumped his arms trying to get the crowd louder which made everyone on stage laugh. Auyon deadpanned that the first time at a Darlingside show that anyone has done that motion–we don’t even pick things up. Don confesses, “It felt really bad too. I’m never going to do it again.”
Auyon told us that Don orders half beers. He’ll ask to split a beer, which is something no bartender respects.
When he introduced himself, the crowd went over the top with applause which led him to say that he believed that we were just messing with him now. He said, “I usually have the other half of the beer because I only want half, too.”
There is really nothing like hearing them singing the gorgeous “Good For You.”
I was thrilled when they played their new song “The Best of the Best of Times” which Harris introduced by saying they were writing it in England during Brexit and they thought things would be better at home. And then look what happened. We are a long way from the best of the best of times, indeed.
I wasn’t sure what to expect for an encore. I mean they’d played pretty much everything I wanted to hear. The set list wasn’t too differet from at SOPAC. It may have even been exactly the same songs, just in a different order. I don’t know what will happen when they do another new album and start having to remove songs from the set list, I need my 7 songs from Birds Say!
The first encore was “Orion” a new song (someone shouted for their cover of 1979 which I REALLY wanted to hear, too, but they didn’t play it.
They ended with their sorta rocker (and suitable show ender) “Blow the House Down” which has a raging (for them) guitar solo and some wild violin.
They hung out after the show to meet people, but it was time for us to leave, so we didn’t say hi. We’d chatted with them just a few months ago.
Amazingly, they will be back in the Philly area two more times before the end of the summer. May 18 at the Kimmel Center opening for Brandi Carlisle and then July 29 at XPN Festival.
Setlist
Singularity [EX]
Eschaton [EX]
Go Back [Birds]
White Horses [Birds]
My Gal, My Guy [Birds]
Hold Your Head Up High [EX]
Extralife [EX]
The Ancestor [Birds]
Harrison Ford [Birds]
Whippoorwill [ep]
Futures [EX]
Good For You [Birds]
Best of the Best Times [EX]
The God of Loss [Birds]
Encore:
Orion [EX]
Blow the House Down [Pilot]
What didn’t they play?
From Birds Say: Clay & Cast Iron; Birds Say; Water Rose; Do You Ever Live; She’s All Around; Volcano Sky
From Extra Life: Old Friend; Lindisfarne; The Rabbit and the Pointed Gun; Indian Orchard Road; Rita Hayworth
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When Letters to Cleo first put out Aurora Gory Alice back in 1993 I was really excited about them. They were punky and fast but they were poppy and intriguing. The chorus of “Here & Now” is somehow really catchy and impossible to sing. I lived in Boston, they were based in Boston. They were getting much buzz in the Boston Phoenix and on WFNX (“Here & Now” was inescapable–it was even used on Melrose Place). And their name was weird and mentioned my childhood dog (Cleo). I also thought their album title was funny so I bought a copy on Cherry Disc records (one of dozens of CDs I bought on an indie label only to later find out the major label pressing aided like five more songs and a gold chain or something).
I Just Read About That... 