Elefant @ Black Cat, May 19th

The wait was worth it, but Elefant took a little time to build up speed. Singer/songwriter Diego Garcia seemed a little rigid at first, and Top and I weren't sure if it was purely theatrical or if it was the band getting loose. Diego seemed to come alive about the same time that the music began to really rock, which was about halfway through the show.

I must say that I am a casual listener to Elefant at best, but I am enough of a fan of the band and music to get fairly excited about the live show. They love the dark guitar sound, and it was a sound that dominated the opening half of the show. About the same time that dark fog lifted and the poppier, slicker rock songs emerged, the band seemed to really click on stage. Garcia is a welcoming, entertaining frontman who is not hard on the eyes, but he is not a facade, he has a great voice that works well in the band's melodies (both the dark and the light). There were some ladies in attendance, one of whom took the liberty of joining Garcia & Co. on stage (actually, just Garcia), for the last song of their main set. It was all in good fun, and Garcia, ever the gentleman, let her take a shot at a few bars on the mic, before saving the song and the audience by reclaiming his lead vocal duties. Towards the front there were some diehards that were hanging on every note and singing along to every word. They seemed more than pleased with the setlist and occasionally freaked out during the opening notes of songs.

Elefant played for a solid 50 minutes, took a brief breather and then closed with a one song encore. I wish I could give you more in terms of a setlist, but again, I am just a casual listener. I am not sure if I would catch Elefant again, on their own, but the bill including both them and Sound Team was well worth the price of admission. I wonder if my initial high from Sound Team's performance threw everything out of whack. I felt severely let down by Aberdeen City and then it took me a while to get into the Elefant groove. Check it all out for yourself, if you get the chance. Elefant are in Austin tonight (which should be a nice homecoming for Sound Team) and then they join forces with Voxtrot and Silversun Pickups for the West Coast end of the tour.

MP3: Elefant - "The Clown"
Official Site