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SXSW Review: Blitzen Trapper at Radio Room Patio
(Midnight, Thursday)
Blitzen Trapper debuted a new member of the band at Thursday night’s Sub Pop showcase. That member was a total surprise. That member really stole the show. That member is probably not going to be welcomed back. That member was … feedback.
From soundcheck until the closing song — the third different one wherein lead singer Eric Earley invoked God — intermittent ear-piercing feedback bludgeoned a set already beleaguered by band members weary from the long road they’ve been traveling in support of their new album of case-study genre-skipping, “Furr.”
Now, about that genre-skipping: you’d think a six-piece that can maneuver effortlessly from lyrical folk to fuzzy psych-rock to the outer regions of space-pop and even hip-hop — and can incorporate a kazoo, three synthesizers, and sundry other musical tchotchkes so seamlessly into that configuration — would be able to handle such setbacks. Nope. In addition to losing the battle with feedback, the band was constantly imploring their sound man to raise and lower their respective monitors. Talk about nitpicking. Talk about melodrama. Talk about not rising to the occasion.
As of press time, there was no fallout posted to Blitzen Trapper’s Twitter account, which is usually rife with comments on the previous night’s show. “Follow” them to find out if they issue an apology or place blame. Either way, I’d still pay to see them again.
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