Given the cancellation of their fall tour this year, Low's appearance
at the Paste Rock 'n Reel festival sounded like an unmissable
event. While perhaps not as rare or odd as catching the band
performing as the Misfits, seeing Low after a cancelled tour when we
weren't expecting to see them, performing songs that they weren't
expected to record, was exceptional.
When a band tours as frequently as Low has in the last decade, it’s
easy for long time fans to get complacent and take the annual visit
from Duluth’s finest for granted. After seeing Low on tour after tour,
I decided to take a break the last time that they came around because I
felt like I had seen it all before. With the stylistic departure of The Great Destroyer
it seemed like this might be a good year to catch back up with the band
to see if they’d be trying out any new tricks live. More than anything,
I was curious as to how well the new, louder sound would translate
live, especially for a band that is known for quiet, powerfully
delicate shows. Then came the announcement that this year’s tour was
cancelled and it seemed unlikely that I’d get the chance to experience
Low cranked up to 11 this year or any other.
What luck then
that one of only two Low shows this season happened to be
scheduled in Atlanta as a part of Paste Magazine's Rock ‘n Reel
Festival. After all of the change and drama and waiting and then the
unlikely event of a Low gig this year in my backyard, I’m happy to
report that despite appearing terribly uncomfortable on stage
throughout the first few songs, Low can most certainly rock. This point
was driven home most clearly during “When I Go Deaf” when my girlfriend
tugged on my sleeve to point out a man standing ten feet away from us
who was plugging his ears… at a Low show! It only took a few
seconds for that to sink in and for the laughter to erupt. Low
has always been able to translate loud, heavy cover songs into their
own distinct brand of slow burning tension, so I was sure that if they
played songs from their latest record, that the live versions would be
stripped back down to a quiet rumble. Not so. Tracks like “Monkey” and
“California” had every bit of their recorded distortion and bombast and
crashing rock energy, even if the band lacked the accompanying
theatrics.
Of course the night would not have been complete
without some quiet moments, and the most telling of those came when
Alan Sparhawk could be seen mouthing the word “slower” to the bass
player (who was not Zak Sally) during the intro to “Lazy.” The cover of
Neil Young’s “Down by the River” opened with a squall of guitar
feedback and then settled into a deceptively calm and beautiful
arrangement; the kind that Low so often uses to lull audiences into
blissfully grooving to dark and painful songs. “Two Step” was pristine
and subtle as ever, while “Starfire” suffered a false start but
eventually soared. Despite an admitted lack of practice, the band
seemed to pass easily through the set, stomping on the fuzzbox when
necessary, and peeling back to a cleaner sound when one was called for.
The story of the night though was that Low was back on a stage
with the amps cranked up and a palpable sense of bitterness doing more
than just lurking underneath the surface. This was Low as a darker,
louder, and more painful band on stage, and the result was astounding.
The show helped to remind me that there are certain bands that you
should just never pass up the chance to see no matter how many times
you think you’ve seen them.