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Setlist
04/12/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club
Read More04/19/13 Indio, CA Empire Polo Club “I wish that I was in Minneapolis”, Britt Daniel sings on the track ‘Would That Not Be Nice’ and his wish comes true as Divine Fits embarks on an upcoming U.S. Tour that includes Minneapolis on one of its stops, before hitting larger festival ..…
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The over-used term ‘musical super group’ is often associated with good ideas that don’t materialize into great results – for a super group to truly succeed; it must be greater than the sum of its parts. In the case of Divine Fits as evidenced by their sold-out performance at Minneapolis’ Varsity Theater Thursday, they qualify.
Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs), Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks), and Alex Fischel played a solid 66 min. set, that had the crowd on their side before they even struck a note.
Ever since hearing the phrase “I wish that I was in Minneapolis” from the song “Would That Not Be Nice” from their debut, ‘A Thing Called Divine Fits’ (Merge Records), an album described on their website as being about “the death of true love, hitchhiking, cocoa butter, emotional distance, what happens when the curtain drops, and Minneapolis, MN”, the crowd was already in their corner. And as further proof of any ‘hipster cred’, every scenester within 200 miles was present in the audience- waxing eloquent about the songs, live blogging, or just generally being seen at this hot ticket show.
The evening did stop short of being a complete ‘Britt-a-Palooza’ though- Daniel played the Divine Fits set and an after party DJ session, but didn’t as hoped, sit in on bass for Split Single, led by Jason Narducy (Bob Mould band) who opened with a solid power pop set.
Divine Fits then took the stage to an innocent enough beginning- Fishel entering first behind the keyboards as an artificial snow fell from the rafters (as if the MN crowd needed to see more snow) and someone throwing a maraschino cherry out front, in homage to the album cover, then the band going into the churning ‘Neopolitans’.
Next was Boeckner on lead for a throbbing ‘Baby Get Worse’, switching next with Daniel for the poppy ‘Like Ice Cream’ and the role switching continued all night – Daniel and Boeckner swapping lead vocals, even bass and lead guitars for various songs as well. The unofficial MN anthem, ‘Would That Not Be Nice’ followed, the only time Daniel stepped out to sing center stage, and was prefaced by the story of him being envious at a tour friend stopping in Minneapolis for a show. Knowing the local reference, lesser bands would have likely milked the song into some 10min sing-a-long, but Divine Fits simply chose to move through a respectable version, Daniel only briefly prompting an ‘All right”, before he sang the fabled line.
An 80’s-inspired ‘My Love is Real’ switched Boeckner back to lead, Fishel’s dark synth riffs anchoring the track. ‘Lost’ is what some members in the crowd did, as in lost it jumping around, when the band revealed its faithful cover of the Frank Ocean song, and they followed it with the new ‘Chained’, before another cover – a somewhat stark ‘You Got Lucky’, more brooding than Tom Petty ever performed it. Kicking into another gear was “The Salton Sea’ and ‘Flaggin’ a Ride’ before a crashing ‘For Your Heart’ ended the main set.
The encore began with ‘What Gets You Alone’ followed by Daniel leading us through a passionate cover of Rowland S. Howard’s ‘Shivers’, guitars piercing, strobe lights flashing, then the band exiting to raucous applause like conquering gladiators.
For a relatively new band, the performance came off like a veteran act that has been on the touring circuit for years, which speaks to their overall chemistry. As only a casual fan of their other bands, on this night at least, the sum was proved greater than the parts. Where they go from here remains anyone’s guess, but consider the cherry popped and the table set for greater heights ahead.
Britt Daniel (Spoon), Dan Boeckner (Wolf Parade/Handsome Furs), Sam Brown (New Bomb Turks), and Alex Fischel played a solid 66 min. set, that had the crowd on their side before they even struck a note.
Ever since hearing the phrase “I wish that I was in Minneapolis” from the song “Would That Not Be Nice” from their debut, ‘A Thing Called Divine Fits’ (Merge Records), an album described on their website as being about “the death of true love, hitchhiking, cocoa butter, emotional distance, what happens when the curtain drops, and Minneapolis, MN”, the crowd was already in their corner. And as further proof of any ‘hipster cred’, every scenester within 200 miles was present in the audience- waxing eloquent about the songs, live blogging, or just generally being seen at this hot ticket show.
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SPLIT SINGLE
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Divine Fits then took the stage to an innocent enough beginning- Fishel entering first behind the keyboards as an artificial snow fell from the rafters (as if the MN crowd needed to see more snow) and someone throwing a maraschino cherry out front, in homage to the album cover, then the band going into the churning ‘Neopolitans’.
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DAN BOECKNER/Divine Fits
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An 80’s-inspired ‘My Love is Real’ switched Boeckner back to lead, Fishel’s dark synth riffs anchoring the track. ‘Lost’ is what some members in the crowd did, as in lost it jumping around, when the band revealed its faithful cover of the Frank Ocean song, and they followed it with the new ‘Chained’, before another cover – a somewhat stark ‘You Got Lucky’, more brooding than Tom Petty ever performed it. Kicking into another gear was “The Salton Sea’ and ‘Flaggin’ a Ride’ before a crashing ‘For Your Heart’ ended the main set.
each sold out show gets a piñata broken
The audience also became privy to an apparent Divine Fits tradition – each sold out show gets a piñata broken, so they brought a birthday friend on stage, who took the long handle of a broom to swing at a Transformers piñata, spraying treats into the crowd with the band’s help. Candy + Ear Candy, I suppose.
The encore began with ‘What Gets You Alone’ followed by Daniel leading us through a passionate cover of Rowland S. Howard’s ‘Shivers’, guitars piercing, strobe lights flashing, then the band exiting to raucous applause like conquering gladiators.
For a relatively new band, the performance came off like a veteran act that has been on the touring circuit for years, which speaks to their overall chemistry. As only a casual fan of their other bands, on this night at least, the sum was proved greater than the parts. Where they go from here remains anyone’s guess, but consider the cherry popped and the table set for greater heights ahead.
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Divine Fits at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (04/04/13) |
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