True to their band name, Listening Party‘s experimental, tribal sounds quickly turned the main floor of Omaha’s The Slowdown into a party. Although there were only three members in this band consisting of a guitar, bass and a makeshift drum set, the guys in Listening Party produced a full sound that sounded like a mashing of Ra Ra Riot and Vampire Weekend, although even that comparison doesn’t do their sound justice.

In fact, the sound was so big and textured, it was easy to miss at first glance that lead vocalist Lindy‘s drum set consisted of a bucket and a trashcan for two of the drums. As if that weren’t experimental enough for the drum set, Lindy even substituted his sticks for maracas for a few songs.

Although the actual words weren’t that easy to pick up on, the many loops of the music made it easy for audience members to pick up the groove and at least clap or or howl along.

My only criticism is that the guys didn’t really try to interact with the audience. There was very little chatter in between songs. However, some people prefer this, but I would have like to have seen more of the guys’ personality in between songs.

Set list:
All Those Animals
Through the Trees
Jesus Christ I Don’t Know
Little Tender Hearts
Ring the Bell
Pachina
Swift Runner
Kissing Booth
The Kid
Boy Scouts Honour

Now as fascinating as Listening Party were, the real reason to be at the Slowdown on this particular evening was to catch indie rock outfit Wolf Parade who have been long overdue for a visit to our city. In fact, this was their first time to Omaha.

“Not your usual rock star drink,” said vocalist and keyboardist Spencer Krug while holding up a mug filled with hot tea. Krug was feeling a little under the weather. The audience let out a little chuckle and soon found out that the tea was not the only thing that made these guys “not your usual rock stars.”

Sure, they did the typical things that you’d expect from any rock show. Their set mixed their latest release At Mount Zoomer with many of their older songs. Instrumental solos swelled and made the crowd go nuts. But they are different not because of the back and forth vocals of Krug and Dan Boeckner, which is still a definite plus and quality attributing toward their uniqueness. No, I say that they are not your typical rock stars because of the way that they connected with the audience that night. There were a few ”slightly” intoxicated members in the audience who must not know the concept of a set list and consistently requested “Kissing the Beehive.” Boeckner had fun with the random requests and told the audience he would not be performing the 85-minute “Stairway to Freebird” that particular evening, although both Boeckner and Krug assured the audience ”Beehive” would come, just not at that moment.

Even after perfectly delivering hit after hit and playing the promised “Beehive,” which was easily the best song of their set (I assure you I was not the drunk calling out for it as much as I, too, wanted to hear it), they came back out to play an encore that some how managed to top their set. After “Beehive,” I was sure they had peaked and that they would be better off not playing an encore because it would be a let down, but they proved me wrong and came back more energetic than before.

Krug must have been feeling better by the end of the show, hopefully the audience’s enthusiasm helped energize him because when it came time for the encore, he came back out with a new drink. “It’s a fancy cold tea called scotch and water,” Krug said as he raised his glass into the air and took his spot at the keyboard. This comment got even more chuckles from the audience.

If you get a chance to see Wolf Parade, don’t miss it. The opportunity to see a band like this only comes once in a blue moon.

Set list:

Wolf Parade: myspace | At Mount Zoomer review | Terminal 5 show review
The Listening Party: myspace

Photos and Writing by: Bethany

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