Audio: Grizzly Bear and Final Fantasy with Brooklyn Philharmonic at BAM
As I was watching Grizzly Bear play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra, I couldn’t help noticing how much of their music is really defined by restrain–their passages aren’t passages of growth, and there isn’t an overflow of any sort, which I guess is comparable to the economy of poems: all of the little bits are born fresh and sacrificed young, before anything is allowed to grow old, ever, by the time the song is over. The band mentioned that having an orchestra allowed them to play songs that they normally wouldn’t play, and while the orchestra sounded pristine, I don’t think there was a whole lot it could add to Grizzly Bear’s music anyway; it was more of a unique experience created for the sake of indulgence and pampering the senses, which allowed some people rare opportunities, such as to my neighbor who found himself annoyed when the audience greeted the beginnings of familiar songs with wild applause–it seemed that he felt you just don’t do that when there’s an orchestra involved, or if you’re at a venue like BAM.
