HERE WE GO MAGIC @ Schubas

Here We Go Magic
When: July 17th, 2010
Where: Schubas
Reviewed by: Alyssa Meza

After a long day sweating it out in the sun at Pitchfork Music Festival a modest group of hip young things gathered at the intimate Schubas Tavern on Saturday, July 17 for the Here We Go Magic after show, and oh what a magical evening it was. After a lovely small set from the talented singer-songwriter Sharon Van Etten, the quintet took to the stage after being up for a full 24 hours, according to the guitarist and lead vocalist Luke Temple.

Thankfully, they showed no signs of fatigue as they played an exuberant and energetic 60 minute set. Pigeons, the sophomore album by Here We Go Magic, is praised for its multi-layered sound and complex arrangements, something that is not easily translatable to a live performance without all the bells-and-whistles of a studio.

However, the band managed to not lose themselves in a cacophony of keyboard and synths, performing their single “Collector” with all the precision and enthusiasm that got the blogs a’ buzzing about the band’s breakout moment. Besides “Collector” other notables were their other singles “Casual” and “Hibernation.”

While the show still had the intricacies of the album, everything was louder and bigger live. The soft repetitious vocals of Jen Turner and Kristina Lieberson on tracks like “Moon” were amped up tenfold making them more dizzying. The effect is less ethereal, but suitable for a young audience ready to dance and love the band for it, like the possibly aussie (New Zealander, Brit??) who kept telling bassist Turner how beautiful she was.

Creeps and melodic complexities aside, at the end of the day what matters most about a performance is the energy, and the band seemed to have plenty. Lieberson pounded away at the keyboards, Turner shimmied, Luke Temple screeched, Peter Hale pounded away and Michael Bloch broodingly strummed.

A couple songs into their set a tall, longhaired broster yelled “Thank you for rocking!” Yes, thank you indeed.