To get an idea of what this show was like take a look at Animal Collective’s video for their song FloriDada:
This video for FloriDada pretty much sums up most of Animal Collective’s show at the Neptune on March 4th. Packed with strange colors, spooky movements, dense and layered sounds, Animal Collective’s recorded music oozes with trippy goodness, and their live show sure did not disappoint in the category of all things odd.
The show started off a bit slow with New York based rap group Ratking, and although I didn’t have anything against Ratking’s set, I also didn’t really find anything extraordinary about it. The group used projections which made their set interesting to watch, but nothing really stood out to me in regards to their music. I mean, there was one point during a technical difficulty when rapper Wiki did some freestyle, which was pretty cool I guess. Although I lacked enthusiasm for Ratking’s live set, the people in front of me were really digging it, so if rap is more your thing than it is mine, give em’ a try:
Animal Collective on the other hand, put on an insane, cosmic, hallucinogenic and mind bending show. Their set alone was a spectacle. Animal Collective is notorious for their use of projection at their shows, and this one was certainly no different. Constantly changing, Animal Collective’s projections drenched their set in a blur of color and movement that made my eyes hurt with the pain of happiness.
Animal Collective had some mega passionate fans too; one guy in front of me with sparkles all over his face turning to his friend before the start of the show saying, “wow! I can’t believe it! They are actually in front of me! They are like (pause)…right there! *swoon*.” Not to mention the crowd’s dangerous desire to dance. Looking around before the show, I knew I was going to be dancing, but who knew I would fear for my 5 foot 0 inch life while being surrounded by sweet, sweet electronic tunes? During one song in particular I honestly thought to myself “well if I die here at least I’ll be listening to some cosmic music.”
One of the highlights of the night for me being the song Golden Gal. This song, cleverly written as a commentary on the objectification of woman: “so complex and brave, a power and lure without showing her legs”, somehow doubled as a crazy dance party with Animal Collective’s equally clever freaky sounds. That’s a unique combination. This song had the audience and I shouting along with Animal Collective “GOLDENN GALLL” at the top of our voices while dancing around and who knew, learning something too! Thanks Animal Collective.
Along with a few other partayyy songs, Animal Collective also showed off their skills by playing some complex, slower stuff off their highly reviewed 2009 album merriweather post pavilion and other flat out freaky jams. Ya know, the kind where you look at the people around you and everyone is clearly in the cosmos, with their eyes closed as if contemplating the very existence of human nature.
All in all, Animal Collective exceeded my already extremely high expectations with their live show. Not only did I get to dance my a** off, but I actually learned something too! True, I was almost knocked to the ground a number of times by an extremely aggressive man in a white tee-shirt (you know who you are), but I would have gone down happy, lost in the sweet, sweet, psychedelic tunes of Animal Collective.
JULIA OLSON | Bees? | SU Student Correspondent