Giant Rooks: Live Review at The Crocodile 5.27.22

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Author: Sofi Gonstead

Hailing all the way from Berlin, Giant Rooks are one of those bands where you feel grateful after seeing them in a small venue–because you know it won’t be so intimate the next time around.

Having close ties with Germany, I was lucky enough to discover this band right at the release of their first EP, New Estate, back in 2017. Then, after years of releasing several enchanting singles, such as “Heat Up”, and even a second EP called Wild Stare, the indie rock 5-piece finally released their debut album, ROOKERY, in the summer of 2020. Given it was directly in the midst of the world’s first “Covid Summer”, touring wasn’t exactly an option for them at the time. With that said, being able to catch them at their first ever Seattle show (sold out, and the largest-capacity show of the tour) was nothing shy of a treat.

Photo by Camryn Petersen

Unfortunately, due to frontman Fred Rabe losing his voice the week prior, the band was forced to cancel several shows leading up to their Seattle debut.

“We had to cancel 3 shows, so it was good that we were finally able to play again,” guitarist Finn Schwieters told me after the show. “We were so devastated that we weren’t able to be on stage the last few days.”

And I could tell that he meant it. In addition to the eagerness of their set itself, I watched Schwieters, along with bassist Luca Göttner, spend at least an hour greeting their fans with incredible kindness and patience after the show.

Photo by Camryn Petersen

“Canceling shows is always really depressing,” said Schwieters. “You’re in the city, you could play the show, but you can’t. And you know that people are waiting–that people will be disappointed. It doesn’t feel good, not at all.”

Their setlist was 13 songs in total, including two promising, unreleased tracks, and an encore performance of “Watershed”, the first single released off of Rookery. Shortly into the set, Rabe apologized for his voice not being fully recovered, but assured the crowd that he was going to try and give them “the best show ever.”

Something I didn’t expect, probably because I don’t have a TikTok account, is when they decided to merge the ROOKERY track, “Very Soon You’ll See”, with a cover of “Tom’s Diner” by Suzanne Vega. Back in 2019, the band made a viral YouTube video of the cover in collaboration with Cologne-based rock group AnnenMayKantereit. It currently has nearly 60 million views on YouTube alone, but recently blew up on TikTok as well–hence their desire to perform it live on the tour.

Giant Rooks write and perform all of their songs in English, something I always find an interesting (but certainly understandable) choice for a band whose first language isn’t English. With that said, I think the lyrical quality of Giant Rook’s songs should be noted. In this way, they remind me a bit of the French band, Phoenix, who write some of the most unique English lyrics as a group who also bear another mother tongue. There’s a freshness within the lyrical perspectives which are created when one writes using a second language, something that cannot seem to be replicated any other way.

Not to mention, after asking those around me in the crowd if they knew that Giant Rooks were from Germany, most answered no–something that the band has previously stated actually flatters them.

Photo by Camryn Petersen

In every sense of the word, Giant Rooks are performers. For a band that could very well be boasting a popularity-fused ego at this point, they certainly don’t come off that way. With each song, Fred, Luca, Jonathan, and the Finns work together in a sort of effortless, electrified harmony–one which proves to the audience that (1) they’re good at what they do, and (2) they’re genuinely having fun. They equally delivered each song in the set like it was a hit song, and, in turn, the audience seemed to match their energy.

I look forward to seeing the successful progression of Giant Rooks, a growth that feels both imminent and inevitable. If they’re ever touring near you, don’t hesitate to buy your ticket–because I have a feeling they’ll sell out quickly.

 

Sofi Gonstead|I bet you can’t say eichhörnchen 3 times fast|KXSU Music Reporter

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