Spencer Krug sure is a busy man. Not only is he the co-vocalist of Montreal’s mighty Wolf Parade. he also has a solo effort called Sunset Rubdown and plays keys in his old band Frog Eyes. With 2 sold out shows at Mercury Lounge, it was to be a very anticipated performance. Bedroom Walls opened up, but they were just terrible. That’s all you need to know.
Spencer took the stage with members from Pony Up! to help realize the full sound of Sunset Rubdown. Unfortunately he and the keyboardist got food poisoning from a local restaurant and were not feeling well at all. He was even too sick to drink, and stated that he wasn’t used to playing sober. They opened the set with Sinead O Conner’s “Nothing Compares To You” and then continued to play these strange and wonderful pop melodies with Spencer’s Boey-esqe distorted vocals. The songs were dense and a bit psychedelic and always interesting. I felt bad for Spencer who became more and more pale as the set went on, but he closed the set with 2 powerful songs with his accordion.
Despite the “bad” press Frog Eyes was getting from their previous shows, I was eager to catch this band live. The band was tucked neatly to one side of the stage and I was surprised to see Spencer again to play the keyboards for the band. He was not looking good at all. For the next 40 minutes or so I was absolutely mesmerized by the front-man Carey Mercer. I couldn’t understand a word he said between and during songs, but whatever was coming from his mouth, it was crazy and genius. He seemed to gain more energy as the night went on and became enraged at the microphone. I was front and center and could feel his energy as he vibrated on stage. The music that was created was so strange and powerful and would love to see them again.
Links:
http://www.myspace.com/sunestrubdown
http://www.myspace.com/frogeyes
