Mew ::: Photo by Chona Kasinger for Sound on the Sound

A lot going on a Thursday night in Seattle, at least for someone incredibly average like myself. Before the show I had the opportunity to experience the full range of human emotions, which is unusual for such a flat-line personality like me. Normally I feel one emotion and that is “obsession with long distance running,” everything else I feel somehow relates to that sentiment. But before I got to experience the “little stadium show” known as Mew, I got to experience laughter, anger, joy and disappointment. All four emotions took up enough of the night to cause me to miss just about the entire set of opening act the Lonely Forest. Gentle reader, you knew this was bound to happen but I needed to come up with an excuse via storytelling. Surely, some of you will be able to relate with the following:

Laughter: I went to visit a bartender friend of mine at a neighborhood spot with a co-worker after we got done with work. I will not name the bar in order of keeping my non-existent reputation in tact. The fact that she hooked up with drinks (she always does, god bless my lovely enabler) but that wasn’t even the best part. I had the great fortune of sitting next to a what seemed to be a blind date gone wrong. Maybe it was a Craigslist Male-Seeking-Female jam, where only a head shot or something scandalous like that. I did my best to pretend to be disinterested but in reality I was eavesdropping so well that I was actually a third-party in their conversation. They just didn’t know it yet. It was amazing…let me give you some highlights:

“You’ve been in the bathroom forever? I feel like I’m dating one of these girls next to me…and maybe I should be…”
“I don’t date women heavier than me…I usually date women 50 pounds lighter….”
“Are we actually going to stay and watch the whole game?”
“You’re old and not even good looking…I wouldn’t get with you if I were full of drinks…”

That’s just a few of the jabs and left-hooks. I should have recorded it, it was pretty funny. I felt for the lady, she wasn’t even unattractive and she was stuck in a lame sports bar with a dead beat. Oh well. Let’s get the check and get out of here. This took about 45 minutes. 

Anger: The roommate that you know is cool but somehow can’t avoid killing your beer on a regular basis. Either you are this roommate or you have this roommate. There is no in-between. I believe in life as black and white. I also believe that when I come home from work, I should not see the skeletal remains of what used to be a 6-pack when I haven’t really touched it. Luckily I was already buzzed from the “laughter” portion of our story. A civil discussion ensues. This took some time, I’d say about seven minutes.

Joy: Playing music with people you love playing music with. This took about an hour.

Disappointment: Realizing that the show at Neumo’s was all-ages and not all-ages in the good way. The most important part of building a fan-base for your band is getting the “kids” to dig it. That being said, Seattle has the most lame “all-ages” (w/ a +21 crowd) ever. Separating the crowd is annoying and stupid. It should be like it is in DC where it’s just a mixed crowd and everybody is happy. You remember what is like going to show before you were 21, you were drunk beforehand instead of during. Other times you were much more than drunk. Wow. Way to prevent the meltdown of society Seattle Liquor Board people….I love playing all ages shows, not a huge fan of attending them, the weird ones anyway.

Due to my pre-show shenanigans, I entered Neumo’s to “We Sing In Time” by the Lonely Forest. The musical equivalent of munching on salty peanuts at the bar while you’re waiting for your drink and dinner to arrive. I appreciated the effort but I was waiting on bigger, better things. Don’t forget to tip your bartender.  

The feeling of disappointment was still lingering in my mind, Luckily Mew was there to change my emoticon from :-/ to ;-). It was sold out so it wasn’t easy getting a good view of the stage from the +21 second level area. I had to bite the bullet and go down below to hang out with the aforementioned “kids”. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. In front of me there were a few kids on Ecstasy, they provided some between song entertainment. I wonder what was going on in their minds with all the crazy sights and sounds that were filling up the venue.

Here’s the set list…to the best of my ability. There were some songs I didn’t recognize off the top of my head…and haven’t been able decipher despite my notes. Feel free to fill in the blanks:

Introducing Palace Players - Our beloved danish songsmiths started the evening with this dystopian disco anthem the lead single off of “No More Stories…” The guitar wasn’t as angular or in-your-face as the as the studio recording but it was as close to a carbon copy as you’re going to get. Silas Utke Graae Jørgensen drums for the song are the most difficult easy sounding drums I’ve heard in a while. Novice beatmakers beware. I wouldn’t be surprised if this song ended up as a hip-hop sample within the next 12 months, if it hasn’t already. 

Special - I don’t really like the album version of this song but tonight’s version was spectacular. There was a different, more rocking introduction to the song than usual.

Zookeeper’s Boy - One of my favorite Mew songs. The ridiculous giraffe imagery in the background matches up with the lyrics in the song. Why don’t songwriters mention giraffes and ostriches in their music more often? Both are pretty unique and fascinating animals. I can feel a trend starting. There were other weird images too. Decrepit porcelain dolls and aliens with bond girl haircuts were also hanging out.

Hawaii - Sounds much more forceful live than on record. For such a gentle song to come across so aggressive is a pleasant yet unexpected surprise. I have no idea how Bastian Juel hit those harmonies. Wow. The second of part of this song is a thing of beauty. In the background there Buck skulls on dancing children. The music and visuals might have been the most bizarre contrast of any form that I’ve seen or witnessed in 2009. Congratulations Mew on blowing my mind.

Sometimes Life Isn’t Easy - How about we do a visual that includes chorus of children. Only instead of shiny, happy children like on the Mickey Mouse Club, we change course and gave them lobotomies! Done.

Weird intermission that has the sunken face of an old woman projected on the screen behind Mew. Those is also when guitarist Bo Madsen compliments our beautiful city while proceeding to slag on my place of birth, Detroit, Michigan. Fake Dramatic Sigh. Even the Danes mock the 313.

Am I Wry. No? - Visuals reminded of the Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy” video. Weird sketchy trees and the font used was kind of the same. Oh yeah, the song was good too.

156 - Alternate version. I don’t remember them doing this many alternate takes when I saw them a few years ago. This is not a complaint, it’s refreshing to see a band that isn’t considered a “jam band” do alternate versions of songs. I enjoy the album version but I like the take on this night much better. The guitar turned into a Dazed and Confused mathy muddy Sabbath homage complete with horror keyboards. Outstanding call gentleman. You know the easiest way to my heart is by crushing it with an anvil.

Repeaterbeater - The way “156″ ended, you could tell this song or Apocalypso was going to come next. People, you should pay me $35 for that inside information. I’m serious. In the background, sonar imagery, though honestly all I could think of was Street Fighter’s Guile and his Sonic Boom attack.

Silas the Magic Dream Car - This song rules, Period. The name is awesome, the video is awesome, the lyrics are strange but easy to connect with. I wouldn’t mind seeing a full length film based on this song. Mew, can you make this happen?

Apocalypso - Sometimes I love this song, other times I just kind of like it. The crowd went nuts when the opening riff started and who could blame them? The guitar is killer. I thought the bass was a bit too distorted on this evening but other than that…solid effort gentlemen. 

Saviours of Jazz Ballet - Even your favorite bands have a song that you hate. I hate this song. One of the kids rolling on E in front of me was ecstatic when this one began.  

Encore:

Circuitry of the Wolf - Great song. Every time I hear it, I’m always bummed that it doesn’t last long enough. It serves it purpose, as a great musical interlude. There was Medusa elk imagery in the same vein as the images used for “Apocalypso.”

Beach - Not much to say, other than I wish there were beaches in Seattle. Real beaches.

Snow Brigade - Song had different intro. Maybe this will be the soundtrack to this already frigid pacific northwest winter?
Louisa Louisa - “Stay with me, I don’t want to be….alone.” Great way to close a set. Band members exited one by one until the stage was empty. In the business, we call that good theatre.  

Overall, no complaints from this member of the peanut gallery. Some of my favorite Mew tunes (”Eight Flew Over, One Was Destroyed”, “Comforting Sounds”, “Then I Run” among others) were abandoned for the evening but I still thought this was one of my favorite shows of the year by one of my favorite bands. Hooray for Denmark.

Mew ::: Photo by Chona Kasinger for Sound on the Sound

Mew ::: Photo by Chona Kasinger for Sound on the Sound

Mew ::: Photo by Chona Kasinger for Sound on the Sound