Touring behind their second LP, Happy Together, Seattle-based band Mega Bog opened for indie rock stalwart Destroyer for a knockout billing of music this past Monday at Mohawk. Historically, Seattle brought crunchy, discordant rock to the world while recent musical trends have edged toward chill, soft jazz tones in the city’s independent music scene. Fronted and conceived by Erin Birgy, Mega Bog unifies those worlds with sometimes powerful, sometimes relaxed song structures that frequently flutter into experimental jazz flourishes of brass and keys. At times, the tunes are melodic and perfectly accessible, and at others venture deeply into disjointed arrangements. On Monday, the band braved some light rain and rapidly declining temperatures to bring their songs to Austin, TX. The crowd’s warm reception and smiling faces at the sets completion should be an indicator of how well Mega Bog’s approach fits into Austin’s music landscape. They’re a band on the rise, so if you’ve missed either of their last couple of shows in town, keep your ear open for another return.
Destroyer played an astounding set of songs culled from a few more recent albums including ken and Kaputt. Although the band remained, as usual, pretty aloof and standoffish, it didn’t detract from the sheer impressiveness of the band’s musical prowess. The only drawback for the evening came with the set’s brevity. Look, I would stand around all night and hear Destroyer play music, particularly from Rubies or Streethawk: A Seduction. By that I mean no discredit to the incredible work the band continues to generate, but those albums have my heart by a particularly nostalgic thread. Maybe one of these days we’ll get a tour chocked full of old tracks, but considering the tendencies of creative voice Dan Bejar, I’m not counting on it.
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