Courtesy of KLRU / Scott Newton
Austin had an incredible treat to host Grizzly Bear for two nights during the same week. Following their outstanding set at Stubb’s on Monday, the band made a stop at Austin City Limits for a taping on Wednesday night.
ACL tapings offer something that no other live music show in Austin can—the unique ability to truly focus on a band’s performance in a mostly quiet environment with impeccable sound and lighting. The band’s setlist followed almost an identical order to their set at Stubb’s, but the songs seemed somehow more pure in the immaculate environment of ACL’s outstanding space.
Courtesy of KLRU / Scott Newton
Even seemingly flawless environments are not without the occasional hiccup and during set highlight “Sleeping Ute” a loud pop that sounded like a loose guitar cable punctured the mix. Nevertheless, the band continued to deliver outstanding versions of “Cheerleader,” “Ready, Able,” and “While You Wait for the Others.” Sometimes you hate to be the guy that loves the band’s biggest song, but with a track as infectious and beautiful as “Two Weeks,” it’s hard not to be that guy. The song certainly saw the biggest crowd response the moment the recognizable bouncing keys burst forth from the speakers.
Courtesy of KLRU / Scott Newton
After closing with “Sun In Your Eyes” and leaving the stage, Grizzly Bear returned to cheering fans to perform “Sleeping Ute” for a second time, presumably to get a take without the previous popping interruption. As the crowd cheered, the band members huddled together, awkwardly stalling for a moment after the song before turning to the crowd and announcing, “Alright we’re gonna do a few more just for the fuck of it.” A truly unplanned and sincere encore is hard to come by in music these days, and the spontaneous nature of the moment brought a smile to my face.
Grizzly Bear closed out the night with the beautiful “Knife” and the stripped down and mellow “All We Ask.” Grizzly Bear has repeatedly produced some of the best indie-rock albums of the last half decade and their debut on the ACL stage showcased those distinct talents.
