Comments on: Grizzly Bear w/ London Symphony Orchestra – Barbican, London 31/10/09

By: Christian

Christian — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:51:24 +0000

Yeah, it was good – but sadly overshadowed by Efterklang’s attempt at much the same format earlier in the week… The LSO weren’t integrated into the songs as well as they could have been, either.

Liked St Vincent a lot though, but then I’m a sucker for loop pedals.

By: Derek

Derek — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:04:49 +0000

Good review – I thought it got better as it went on and they fiddled with accoustics (getting rid of the horrible echo was a bonus).
“Consistently excellent but never brilliant” is the perfect synopsis.
Still my band of the year though.

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:31:01 +0000

It’s certainly had mixed feedback, think 5/5 review comes from someone who doesn’t go to many gigs!

By: indy

indy — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:24:03 +0000

the independent gave it 5/5 and rightly so

maybe you guys just had bad seats.

By: Rich Thane

Rich Thane — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:32:47 +0000

i thought it was amazing. maybe didn’t live up to ALL my expectations y’know? but, had a great night all the same. and i thought st. vincent was superb too.

AWESOME photos.

By: Toodles

Toodles — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:45:34 +0000

These things are meant to dissapoint. You have to electrify an orchestra which normally sounds great acoustic and you can to castrate a band from being too loud/ which often finds an awkward middling middle ground. Having seen some the sound checks and hearing frustrations at balace issues I know the band turned their amps to 1 and weren’t in the house at all. While it may not havelived up to everyone’s bloated expectations it was indeed a unique abd special evening that only londoners got

By: snapes

snapes — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:11:26 +0000

Beautiful photos guys! SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS FRIDAY!

By: mapsadaisical

mapsadaisical — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:39:10 +0000

I agree with quite a lot of this: this was indeed a missed opportunity, the Crystals cover was sublime, and those photos – wow!

I was a long way from the back (in fact I was only 10 rows from the front) but even from there the sound was distinctly underwhelming. In fact I could hardly hear the orchestra most of the time under the amplified guitars/drums/vox. I wish the band had made more of an effort to engage with the arrangements, rather than just playing the songs pretty much as they normally would but with an orchestra behind. Sometimes less would have been much much more.

By: Roger Browning

Roger Browning — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:35:42 +0000

Can’t help but agree, I was up on the balcony and the sound was actually pretty good. I worried that my high expectations may have spoiled my enjoyment, which is not to say I didn’t enjoy it because I did, just not as much as I’d hoped I would. I guess collaborations with orchestras are a complex thing, I thought this one worked much better than when the LSO played with Antony and the Johnsons for example, by the end of that concert I felt as if I eaten a little too much cake.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:25:05 +0000

Bobbles, you’ve surpassed yourself with the photos! Nice work!