Photos: Great Northern w/Robbers on High Street, 11/7/2007
Note to venues – please bill your shows correctly. Mixups don’t usually happen at the Casbah, but Wednesday night, the bill looked as though Robbers on High Street were the headliners, but when I got there at 10, they were just taking the stage. Fortunately, I didn’t miss any of their somewhat folky pop rock sounds.
Robbers on High Street, shot by Natalie Kardos
Robbers on High Street, shot by Natalie Kardos
The New York band has garnered many comparisons to Spoon, mostly due to the lead singer’s similar voice, but I think they sound more like Dappled Cities than anything. Quite a good comparison, in my book. Their show was filled with songs from their most recent record, Grand Animals, and the highlight of their set for me was definitely “Crown Victoria,” which builds from single-strummed chords to a dancey beat. This is the song that most reminds me of Dappled Cities, with its nasal “ahhh ohhhs” in the chorus. The dance floor went from sparsely populated to comfortably crowded by the time they were done playing.
Robbers on High Street, shot by Natalie Kardos
Robbers on High Street, shot by Natalie Kardos
After their set was over, the stage was cleared, and Great Northern began setting up their equipment and lights. Have I mentioned that I love it when bands bring their own lights to shows? By this point, the crowd had all gathered in front of the stage, and there seemed to be plenty of Great Northern fans in the place.
g, shot by Natalie Kardos
Great Northern, shot by Natalie Kardos
They wasted no time settling into their dreamy indie rock, and I think their sound carried a bit better in the smaller Casbah than it did when I saw them at the Belly Up earlier in the year. People were definitely digging it, and I liked the trade off between male and female vocals that they employ. Alas, it was getting late in the evening, and I left fairly early into their set, but not before hearing their most recognizable song “Home.”
Great Northern, shot by Natalie Kardos
Great Northern, shot by Natalie Kardos