LIVE: Plants And Animals Beat The Comfort Of Couch
Friday February 22, 2008 @ 12:30 PM
By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Plants And Animals Photo by Jay Shuster

February 21, 2008
The Drake Hotel
Toronto, ON
By Matt Littlefair

There are those nights when the only thing in the world that seems appealing to me is the comfort of the couch I recently moved into my bedroom. I need to preface this with the fact that I do have a rather strong affinity for Plants And Animals, but the gravitational pull of that plush, brown, overstuffed wonder of Swedish design was proving a formidable foe to the prospect of finally witnessing firsthand the raucous sounds of my favourite album of 2008 (thus far). But like lead singer Warren C. Spicer says in "Good Friend": "It takes an enemy to help you get out of bed." The will/stubbornness to not be done in by a villainous 30 minute ride on the TTC propelled me forward. On the other side, Plants And Animals somehow managed to completely obliterate all thoughts of my inviting seating apparatus, making my victory over my own sloth so much the sweeter.

The band weren't in any rush. They quietly and methodically took the stage as the audience at the fairly packed Drake was treated to some recorded nature sounds, birds chirping and various other animals making noise. It was apropos if nothing else. After what seemed like an interminable wait, the Montreal-based trio settled in and launched into an 80-minute set drawing primarily from their forthcoming full-length release, Parc Avenue.

Plants And Animals are masters of anticipation, with all the animal blather build-up, the resonant guitar tones of "Faerie Dance" and equally propulsive "New Kind Of Love" gave cause for a crowd to happily finally start moving, even if just a little. For lack of a more loquacious adjective, Plants And Animals were simply amazing. From the whistled intro of "Feedback In The Field" to their gritty and skittering cover of "Sinner Man," the band flawlessly paced the evening, like some preternaturally skilled mix-tape compiler perfectly in tune with the ups and downs of the audience.

Granted, songs had a tendency to run a bit long (really, does every single track in your repertoire necessitate a cacophonous denouement to be considered complete?), but that's part of their charm. The guitar phrasing and interplay of multi-instrumentalist Nic Basque and Spicer were often times as affecting, if not more so than Spicer's lyrics. Particularly captivating was Matthew Woodley, whose drumming garnered more than a handful of fixated, bordering on creepy stares from the crowd.

The band wound down with a visceral take on the euphoric "Bye, Bye, Bye." It was noticeably pared down from the horn-laden, choral-backed album version, but nonetheless served as a cathartic end to a stellar evening. Few things can draw me away from the couch where my ass is currently resting, but I'll gladly walk, run or ride in the dead of winter for a chance to see Plants And Animals. You should too.