Animal Collective @ Terminal 5 (12.4.2012)

We last caught Animal Collective at Prospect Park in 2011 where they played live as a full band for the first time since 2006.  The band has since released a 12" version of the material from their Transverse Temporal Gyrus installation, the non-album Honeycomb/ Gotham 7" single, the full length Centipede Hz at the end of the summer, and a 10" Applesauce single (b/w "Crimson") in November.  Animal Collective began another full length tour when CHz released and have since been playing shows throughout the U.S. and Europe.  They were scheduled to play the Williamsburg Waterfront in October but unfortunately had to postpone the show due to illness.  Graciously, the band not only rescheduled the original show but added a second show for the following night, all to benefit the Red Cross for Hurricane Sandy relief.  We attended the first of their two shows at Terminal 5.

 Abby Portner continues to outdo herself year after year with the band's stage design.  After seeing countless pictures of the stage from other shows this fall, the giant teeth and horns were an unbelievable sight in person.  The way the structures looked throughout the show, from the cave-like shape of the horns to the way the teeth changed colors with the music throughout the show was really just perfect. There is no other way to describe Abby's work.  It was also great getting to see the visuals she made for each of the songs during the Centipede Radio broadcast again.  Abby also helped design the show poster:

         Similar to the 2011 tour, Animal Collective has played the same set each night (occasionally switching out a song or two).  The current set list is composed of songs from the Strawberry Jam era onward.  Hearing Cobwebs finally performed live was incredible and the return of Peacebone for this tour is something I've been secretly crossing my fingers for since Deakin came back.  As for their more recent material, Brother Sport and My Girls sounded as good as ever, as did the Centipede Hz songs we saw performed last year.  The four songs from the album that were not played live in 2011-Moonjock, Applesauce, Pulleys, and Amanita- were welcomed additions.  As always, Animal Collective's transitions and reworked sections were phenomenal.  Deakin's slow vocal introduction into Wide Eyed was a highlight of the night for us, as was the extended jam in the middle of Pulleys.

Ironically, the last time Animal Collective played an indoor venue in New York City was the last time they played at Terminal 5 in May of 2009.  Since then, the band has favored outdoor venues like Prospect Park and what would have been Williamsburg Waterfront. As fun as it's been seeing them outdoors over the past few years, we were excited to get to enjoy the show from a balcony level.  Where we were, the sound was really good (noticeably better than the last time we saw them here) and the people around us were more laid back.  From our view, the crowd on the main floor was insane.  Aside from dancing, a decent number of people crowdsurfed during the show. One guy actually jumped onto the stage during Peacebone but quickly jumped back into the crowd (and thankfully without killing anyone!).  Needless to say, everyone seemed pretty psyched.  It was an awesome night!

We recorded the show from the right balcony with great results. Enjoy!

 

Download the live recording HERE (password= twosails)

Set List:
1. Rosie Oh
2. Today's Supernatural
3. Wide Eyed
4. Applesauce
5. Honeycomb
6. Lion In A Coma
7. Moonjock
8. Pulleys
9. New Town Burnout
10. Monkey Riches
11. Brother Sport
12. Peacebone
13. [encore]
14. Cobwebs
15. My Girls
16. Amanita