On Friday September 11th, 2009, Evan and I caught Panda Bear at ATP New York, after deciding to skip out on the packed Saturday line up that featured Animal Collective, Black Dice, Deerhunter, Atlas Sound, and dozens of other of our favorite acts. Seeing his solo performance was worth the pricey admission alone and we were introduced to the first few Tomboy jams that evolved into "Surfer's Hymn," "I Want To Go With You," and an untitled "my life" track which has been absent from his most recent shows. Exactly one year later, we received the opportunity to see Panda Bear again on Governor's Island. Governor's Island is off the southern tip of Manhattan, where the World Trade Center once was. An annual tradition since the terrorist attacks has been to illuminate the night sky with two light beams to represent the fallen towers. From the island, we had a hauntingly beautiful view of the lights that remained with us until the end of Panda's set. The photograph above was captured on our way back to the ferry. We noticed the next morning that the cloud by the beams was in the shape of a heart.
Panda was joined with opening bands Teengirl Fantasy and Gala Drop, as well as fellow Animal Collective member Avey Tare DJing throughout the night. Avey's DJ set was exciting and attention grabbing. His selection of songs ranged from Steely Dan to Daft Punk.
I thoroughly enjoyed Teengirl Fantasy and their electronic, beat focused (for lack of a better description) tunes. The keyboardist on the right was energetic and fun to watch jump around on stage.
Gala Drop of Lisbon, Portugal appeared to be a promising act when just their instruments were set up on the stage. From the looks of the selection of instruments, I expected the band to be percussion heavy, which they were. Unfortunately, however, the uniqueness of the music faded after the first lengthy song, as many of the songs sounded the same and were entirely too long.
Panda Bear played a mixture of Tomboy, Person Pitch, and Animal Collective songs. After listening to these songs come about and develop since ATP New York in September of 2009 and more completely in the Berlin bootleg from January 2010, seeing them live completely blew us away. The bass was unreal, most profoundly during Drone and Benfica, and the lighting and smoke effects made for some pretty awesome photographs. Presented on a large screen behind Panda, Danny Perez's visuals added another dynamic to the performance. The projections were a compilation of abstract, trippy, and colorful images, exploding fembots, 70s porno, and even highlights from ODDSAC and the "Summertime Clothes" music video.
My personal favorite:
We placed ourselves a bit closer to the Governor's Island stage compared to our visit for Gang Gang Dance/Grizzly Bear, though we were still in the middle to optimize the recording. I should have used low-cut to eliminate some of the extra bass (there was more than plenty) and loudness from the recording but I was too nervous about it screwing up the sound for whatever reason. Nevertheless, I still think it sounds great overall. Also, we were fortunate enough to have our audio used by Big Ass Lens for their high quality videos of the concert. Thanks to them for EQing as well! You can find their videos of the show HERE.
Full Size Photographs HERE
Full Size Photographs HERE
Download the live recording HERE (password=twosails)
Set List:
1. Drone
2. Daily Routine
3. Tomboy
4. Song For Ariel
5. Surfer's Hymn
6. Ponytail
7. Last Night At The Jetty
8. Benfica
9. Comfy In Nautica
10. Slow Motion
11. Bullseye
12. You Can Count On Me
13. Encore
14. Untitled (King Tubby jam)
15. I Think I Can/ Chores
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