LIVE REVIEW: The Dear Hunter (8/10/11)

Artist: The Dear Hunter
Venue: Middle East (Downstairs) – Cambridge, MA
Date: 8-10-11

There is somewhat of a double edged sword that follows working in the music industry. The more you work, the more access you have, but the more access you have, the more work that generally ensues. Nothing comes for free in this business and getting burnt out is something that happens to many people greater than myself. It’s not that people grow tired of music or begin loathing live performances, it’s just after years of loud noises, sometimes people forget what made them feel so excited about it all in the first place. they go numb, they grow cold, they…for lack of a better term, “get old.”

Rarely, and I truly mean that to the full extent of the word, those that feel worn out from music can be revitalized by the very thing that weighed on them so heavily in the first place, music. Sometimes all anyone needs is hope that the sound they’ve been hearing for years isn’t the only sound to be found.

I had a moment like this recently. A moment that not only renewed my faith in music following a Summer of mega-tours with and sweaty tweens, but my passion for the industry, and I owe it all to The Dear Hunter.

On August 10 I was fortunate enough to find myself amongst a few hundred sweaty bodies in the basement room of Cambridge, MA’s famed Middle East music venue. There, for the second time since I arrived in the city in March, The Dear Hunter were set to perform to a hometown crowd. This was the first headlining run of the year for the band, as well as the first true outing with their recently released Color Spectrum collection.

Like any night in the city, traffic kept me from arriving on time, but the final moments of Kay Kay and His Weathered Underground were more than enough to ignite the slightest sent of excitement within me. Their vast instrumentation and complete disregard for today’s trendy scene proved a perfect appetizer to the display of experimentalism that was to follow. Guitars crooned, brass wailed, drums beat, and vocals soared high as they played their final tune. I didn’t see the whole set, but having seen them before, I could tell this was the climax to a thoroughly satisfying set.

As the house lights rose and those awkward in between moments began, I found my way to the 21+ area, aka bar. I grabbed a drink to attempt escape from the 90 degree room and pretended my phone was far more interesting than it ever could be in an attempt to avoid conversation with fellow, more intoxicated concert goers who were already shouting “Red Hands” at the then empty stage. My tactic worked and before I knew it, the lights began to dim and the roar that had sent Kay Kay offstage doubled in intensity as everyone welcomed The Dear Hunter home.

Now I’ve seen many bands in my day, but few with the quiet intensity of The Dear Hunter. Though the crowd cheered at their appearance, the group themselves remained silent, choosing instead to launch into a set which mainly featured new material. They played three songs, each from a different release, each with its’ own unique brand of intensity, before a single word was spoken to the audience.

When the music finally found a moment of pause, frontman Casey Crescenzo spoke only to welcome everyone and thank them for attending. It wasn’t much of a sentiment, but what else needed to be said? Anyone even vaguely familiar with the group’s discography know there’s enough interesting material in store to keep anyone fascinated, no need to fill stage time with conversation.

The Dear Hunter continued digging into the new material, with songs from the II and III Acts tossed in as well, but the honest is truth is that it all felt like one finely orchestrated work. The songs not only flowed seamlessly, but they were in many instances designed to do so through time spent in what one can only imagine is the most interesting of practice space in the current alternative music scene. Even when the style of two songs didn’t sonically align, somehow Crescenzo and crew found a way to stylistically tie it together and the response was nothing short of deafening.

Reading over this again, I pause and think, have I praised too much? The comment could be made that any performer is capable of putting on a show as well prepared and executed as the one I described above, but from what I’ve seen and experienced in my decade of life in this industry I can say that is not true in the slightest. There are gimmicks, there are musicians, there are artists, and then there is a grey area with a lot of confused people who live careers of more frustration than success. Casey Crescenzo, as well as each and every member that has and continues to contribute to The Dear Hunter, is an artist of the highest caliber and any proof of that not found through audio recording is more than fortified in a live setting.

Review written by: James Shotwell

James Shotwell
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