Neumos // Seattle, WA // November 18
Seattle’s Bronze Fawn took to the stage one last time on November 18 for a farewell show at Neumos, joined by friends and musical peers Blue Light Curtain, The Kindness Kind and Eighteen Individual Eyes.
Accompanied by the looping visuals of band VJ Dan Wilk and a haze of red lights, Bronze Fawn delved into their repertoire of melancholy instrumentals as the crowd stayed a safe distance back. Perhaps this was to avoid being pummeled by drummer Jim Acquavella’s sticks – he absolutely punished the drums from the get go – or perhaps it was because Bronze Fawn’s epic compositions don’t lend particularly well to moshing, dancing, or really any physical movement at all. Sure, the drums are relentless, and the guitar is effect-laden and loud as hell, but Bronze Fawn’s arrangements are steeped in thick, grinding rock. Some would call it “post-rock,” but that label can become a little diluted. Think of a darker Explosions In The Sky, or a more streamlined Mogwai.
The band’s music is intended as a sort of hypothetical soundtrack, something to behold but not dance to. The group has stated their self-released last album, Life Among Giants, was conceived as a musical narration of mankind’s journey through the frozen Pleistocene era, a time when large mammals faced extinction and modern man began to settle in. When considering this historical concept, the glimmers of hope that surface throughout their arrangements seem to carry newfound weight, as one can imagine the epic nature of a new dawn for mankind.
Thanking the crowd for support over the last five years, Bronze Fawn demanded that those in attendance grab up the free merchandise they brought. It was a pleasant note to leave on, save for one drawback: No encore. What’s the deal?