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You get the feeling that amongst the 500+ crowd awaiting an appearance from the buzz-band of the year thus far, that some of them are expecting one of the most staggering live performances they'll ever claim to have witnessed. You prepare to be taken away by Animal Collective on the live circuit just as you would from listening to one of their records; their sound, so inhuman yet so unbelievably natural that you urge to be swept along with the sample-fused beauty of it all. At times during tonight's show you really are lost in a swarm of uplifting spirits, no substances required. At times you really do pinch yourself to check whether what's right before you is actually there. Close your eyes and occasionally optical-illusions form, illusions akin to the band's most recent album artwork, simply due to the rate at which the elaborate light show gives everything it has. Dancing like a maniac to something so sonically wrong at first glance yet something that feels so right, is about as good as it gets when it comes to gigs.
But Avey Tare and co. start slowly. Even the 'Merriweather Post Pavilion' standout-track 'My Girls' never kicks off like it should. Panda Bear looked at times frustrated, at times bored. But then something clicks. Either Geologist turns the bass up or the following songs just have that little more oomph when played live. But what's certain is, what was at one point heading for a major disappointment, suddenly becomes as awesome as it had once promised. It arrives in the form of the bass-heavy 'Also Frightened'. The audience yelp in unison to Avey Tare, the tempo is raised steadily and finally the crowd begin to lose themselves and the band clearly get in the mood to impress.
What's most notable about 'Merriweather...' is the sheer power of the bass. It rises above the many other elements, including the thousands of summery-samples incorporated into each song. And once that bass is turned up a notch, the highlights on the band's ninth album come to life like you never thought capable. 'Summertime Clothes' is as likeable and dance-inducing as expected, 'Lion In A Coma' is exceeded on stage, mainly thanks to Avey Tare's vocals being raised up an octave in unexpected fashion. Exciting as it is, the material played from the ninth album sounds patchy at times, requiring a few more performances before it can come to life. This is confirmed when the highlight of the set, 'Fireworks', from the previous record, raises the most enjoyable 10-minute-segment of the set. Lengthy, improvised at times but always hearty, it's the finest example of the band's great knack for tackling spontaneouity, flawlessly.
And the mood keeps on heightening, the bar keeps being raised and you almost want to persuade the band to finish on a high, due to the small likelihood of the performance getting even better. It seems most appropriate, when the three-piece play 'Brothersport'. The eccentric crowd enter into a frenzy, a mass of half-naked bodies jump as high as possible, in complete contrast to the band's London performance, which consisted of a horribly static crowd, apparently. Once that closes, the band promptly exit. But a resounding jeer seems to persuade them back on-stage. The crowd remain ecstatic, almost too so. When you begin to wonder whether you're going to end up shouting lyrics back at Panda Bear in an Oasis-esque, "let's 'ave it" manner, the band instead decide to devote their encore to more low-key yet equally as impressive efforts. 'Leaf House', a crowd favourite but one not capable of inspiring someone to accidentally break someone's saw, wraps things up perfectly. You exit the Concorde to repeated mutters of "spiritual experience", "arty but not farty" and "I think I might faint".
It's difficult to decide whether you'd have been better off dancing like a lunatic or oppositely, standing still and simply appreciatively witnessing their performance. Either way, jumping endlessly or not, you exit the venue having got what you came for; a breathtaking performance.
