Tuesday evening brought a different kind of “1-2” punch with the likes of artsy singer songwriter, Aldous Harding, and the always entertaining Deerhunter.New Zealand’s latest export took a room full of chatty alcohol imbibing concert goers and wrestled them into submission. Harding delivered what is normal fare at poetry readings into an insanely intense short (ish) set that commanded the attention for all of those in attendance. At times, Aldous’ vocals reached peak Joanna Newsom levels at pivotal moments. Other times, Harding’s croon took on a baritone flavor when she covered the timeless Roy Orbison classic, “Crying.”

Deerhunter’s performance last night was an eye opening episode of reality television. Bradford Cox tormented the stage incoherently oftentimes going off script and begged the crowd for approval. There appeared to be some type of band beef or riff going on with the amount of visible tension that seeped into last night’s show. For the parts that actually when on without drama were small flashes of a maniacal psych rock act primed to make the jump to the next level. This is assuming that no meltdowns are on the horizon. Especially with news that Deerhunter is slated to open up for one of the biggest southern bands in the planet, Kings of Leon.

Deerhunter Gothic Theater Setlist 10.18.16

Fluorescent Grey
Revival
Breaker
Rainwater Cassette Exchange
Helicopter
T.H.M.
Dream Captain
Take Care
Living My Life
Desire Lines
Snakeskin
Encore:
Cover Me (Slowly)
Play Video
Agoraphobia
Ad Astra
Nothing Ever Happened

Aldous Harding