Warpaint Concert Report

Warpaint with Cate Le Bon at Danforth Music Hall March 25

I always enjoy going to the Danforth Music Hall. It's one of the nicest venues in the city with a slightly-inclined floor that affords excellent site lines. Opener Cate Le Bon performed an odd variety of song-oriented psychedelia with a pleasantly Welsh vibe. While the music was fairly simple, the band occasionally veered off into oddball free-jazz jam territory while Cate herself would vocalize what could only be described as aggressive bird calls. Not brilliant but she definitely has potential.

Warpaint's distinctive gothic-psychedelic atmosphere was evident as soon as their lighting came on. They played for the better part of an hour and a half, focusing mainly on the moody electronic grooves of their newly-released, self-titled album. A few tracks from their first album, The Fool, showed off their more rock-oriented sound. They seemed very skillful and comfortable as a band, frequently jamming and locking into extremely tight grooves.

They were very charismatic, with the two singers splitting vocal duties fairly equally as well as regularly interacting with the crowd.. The crowd seemed to love them, especially a group of very drunk people behind us. The highlights were a couple of better known songs: "Love is To Die", a groovy and catchy number from the new record, as well as "Undertow", a melodic rocker from their first record. For the encore, they played the excellent "Elephant" which became a full-on rock epic. Overall, their mix of good songs, beguiling atmosphere, solid musicianship and sonic variety makes them a compelling group.