Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Concert Review: The Moth & The Flame at Velour
Posted By Austen Diamond on November 16, 2011, 1:10 PM
Many bands feed off a certain level of energy from a crowd, but Provo’s The Moth & The Flame (photo above by Trevor Christensen) seemed to soak up the silence and use it as a canvas for their intricately crafted tunes. The Friday set unfolded in the same track listing as the band’s self-titled debut—nine songs that oscillate from dark and brooding to synthy, Radiohead-esque gems.
With a backdrop of collectible knickknacks, brass chandeliers and a velvet curtain, the band exuded a performance that was mature without minimizing their young, boyish charm. Frontman Brandon Robbins’ sometimes-garbled lyrics were more enigmatic than marble-mouthed. Mark Garbett delicately spun out melodies on the keys and backing vocals. And the band’s producer, multi-instrumentalist Nate Pyfer, brought out the flourishes to make the live performance as faithful as possible to the actual album. The show highlights mirrored the finer moments of the album—a song like “Home,” or even moments like the bridge in “&.”
After the nine-song set ended, the band encored with “Eliza Eden,” one of two bonus tracks given away with the album. The silence was finally broken through audience participation as they sung “Alright” repeatedly backing Robbins, who, playing an acoustic guitar, stood in the middle of the crowd; the silence was broken once more by a well-deserved, elongated applause to end the evening.
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