Bell Orchestre / Snailhouse

[04-29-06]

Bell Orchestre was pre-empted by singer/songwriter Mike Feurstack, who can regularly be seen as guitarist/vocalist for Wooden Stars but who, on this night, played a handful of songs under the guise of Snailhouse. The music wasn’t groundbreaking or revolutionary but was still pretty and distinguished: all members of Bell Orchestre also joined Feurstack for several songs prior to their set, and then Feurstack returned the favor by diddling with electronics during the Bell Orchestre set. Arcade Fire multi-instrumentalist Richard Reed Parry, upon leaving the stage after the group had finished backing Feurstack, stood about 5 feet to the right of where my girlfriend and I were sitting. He really doesn’t look a whole lot like Napoleon Dynamite when you’re that close to him; he also lacked his trademark black glasses, an absence that prevented anyone from mistaking him for the lanky Mormon. Yet another few feet away, some guy was wearing the ever-present Vote for Pedro t-shirt, as if to rub salt in the deepest of wounds. Parry briefly chatted up a friend who had arrived, and after meeting his sister (and bowing politely), he took his leave and headed to a quasi-backstage area.

Those mistaking Parry for the heart and soul of Bell Orchestre are sorely mistaken. He’s obviously an integral part of the greater whole, but this evening the subtle spotlight shined a little brighter on violinist Sarah Neufeld, who also plays a big part in making The Arcade Fire so impressive live.

Pre-recorded oceanic sounds preceded the quintet as they carefully made their way through the darkened performance space; small lights at each group member’s wrists led the way. Neufeld was placed firmly in the center of the stage with Parry to her right and a French horn and a trumpet player to her left, the drummer behind her, and Feurstack to the drummer’s right, almost hiding behind Parry. Parry played upright bass for a majority of the performance, an instrument he not only played to perfection but also slapped and pummeled during the “rock songs.” A majority of the songs were from the band’s debut LP, Recording A Tape The Colour Of Light (Rough Trade), and there were little surprises and variations in the performance of each song. Neufeld is easily the center of attention for each song, as she plays beautifully and thrusts her squat, sturdy arms into the air and saws at her instrument as if she’s been tied to train tracks, a ferocious locomotive barreling down upon her. The group played cohesively together, and each song sounded as fresh as its counterpart on the LP. The only newish song played was one Parry had recently commented on in interviews; during this song, the group gathered together in the middle of the stage. The song was played without mics, with Neufeld and the two brass players to Parry’s left. Parry played his massive bass with the thin bow while the rest of the group kneeled on the floor, clapping the floor once Parry had finished. Parry explained that the song had been created at a “great old theater in Sweden when we were in Europe.” And it did have a slight European vibe that well matched the other songs performed. At one point, the group spoke at length about their newfound hatred of all things Cleveland, a hatred discovered at a show a couple of nights earlier at nearby Cleveland’s Beachland Ballroom. They claimed that the audience “hated them first” and that it was much nicer playing to a “quiet, attentive crowd” rather than in a smoky dungeon where half the people weren’t even paying attention.

A highlight of the show came near the end of the performance when the band played what was announced as an Aphex Twin cover, a song that sounded incredibly familiar and was played incredibly well. They ended the song with what sounded like an electronic rubber band — stretched across the entire stage — that snapped back and forth and continued to snap as the group members quietly left the stage.

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