First Aid Kit - Stubb's - July 16, 2015

Man, this one is kind of a bummer to write.  I have loved listening to First Aid Kit for the past few years, and even rated their last album as my favorite album of all of last year.  It is gorgeous, full of sweet harmonies and beautiful tunes that make me glad to listen to music. Truly lovely.

I missed out on their show last year at Fun Fun Fun Fest, and so when their concert was announced for Stubb's a few months ago, I jumped right on an order of tickets for the wife and me.  Super psyched about the show.  

However, in the end, the show was kind of boring.  I didn't feel like they really put on a show, they just stood still and played their instruments and sang their songs.  It was pretty, as usual, but it stayed pretty true to exactly what their albums sound like, without much expansion or interpretation. Obviously, this hang up is mine.

Unfortunately for them, one issue was not really their fault.  The speaker at the middle of the crowd, right next to the soundstage, wasn't turned on.  The techs poked at it and tried to figure something out, but they never got it going and so the entire show was pretty quiet in the middle of the crowd. I'm sure it was even worse at the back of the show.  

But even more so than the sound issue, I just never felt like they got things exciting or interesting. I don't know what I expected, they're a band based on making pretty harmonies, not exploding pyrotechnics or killer guitar riffs, but the whole show just seemed uninspired. About the most exciting moment came when they played Sabbath's War Pigs, which was an interesting cover to choose, and was kind of rocking:

Not this show, so this must be part of their show every time.  The slight headbanging there, that was about as good as it got for them as far as motion goes on stage.  Maybe if this had been an indoor show with seating, the vibe would have been just right, but in the outdoor setting with a really big crowd, this seemed like a miss to me.