Reviewed: CANT at the Sydney Festival
The Famous Spiegeltent, Hyde Park
January 14, 2012
Reviewed by Liveguide Contributor Bronwyn Thompson
Sydney Festival always manages to pull out plenty of small surprises, and the one-weekend, three-show appearance by CANT was one of them. The experimental, melodic beats project of Grizzly Bear’s Chris Taylor, CANT released one of last year’s hidden gems in album Dreams Come True. It was a similarly unhyped gig, but those who had found Dreams Come True were very much excited to see how such a studio-sounding record would play out live.
A small audience were on hand for the first of the three shows, but it was an attentive one nonetheless. And as Taylor mentioned at the end, the lights were bright enough he couldn’t spot any holes in the crowd anyway. Any doubts as to whether CANT would stand up live were dispelled quickly with the full band on stage; live drums, a keys, synth and programmed beats player plus the formidable indie-rock shredder Dev Hynes, of Blood Orange and Lightspeed Champion fame. There was clearly a great dynamic between Hynes and Taylor, the pair swapping bass and guitar throughout the set and backing each other up superbly.
They launched into the dark, tribal album opener “Too Late, Too Far”, bolstered by Hynes’ fantastic backing vocals and the much meatier live arrangement. Keeping with the track order, sexy slow jam “Believe” followed, framed by sparkly synths and Taylor’s effortlessly great use of the microphone. Live, the material is still charmingly ethereal but packaged with a satisfying new immediacy.
Taylor then introduces the group, adding that he’s chuffed to be playing “Sydney Music Festival” (well, almost). With back-to-back sets in the Spiegeltent on this particular night, he said it’s the first time he’s been able to say, “We’ll be here all night,” adding that not even in his early days on the jazz circuit (“playing jazz to people eating sushi”), he couldn’t use that line. He then spots someone in the crowd eating sushi, and adds with some embarrassment, “I wish I had some sushi right now.”
While banter clearly isn’t his strong point, he has an arresting affableness – despite playing two (possibly near identical) sets back to back, Taylor wasn’t about to give the audience the same show. The set was also arced nicely, descending into noisy, bassy beats that made the Spiegeltent’s stained-glass windows rattle before being pulled back before the end. “She Found A Way Out” and “Answer” starred, but the final few tracks stole the show.
First, the wintry piano intro of album closer “Bericht” hung heavy above the silent crowd, the perfect mix of beauty and sadness. And Dreams Come True highlight “The Edge” – which Taylor has revealed is a personal tale about his difficult relationship with his dad – was a whole other soulful beast live. Built around a few rhythmic lines (“Each time you said you loved me/Each time you said you care/Each time just say you love me/Just love me, like you said”), it opened up into a wonderful, subtly soaring pop tune.
Then, the lights. Taylor takes a step back and winces, surprised to be shaken from the spell of the set. Shielding his eyes, he says all he can see is purple light and fog; “It’s like Twin Peaks, or that really bad nightmare where you’re naked,” he offers, then adds that yes, he’s joking. Because it was quite obvious he thoroughly enjoyed himself on stage. Grizzly Bear may be the band that keeps Taylor in the spotlight, but fans of Dreams Come True were pleased to get the chance to see him in the purple light and fog with CANT.