On Sunday night at Merriweather Post Pavilion, the rain didn’t keep area fans from seeing Gotye at the largest venue at which he has performed in the DC area. Supported by openers Jonti and Missy Higgins, Gotye gave us an entertaining concert experience that went beyond simply playing music.
Let me start by saying that I did not know much about Gotye as an artist before seeing this performance, and I was impressed by a few things I learned by watching this particular set. The most surprising fact (at least to me) is that Gotye is a drummer. His set opened with him sitting at a drum kit playing and singing “The Only Way” from the album Like Drawing Blood. Because I wasn’t expecting this, it took me a full minute to realize which musician on stage was actually him.
I never would have expected that by simply listening to his songs (especially the song, which I’ll get to later). When I think of singer/songwriters, I do not picture percussion instruments, and Gotye’s performance showed me that maybe it is time to adjust my expectations for this type of artist.
Each song had a corresponding video playing on the screen on the stage behind the band. Some videos were abstract colors and patterns; others were full animated stories that followed the story painted by the song lyrics. This was a clever way to take advantage of the size of the venue and reach the audience in the back of the pavilion and on the lawn.
As Gotye bounced from drum set to drum set and from one random percussion instrument to another, it was clear that this set was very well-rehearsed and planned down to the second. I’ve become used to artists chatting with the crowd between songs and announcing details of what led them to write what they have. That did not happen Sunday night.
About an hour into the set, Gotye went to the small xylophone on stage and hit a couple notes that anyone who has listened to the radio at all in the past year would recognize. For “Somebody That I Used to Know,” the corresponding video was in black and white and showed different artistic drawings of a heart, then turned into abstract colorful patterns as the song progressed.
Missy Higgins joined Gotye to sing a verse, and before I knew it, the song was over. The crowd’s response did not seem to faze the band members on stage as they simply made the transition to the next song. Maybe I’m cynical, but I expected them to make a big production out of playing the hit single and make the audience wait until the very end to hear it. I was pleasantly surprised when that was not the case.
After playing a couple more songs and ending the set, Gotye came back for an encore that included the much more upbeat “I Feel Better.” Listening to the lyrics of many of the tracks from Making Mirrors, I wonder who inspired these songs and how that person might feel. At the end of the day, artists like Gotye are popular because people want to listen to songs about heartbreak written by someone more talented than themselves. Many times throughout the show I found myself thinking that I was watching a talented musician who just happened to write a catchy break-up song. After hearing some of his more up-beat songs, I look forward to seeing a happier Gotye single achieve the same success as “Somebody That I Used to Know.”
Both Jonti and Missy Higgins performed solid sets that the audience seemed to enjoy. In fact, many audience members sang along to Missy Higgins and cheered when she mentioned playing Lilith Fair at Merriweather in the past. Ms. Higgins certainly has a following, and her singer/songwriter sound fit in with the calm atmosphere of a chilly early fall night in an outdoor venue.
Jonti is obviously not as well-known, but his set was enjoyable for a different reason. I am always impressed by artists who marry the lighting and set to their music, and it was interesting to see a somewhat small artist taking the time to do so. Given the size of the stage at Merriweather, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity to work with the background screen and lighting, and the way that Jonti did so reminded me of an installation art piece set to music. Of course the videos during Gotye’s set were more substantial, but it was refreshing and entertaining to see the production value upped for the first opener.
Sunday night’s show was entertaining on many levels, but my main take aways were 1) never assume the drummer is not the singer, and 2) don’t underestimate the value of a well-produced and rehearsed stage performance complete with visual effects.
Photos by Paul Frederiksen
