Live Review: Animal Collective at Fillmore

Wizard Prison and Animal Collective brought brash noise and neon lights to The Fillmore.

In terms of an opener, Wizard Prison sounded sexy on paper. Engineer Scott Colburn, who had worked with other great acts like Arcade Fire and the headlining collection of animals, was said to put on a freaky, multi-media, on-stage frenzy with projected, homemade videos and, of course, some fat beats. The three-piece band seemed like a wise choice to open for the tech-heavy Collective.

What we really got was initial eye-candy that slowly but surely turned into a Merzbow-esque migraine. Not even the jumping around in skeleton costumes and seizer-inspiring lights could suppress the overall boredom Wizard Prison caused. Your head might have felt like you took a wrong turn into the movie Scanners.

Animal Collective, with their performance, answered a question I have been needing an answer to for the past seven years: What music will people look back on to define the ’00s? It only then dawned on me when hearing the screech and tenor of Avey Tare, absorbing the multi-colored light display and taking in the overall scene that this was millennium rock.

The ground literally shook when they played “Peacebone,” an insanely joyful ring-around-the-rosie. Seeing it from a distance felt like you were watching an entire rave, only it was condensed to fit a small stage and encompass four band members. Animal Collective’s emphasis on loopy tech and degeneration of the traditional band model, i.e. less drums, is what makes them, finally, iconic.

Ending the show was a little too much of a wind-down, however. The band played their more ambient songs which can be just as boring as over-the-top, synapse-crushing noise tech. Ending on a bang is always a plus, guys. It was only a small complaint for an otherwise successful set.

- Review submitted by Briana Hernandez.