Robin Pecknold conquered Glastonbury in England recently but battled at the State in Minneapolis Sunday :: Associated Press
Did the scream-at-the-stage yahoos ruin or save the Fleet Foxes soldout concert Sunday at the State Theatre?
Judging by comments from Fleet Foxes lead singer Robin Pecknold and drummer Joshua Tillman, the shout-outs were rude and inappropriate. During his solo encore, Pecknold admonished that next time a concertgoer has a complaint about the sound mix, give the "feedback" by waving your arms at the dude at the mixing console in the back of the room.
However, the concertgoer who, after four songs or so, complained loudly about the sound was absolutely right. And he was right to shout at the stage, though he could have made his point without the expletives. The sound mix was destroying the beauty and splendor that is the Fleet Foxes. In short, the band was too loud and the vocals too soft.
The message was delivered, the sound was soon corrected and the enjoyment continued for everyone but definitely not Pecknold. Fresh from the raucous Pitchfork Media Festival in Chicago, the indie-rock hero seemed preoccupied or annoyed for the rest of the night. Frankly, he deserves part of the blame. He hit the stage talking, not performing.
He muttered something about the affinity between the Pacific Northwest (where Fleet Foxes are from) and the Upper Midwest, citing "some kind of Scandanavian underground railroad." So then, with a lull in the one-sided conversation, a fan asked "Do you have an aunt here?" Another concertgoer responded: "You have a cousin." Said Pecknold: "There she is." Perhaps he should not have engaged the fans from the get-go.
Moreover, he spent too much time between songs tuning his acoustic guitar after his roadie had presumably tuned it for him. That left pregnant pauses opening the door for shouts like a woman who announced to Pecknold:"I want to have your babies." Next time, sweetheart, please send him a tweet.
After playing to packed standing crowds at the Cedar Cultural Center and First Avenue, the Seattle sextet was performing to a Twin Cities sit-down crowd in a stately theater. Once the sound engineer fixed the balance, the baroque hippie pop of these bearded boys was often breathtaking.
