I love the Holocene. It’s everything I could ever want in a venue – simple, clean aesthetics, tall ceilings, lots of open spaces, and most importantly, very friendly bartenders. Unlike many a hip spot, I never have felt that I was being done a favor by receiving a drink at the Holocene. It’s really a pity, then, that my latest visit there to see a double bill of O+S and Great Northern should be so completely undone by lackluster sound quality and technical problems.
My companion and I arrived extremely early, so after a round each and a broken cocktail glass (not our fault, I swear), we took a walk around the neighborhood before the bands were ready. Not a promising start, admittedly. Eventually O+S, the brainchild of Orenda Fink and Cedric LeMoyne, took the stage. Live they are a six-piece band, including two primary vocalists and quite a lot of technical gimmickry; just before the first number, raven-haired Fink took a moment to state that this was their second show ever and to entreat us to “be kind.” One wouldn’t really know it, as the band seemed in sync, with nary a missed note or aberration. If anything, they sounded almost disconcertingly identical to their self-titled debut album. Even the female vocalists, singing in tight ethereal harmonies, were note-perfect, like barroom singers on their way to Twin Peaks. Unfortunately, the crowd didn’t seem too into what they were bringing; even on highlights like “New Life,” one of the show’s most rhythmic numbers, only a single amorous couple and one lonely girl were swaying along. Still, live renditions of “The Fox” and closer “Lonely Ghosts”, with its refrain of “The devil that you know/ Is better than the one you don’t/ And so it goes” were perfectly haunting, if just a little stiff.
Headliners and fellow Los Angeles visitors Great Northern were on shortly afterwards and cranked up the noise considerably. So much so, in fact, that singer/guitarist Solon Bixler’s vocals were almost entirely inaudible for most of their set. Despite his visible consternation and visual nudges to the sound guy, it was a rare disappointing display of technical blunder for the Holocene; pity so, as Bixler’s simple voice was one of my favorite things about their sophomore album Remind Me Where the Light Is. Flooding the stage with deep blue lights and opening with “Story,” the band had a thundering sound, sweeping singer Rachel Stolte along a melancholy hook until it peaked with a sudden Spector-ish drum break and a final crescendo. The crowd seemed more receptive to the rock beats and the floor had filled up quite a bit halfway through the band’s repertoire; unfortunately, the sound problems if anything increased, until several of the band members were clearly growing irritated. Only by the last several songs could I hear both vocalists clearly, and by then it was nearly too late. A sharply dramatic performance of “New Tricks” was the highlight of the set, with the ominous repetition of “I was falling down” cutting over a synthesizer, sending a shiver down my spine.
Perhaps it’s the fault of the gray and damp Oregon nights, or the famed aloofness of the Portland music scene, but few concertgoers seemed to be really into the music, despite the tightness of both bands. It’s really a pity that two such promising bands should be hampered by small difficulties – but I still love the Holocene anyway.
by Nathan Kamal
