In-store: Great Lake Swimmers

Great Lake Swimmers

Sonic Boom Records. Friday, February 5, 2010.

Well situated en route to the gig I was headed to, stopped in at Sonic Boom for this in-store, feeling like it would be worth it to spend some time with Great Lake Swimmers, despite the fact that I'd be going to their proper show the next night. Got there just early enough to beat the crowd and picked a spot behind some young gentlemen who had a camera/laptop setup to stream the show on the internet. It quickly filled in behind me, a nicely robust crowd on hand by the time the five-piece band hit the stage. The band was in full-on 'great to be home' mode, playing to a very mixed crowd — with their relatively early start times and friendly atmosphere, the Sonic Boom in-stores seem to be an increasingly popular destination for parents who miss going to see bands, as there's been a steady increase in the number of small children in attendance at these shows.

Working mostly from the year-old Lost Channels, the set started with "Everything Is Moving So Fast" and included a nicely punchy version of "She Comes to Me in Dreams". There was a bit of older material mixed in after a few songs — I was particularly affected by the always-beautiful "Moving Pictures, Silent Films", with newest member Miranda Mulholland's understated violin and backing vox adding just the right sympathetic note. No talkers on hand, at least in my vicinity, making for a pleasing listening experience.¹ Though attentive, the crowd did step up when called upon for a clap-along to "Your Rocky Spine", where the bulk of the audience stuck with it, quite unexpectedly, for the length of the song.

After a half-dozen songs, Tony Dekker stopped to introduce the band, and I thought that might signal things winding down. But the band kept rolling along, ultimately playing a generous twelve songs in fifty-five minutes.² The second half mixed in a few more Ongiara tracks, closing with "I Am Part of a Large Family". Perhaps the crowd generally was impressed with the length of the set, as after the last song, there was warm applause, but not a sustained demand for an encore, as if the consensus was that this was a good place to stop.

Listen to a track from this set here.

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¹ Though if I were to make one slight complaint, the sound tech could have tweaked the trebles down a touch, as Dekker's guitar stings were ringing a bit too prominently in the mix. But hard to complain too much when the room was quiet enough, and the mix clear enough, to be able to hear such an imperfection.

² It's always a bonus when the in-store isn't on the same night as a gig for the band, and they aren't otherwise rushing to move along. I would never complain when a freebie in-store set is short or stripped down, so it seems like an especially generous gesture on the band's part to play what is essentially a full set for a non-paying crowd.