Concert Review: Battles live at Central Park Summer Stage

The New York based experimental quartet Battles played a free live show on Saturday August 16 before thousands at the Central Park Summer Stage. Supported by Gang Gang Dance and The Black Dice it was a noted departure from the Summer Stage’s typical line-ups through most of the summer. Furthermore, The Black Dice and Battles were in an interesting combination of experimental groups, it seems logical initially, but they are really at opposite ends of the genre.

The Black Dice represent a new generation of beat making noise lovers. They seem to shun the somewhat more traditional approach of bands like Battles, where creating beats is the backbone of the project. The Black Dice create a symphony of noise that frequently allows the beats and more traditional sounds to leech in (they even played a little guitar, though if you couldn’t see the guitar you likely wouldn’t have noticed). What was most interesting about their set was that the noise they toyed with didn’t follow traditions of their genre, it didn’t allow the noise to act like a jazz solo flowing within the framework of beats and structure, instead there was a semblance of structure lurking underneath their work, the beat and structure creeped into the washes of sound occasionally, inverting the tradition of this style of song-writing. There was certainly a rhythm being followed, but it was never a priority. It would rise and fall with the tide and the only constant was the free form noise and effects, and occasional mutilated yelling. It was an interesting set, and a gutsy choice by the programmers of such a large, free, summer festival.

The set was certainly not aided by a crowd that was more interested in grooving to beats like Battles would soon provide, but that might have been what the best part of the set. It was patchy, and was sometimes more laborious than it was interesting. Nonetheless, you could see the audience’s perception of noise, experimentation, and what they could internally accept being challenged throughout the set. For the concertgoers who were there to see Battles, who generally find them selves listening to some music that doesn’t fall within the radio conventions, to be challenged this way was in no small part due to a brilliant programming choice. A great contrast to the dance inducing party stomps that Gang Gang Dance had previously provided.

Battles are a relatively calm and unassuming lot. Though they danced and encouraged the audience to sing along to “Atlas,” they seemed to be an average group of musicians with extraordinary abilities. For any Battles fan the live performance is a special experience. They have honed their live shows into a finely tuned machine, tweaking songs, blending them, and creating something beautiful, yet entirely new. The somewhat stripped down sound of their live performances sheds light on their expansive LP debut, Mirrored. Through hoards of loops, and synthetic vocals, the raw drumming and intricate guitar work that creates their sound is more fully revealed. It’s like viewing a skyscraper with the outer panels torn off and realizing that there is an even more intricate beauty lurking beneath the façade.

Battles unique sound thrives in the live setting. Whipping through a barrage of songs, often seamlessly melding them into one long jam, they never allowed the show to sink into the mundane or allowed the audience to begin to expect what was next. They played the songs with tenacity greater than their taut studio recordings. Highlights included a phenomenal version of “Tonto,” in which the guitar loops were layered at lengths I’ve never seen live. They fully utilized their transient orchestration with 3 guitars and a drummer, creating succinct loops of oddly structured madness. It was a beautiful presentation of songs that most groups wouldn’t have the ability to pull off in a live setting. Often processing loops with one hand and creating new ones with one hand on the guitar at the same time, the band showed their extreme talent, and tasteful orchestrations repeatedly throughout the set. These qualities were never more present than with the final two songs of the set proper, “Atlas” and “Race: In.”

The set was concluded with an encore of “Leyendecker,” an alternately atmospheric and pulsating ode that they stretched to a ten-minute crescendo, without ever feeling as though they might be pushing it, lurching into “Freebird” territory.

Battles are a rare treat in person, few bands of their genre (try to name it) are able to pull off such a seamless and engaging live performance that isn’t hindered by the mesh of electronic sampling and live instrumentation (though there were a few technical difficulties – nothing that wasn’t quickly remedied). Hopefully the wafts of new tracks during the set are an indication that Battles are far from finished.