Local Natives Stop By Berbati’s Pan in Portland
Local Natives, Portland, OR
by Brianne Turner, photography by Justin Patterson
In keeping with last week’s theme of seeing bands who expertly apply the use of incendiary harmonies in almost every track, we made our way over to Berbati’s Pan to watch the Local Natives set. Originally set to play the Wonder Ballroom, the show’s location was, well, relocated in the eleventh hour without much advertisement from either venue, possibly (probably) playing a sizable role in the sparseness of the show’s audience.
Though Local Natives played just an eight-song set, their performance was powerful and their energy was infectious. With no regard to the underwhelming size of the crowd, the five band members from Silver Lake, California awarded those did make it out with a phenomenal show. Kelcey Ayer played keys, shared percussion duties with drummer Matt Frazier and sang lead simultaneously throughout the majority of the set, which was not only incredible to watch but an unbelievable show of dexterity on his part.
With most of their songs available only on MySpace here in the States, it was rare to see a fan who knew many of the words to the tracks until the band played their three-harmony cover of “Warning Sign” by Talking Heads, an inclusion than tends to go over well in a place like Portland.
Gorilla Manor was released at the beginning of the month in the UK, but Local Natives are still in the midst of working through the red tape of releasing their debut album in the U.S. Until then, keep seeing them live:
11.15.09 Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church*
11.16.09 Washington DC @ Black Cat*
11.17.09 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom*
11.18.09 Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg*
11.20.09 Keene, NH @ The Starving Artist
11.21.09 Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street Downstairs*
11.22.09 Burlington, VT @ Club Metronome*
11.23.09 Montreal, QC @ Petit Campus*
11.24.09 Toronto, ON @ El Mocambo*
11.25.09 Pontiac, MI @ The Crofoot/The Pike Room
11.27.09 Chicago, IL @ Lincoln Hall*
11.28.09 Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon*
11.29.09 Minneapolis, MN @ Varsity Theater*
12.01.09 Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater*
12.02.09 Provo, UT @ Velour
12.03.09 Boise, ID @ The Neurolux
12.04.09 Pullman, WA @ The Bell Tower*
12.05.09 Seattle, WA @ Neumo’s*
12.07.09 Anacortes, WA @ Department of Safety
12.08.09 Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret*
12.09.09 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir Lounge*
12.10.09 Eugene, OR @ W.O.W. Hall*
*w/ Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and Fool’s Gold
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For more information on Local Natives, visit myspace.com/localnatives.