Blitzen Trapper – Live @ The Orange Peel

Concert Reviews • Monday December 1st, 2008 • 12:24 pm

The mood at the Orange Peel on this particular Thursday night was to be expected. A rather large crowd gathered patiently somberly awaited Sam Beam and Iron & Wine with restrained excitement. A few people good-naturedly held signs asking for extra tickets. The opening act seemed more of a formality to most people rather than a privilege. It seemed as if the crowd was ready to nap through another no name opener, and many individuals had anticipated this dilemma by arriving late and circumventing the nuisance altogether.

As the six-pieced Blitzen Trapper took the stage, some small applause was heard. The band’s frontman, Eric Earley casually approached the microphone and straightforwardly stated, “We’re Blitzen Trapper, we’re from Oregon, and… we’re gonna play some songs.” This was a cue to unleash a latent inertia that the group does not display on first sight. Blitzen Trapper launched into the first song off of Furr, “Sleepytime in the Western World,” with vigor and immediately captured much interest.

Their sound was tight-knit, and almost completely true to the album. Some minor adjustments such as added harmonies were made to flesh out the sound for a live setting. All of the material came from Furr, and as a result, the music was fresh and well appreciated.

Upbeat tunes such as “Fire and Fast Bullets” and “Saturday Nite” engulfed the audience with their loud sound. The frantically lit stage drove the songs home, and they were experienced as they were meant to, exhibiting an liveliness that does not necessarily come through on the album.

There was not much banter in between songs, but what was said was light-heartedly witty. Earley at one point even attempted some Northern/Southern reconciliation, stating, “I love the South. They get a bad rap sometimes from where we come from, but fuck them, the South is great!”

The musicians were laid-back and cool as they played, Eric Earley channeling some of Bob Dylan’s thoughtfully stoned energy of the Royal Albert Hall acoustic set. His lead vocals were backed wonderfully by Marty Marquis – a dangerous side-arm who was a great compliment to the band with his skilled acoustic guitar playing (at one point he even brought out a melodica.)

The highlight of the show came when the band reached Furr’s title track. A Dylan-style harmonica was backed by a toy-bird instrument that was miraculously produced and played by the guitar/keyboardist, Erik Menteer. As Earley said the line, “My thoughts they surely were/ Turned to instinct and obedience to God,” something shifted as the band’s demeanor became keener, and they locked into something that promised more than a mere performance. The rhythm section exhibited a precise amount of restraint, and managed to capture the prescience of the album version. This song’s performance was Blitzen Trapper at their best, and was a glimpse into their lofty possibilities.

By the time the band reached the Neil Young-like piano ballad “Not Your Lover,” the audience was enthralled. The crowd had grown considerably in number, and all attention was well-focused at the stage. Iron & Wine had at least temporarily been edged out of immediate consciousness. Blitzen Trapper’s concisely articulated music was the highlight of the evening. The only tragedy was that it was overlooked in too many cases.

Tagged as: Asheville, Blitzen Trapper, Orange Peel, Sub Pop Records