The Pygmalion Festival - Thursday Review

Two of our web staff got to attend and cover The Pygmalion Festival this past weekend in Champaign-Urbana.  Mary Gan (writing) and Joe Marshall (photography) will make it easy for you to catch up on all the great performances and experiences from the festival if you didn't' get to make it out! Here is their review of last Thursday at The Pygmalion Festival: A Great Big Pile of Leaves A Great Big Pile of Leaves served as my initiation into the Pygmalion Festival. I got there about five minutes after the show was supposed to start, which on a normal night would mean that I had gotten there five to ten minutes early but the band was surprisingly punctual, and I just managed to catch the beginning of their second song.I craned my neck to look around at the small crowd that had gathered in the lobby of the Krannert Art Museum alongside me. There was something wrong with this show. The building’s main lights were still on, the people around me talked politely to each other in low voices, and, when I occasionally had to lift my feet of the ground to shift position, I couldn’t hear the sound my shoe breaking the adhesion of spilled alcohol and grime between me and the floor not because it was too loud but because there wasn’t any alcohol or grime on the floor.At some point Tucker Yaro, the bassist who also served as the main spokesman for the band says,“I feel classy here, playing in an atrium instead of some chicken wire bar.” That’s when it hit me. My God, I thought, I feel classy too!It was a low key set-up. The band stood maybe half a foot above the crowd on a small square stage that snugly fit all of their gear. The only visual effect that they had was this line of four stage lights that smoothly transitioned between various colors depending on the song. In the blackened windows that served as the backdrop of their small performance space I could see my reflection soaked in a changing spectrum of blues and purples, a drop in sea of eager concert goers who had just started their night. While I usually associate AGBPOL with a more upbeat and summery attitude, the best moments were the ones where the music slowed down, the light settled on a deep blue and the reverberating guitar notes could make ripples run through your blood. Transitioning from that mood into faster paced songs felt jarring and almost unwelcoming if only for a moment.Throughout the set singer Pete Weilend's voice buzzed through the microphone, sometimes sounding a little lost behind the beautiful guitar melodies that have come to characterize AGBPOL’s sound but maybe that’s the point. Weilend’svocals aren’t meant to be put onto a pedestal, instead they gently guide you through the moments you have together.I was lost in that room for far longer than I had physically been there, and that is a testament to not only A Great Big Pile of Leaves’ musical talents but also their ability to deliver an honest performance that made the start of my next four days a welcomed one. ElsinoreI caught one of Champaign’s bigger bands, Elsinore, later on Thursday night in the lobby of the Krannert Center. This marked the 10th year anniversary of Elsinore performing at Pygmalion, something that the band was very proud of and rightfully so. There was already a deep connection established between the crowd and the performers before any notes were even played, a refreshingly warm atmosphere to be apart of.I didn’t really understand why we were situated in the lobby, although I will say that it is a nice lobby. I’ve worked as a server for a couple events in that lobby! Good memories! The stage kind of reminded me of the cold open from Seinfeld, where Jerry is standing in front of the brick wall telling jokes about Ovaltine or man-hands or something else pointless. Only instead of a white spotlight, it’s a row of purple lights and instead of a clear camera shot of the stage everyone in the front row averages 6’2.If you are new to Elsinore’s music, you should know that it is built around Ryan Groff’s beautifully trained voice, a fact that everybody in the room was reminded of maybe a millisecond into the set during their first song. Because of this, I think that the balance of sound was skewed towards what is known to be their strength, in this case the vocals, instead of an even balance between all components of the band that was present on stage. As a result, the potential of the guest violinist and live horn band was capped a little too low. Instead of adding their own unique twists to the music, they tended to mesh together as a platform for Groff’s voice to shine even though it wasn’t necessary to do so. This was addressed a few songs in by Groff, and only then did the intended use of Rachel Wittrig’s strings stand out. The song Lines created a lovely waltz between open chords and bittersweet violin melodies that could end a song or two with the slight tug at the heart.It was a fun and exciting set, one that highlighted the maturity of a seasoned band and their enthusiasm for their hometown. I wish it could have been a little longer, but at the end of it I was satisfied that I had left with more than I had came with. Real EstateI was still basking in the synth pop afterglow of Elsinore by the time that Real Estate moseyed onto the stage. They didn’t seem particularly thrilled to be playing in the lobby of Krannert likely due to the fact that, for the past few months, the New Jersey based band has been touring sold out shows across the country for their critically acclaimed album Atlas. (“This sure is a beautiful lobby,” mused bassist Alex Bleeker mentioned during one of his many interactions with the audience, “I bet the theaters must be pretty beautiful too.”)It hadn’t been more than forty-five minutes since Elsinore and I had parted ways, but as soon as Real Estate laid down their first song it might as well had been a year. Many bands struggle with finding a distinct voice to make them instantaneously recognizable but in that domain Real Estate has done surprisingly well, especially for a band that is often been written off as “suburban indie.” Two-seconds into their set and I wasn’t at the U of I anymore, I was seventeen in my parents’ basement dreaming about doing something productive but not ever actually doing anything at all. The summer reverie that is layered in between Matt Mondanile’s bright melodies and Martin Courtney’s languid strumming isn’t lost in their live performance. I wish that Courtney’s vocals could have been so on point from the onset because it took about two or three tracks for it to settle comfortably among the rest of the music.It was kind of funny seeing them try to pump up the audience in between some of their songs. It’s not as if they’re trying too hard, but their music is rather light, calming, and, more recently so, introspective. Seeing them yell out, “So who hear is a freshman?!” and then taking a pause for applause reminded me of those spirit events you go to during the first days of school when you want a free t-shirt. I had the pleasure of standing on the bass side of the stage, so my clearest view was of Bleeker’s performance, and throughout the show he consistently interacted with us through various expressions or nods of his head, even soloing when somebody loudly ordered, “Do a solo!” It made my experience slightly more personal, which I greatly appreciated.In the end, I was happy with what I got. As nice as the theater setting would have been, especially if there was a visual aid, I never wanted to see Real Estate in a large venue. If you weren’t able to attend their Pygmalion set, I wouldn’t worry. They are a group that will continue to produce quality work for years to come.