Caspian at the Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (09/13/12)
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Tour Dates
09/14 The Rave in Milwaukee, WI
09/16 Blue Moose in Iowa City, IA 09/17 The Vogue in Indianapolis, IN 09/18 Intersection in Grand Rapids, MI 09/19 Grog shop in Cleveland, OH 09/20 Water Street in Rochester, NY 09/21 Stage AE in Pittsburgh, PA 09/23 Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, NJ 09/25 Fillmore in Washington, DC 09/26 Northern Lights in Albany, NY 09/27 Royale in Boston, MA 09/28 Electric Factory in Philadelphia, PA 09/29 Best Buy Theatre in New York, NY 09/30 The National in Richmond, VA 10/01 Lincoln Theatre in Raleigh, NC |
They took the stage to an audience who likely anticipated the angst-ridden lyrical content of Cursive or breezy vocal melodies of Minus The Bear, the two bands with which they shared the bill. The crowd, presumably mostly uninitiated, was quickly won over by the powerhouse created by their triple-guitar battalion.
While the set included favorites from The Four Trees and Tertia, it also included some interesting new material that showed their latest direction. These tracks featured heavily effected vocals courtesy of de-facto frontman Philip Jamieson. Sounding closer to a synthesizer than conventional vocals, it adds yet another ear-catching timbre to their sonic palette.
This marks the second time I've seen Caspian as an opening act and they are consistently a difficult one to follow. A successful Caspian gig can convert newcomers in to believers of the theory that music doesn't need vocals and lyrics (discernible ones anyway) to come across as thoroughly heartfelt and engaging, and this one delivered on all fronts.
Caspian's latest album, Waking Season, is coming out September 25th via Triple Crown Records.