Setlist

Tour Dates

07/01/13 Chicago, IL Park West

07/02/13 “Coast West Music Festival”

07/05/13 Phila, PA Theatre Of The Living Arts

07/06/13 Washington, DC Sixth & I

07/08/13 Boston, MA Brighton Music Hall

07/09/13 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall

07/10/13 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom

07/26/13 “Ansan Valley Rock Festival”

07/27/13 “Splendour In The Grass”

08/04/13 “Camp Bestival”

09/07/13 “Bestival”

Podcast

Hear John and Vu’s first thoughts on Simon Harper and The Polyphonic Spree:

Read More
Polyphonic Spree

The Polyphonic Spree were as epic as expected. With the cast of thousands they were highly entertaining. It’s always brilliant to see such a large group of people coming together and performing so tightly…

The Polyphonic Spree just played the Varsity Theater in Minneapolis, near the start of their 2013 tour for their upcoming album, Yes, It’s True (coming out August 6th).

HARPER SIMON

Opening up the show was Harper Simon. I have previously seen Simon at the Cedar in 2009 and noted that he was “pretty mellow”. Friday’s show was anything but mellow! Simon has a great live band and playing loud rock songs, mostly from his recently released Division Street album, out now on Tulsi/PIAS Records. The album is notably in a more aggressive direction than his 2009 self-titled album, which is reflected on his live set.

I noted in the audio reaction, Harper Simon had this irregular speech pattern, where he’ll start a sentence and then sort of trail off or end it midway. I suspect he was on medication, recovering from a recent illness that had him cancelling out the first show at the last minute.

As for the live set, I didn’t think he played any songs from the self-titled album, which is fine because I actually thought his new material is good, particularly when played live and especially near the end with “Bonnie Brae”, followed by
“Just Like St. Teresa” (he switched to acoustic for this song), “Veteran’s Parade”, and ending on a very high energetic note of “’99” and “Dixie Cleopatra”. Later on, Polyphonic Spree’s leader Tim DeLaughter would comment how much he loved that last song on stage.

The Polyphonic Spree took the stage in a bit of “secret” fashion of a large 30-foot canvas stretched across the front of the stage. The opening entrance was a little dramatic and totally unnecessary, but it’s fun as DeLaughter spray painted the word he wanted the audience to do: “Smile”.

If you aren’t familiar with The Polyphonic Spree, this Texas band is known for a lively show with a large cast of musicians on stage. We’re talking at least double digits, and, man, it is fun to see everyone doing their part with the cello, harp (yes, a harp!), violins, brass section, keyboards, double percussions and the four dedicated choir singers (who had their own great dance routines)!

an amazing cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium”

If you look over their setlist, the encore title and order is wrong. Corrected encore are:
“The Fragile Army”, “Soldier Girl”, “A Long Day Continues/We Sound Amazed”, an amazing cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium”, a cover of Tripping Daisy’s “My Umbrella”, and ending the show with a harp solo from Ricky Rasura.

The five-song (six if you count the harp solo) encore seemed a little excessive, but I think this is “normal” for the Polyphonic Spree. I enjoyed it all, but I think they could have just left on a high note with “Lithium” or arrange that song to be played last.

The entertaining The Polyphonic Spree is currently on tour with Harper Simon. Look for Simon’s Division Street, out now, and Polyphonic Spree’s Yes, It’s True, out in August.