Architecture In Helsinki @ The Avalon 5.18.06
If you ever get a chance to see Architecture In Helsinki and you’re even a slight advocate of fun or exuberance, it’d be in your best interest to do everything in your power to make it out to see them because after seeing them bring down the house at the Avalon last week, I can assure you their live show is some of the most fun you’ll ever have. Though I missed opener Clue To Kalo, I was more than ready when the AiH collective took the stage in their colorful attire and quirky outfits.
Cameron Bird is a unique vocalist because of the cartoonish highs and lows his impressive vocal range enables him to reach, and his vocals definitely held up live, as did those of adorable back-up vocalist Jamie Mildred. The show was an absolute blast, and it seemed as if everyone in attendance was having the time of their lives, especially the group of what must have been more than 15 kids who apparently skipped their high school prom to attend the show. Bird had been informed of this before the show, and invited any of the couples in the group to take the stage, and one couple took them up on their offer and climbed up on stage to waltz to “Maybe You Can Owe Me” (pictured below). Bird went on to say that John Hughes (see: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, and The Breakfast Club) would probably end up making a film about them someday, but this comment was met with mostly blank stares and nod-and-smiles from the group, all of which were likely born after Hughes box office heyday (not that I was alive then either or anything).
The prom kids aside, the rest of the audience seemed surprisingly young as well, but the lack of indier-than-thou 20-something hipsters was certainly refreshing. Everyone in the crowd was moving throughout the entire show, and you’d have been hardpressed to spot a single person in the attendance who didn’t look like they were having an awesome time. Highlights included “The Owls Go”, “The Cemetery”, “Wishbone”, “Maybe You Can Owe Me”, and set-closer “Do The Whirlwind”. “Wishbone” was perhaps the single happiest two and a half minutes of my life, made even more enjoyable by the fact that during the horn-happy bridge, Jamie ran up to the balcony and threw confetti from the railing onto the crowd below, who loved it, before racing back down to get in place to continue her vocal duties before the bridge ended. The band also played an awesome new jam, introduced as “Derby” (if memory serves), which sounded really great and has me really excited for AiH’s next release. After leaving the stage at the conclusion of their regular set, the band returned to the stage to chants of “Whirlwind! Whirlwind!”, which closed the night out perfectly. Below is the setlist, which I got from Stereogum (here) but modified slightly because I know they played “The Owls Go” and I’m positive that “Maybe You Can Owe Me” was a mid-set highlight rather than a closer. I take special exception to the fact that “The Owls Go” was left off their recounting of the setlist, as the song contains what is easily the most adorable single moment in the history of music at the 2:54 second mark (which I owe Adrian for showing me). So yeah, below is the setlist from the show, with some mild guesswork at play at parts in regards to the ordering of the songs.
Setlist:
1. “Neverevereverdid”
2. “It’5″
3. “In Case We Die”
4. “Heart and Faces”
5. “Frenchy I’m Faking”
6. “Hot To Trot”
7. “The Cemetery”
8. “Wishbone” [highly recommended]
9. “Kraftwerk”
10. “Maybe You Can Owe Me” [highly recommended]
11. “Fumble”
12. “The Owls Go”
13. “What’s In Store”
14. “Derby”
15. “Do The Whirlwind” [highly recommended]
Also, because a) I’m a nice guy, and b) I’m sure most of you have those AiH tracks already, I’ve decided to throw in a handful of “Whirlwind” remixes for your enjoyment as well, which you can get at below:
MP3s:
“Do The Whirlwind” (Hot Chip Remix) - Architecture In Helsinki
“Do The Whirlwind” (Halma’s Remix) - Architecture In Helsinki
“Do The Whirlwind” (Metronomy Remix) - Architecture In Helsinki
Currently AiH are wrapping up the final dates of this tour, and have just finished a cover of The Beach Boys’ “Pet Sounds”, which is to be featured on an upcoming Beach Boys tribute (which will also feature covers by Daniel Johnston and Iron & Wine as well) to be put out by Spanish label Houston Party later this year. Also, they’ve revealed that they just finished their first remix, of The Shout Out Loud’s “Very Loud”, which should appear on an upcoming Shout Out Louds single release. Finally, AiH will be heading into the studio soon to record the follow up to 2004’s incredible In Case We Die, due out in 2007, which should be excellent if the new songs they played last week were any indication.