Grizzly Bear at Massey Hall

Photo courtesy of Jag Gundu / Massey Hall

Grizzly Bear played their biggest headlining Canadian show yet at Massey Hall on Monday, November 27th. Serpentfeet opened the night with a capturing performance, setting the tone for this mood enhancing show.

The band opened the show with “Four Cypresses” , which is off of their newest album “Painted Ruins.” It was identical to the record, and kicked the night off perfectly. The bands live performance is made up of perfect harmonizing between the five members, creating an overall beautifully immensive sound, and opening with “Four Cypresses” was the perfect way to show the audience what they were in for.

The stage setup was simple, but ended up working so perfectly. It consisted of three pieces of fabric layered from the ceiling, which created depth, in which light was projected onto it throughout the show. At times it looked like the fabric was moving when it wasn’t, and it was just so much more than I expected out of the stage set up.

Four Cypresses is a progressive song creating an epic buildup, and not only did the live performance of this do that, but it was such a satisfying build up to such an incredible show.

The band didn’t talk too much throughout the night, but that was fine- the show as so captivating.

“Mourning Sound” was a flawless performance. Between the fulfilling harmonization adding depth to the song, the light brass, and light strums throughout, it was an incredibly uplifting performance.

“Ready, Able” had to be the best part of the show. The song in itself is a trip, and to hear it live and it sounding better than the record, with lighting, it was incredibly moving.

The Massey Hall crowd had to be the quietest I’ve seen it yet during the emotional performance of “Foreground.” The lighting was incredible, it looked as if pieces of feathers were floating around the venue. This wasn’t rushed, tempo was perfect, and for that moment the vibe was so still, yet so moving.

The band’s well known hit “Two Weeks” that has been featured in a variety of media including the show “How I Met Your Mother” was also fantastic, as expected.

Overall, what an impressive and genius band. Their recordings are so immaculate, and the fact they can pull it off even better live is so mind blowing.