GRIZZLY BEAR///
9.26.06///
@ the Bowery Ballroom, NYC///
Text: Cameron Cook///
Photos: Abbey Braden///

It seems like everyone and their mother has come out to the Bowery to check out Grizzly Bear's biggest ever hometown headlining show, and with good reason. Lord knows 'Sup has been singing they're praises high and wide since we saw one of their very first, embryotic shows at CMJ 2004. Without resorting to a gushy love letter in lieu of a live review, let us point out a few historical facts: we were there when they played to a packed, overheated room at our 2nd annual BBQ at Union Pool over a year ago, we were there on Halloween 2005 when they opened for Mountain Goats at Knitting Factory and frontman Ed Droste finally broke down and bought a guitar strap so he could start standing up onstage. We were there when the band welcomed newest member Dan Rossen to the mix, we were there when multi-instrumentalist Chris Taylor started playing bass (!), and we were certainly there when we had to literally mad dash into their Sin-e show and hide under a table because we were underage and the bouncer was being a dick. It's always nice to see good bands get their dues, but Grizzly hold a special place in 'Sup's heart, and the Bowery show was the precise moment in time when they went from being a band to being that band.

The room was at capacity when Grizzly took the stage and launched into "Service Bell", one of the more mellow (well, they're all mellow, but you know what I mean) tracks from 2004's Horn of Plenty. Having just come off of an extensive European tour (deemed "magical" by some of our Euro 'Supsters), they seemed confident and tight as ever, and by the time they got around to one of the tracks off of this year's album, Yellow House, they had the crowd in the palms of their hands--"Lullabye" was as amazing as it was quieting. "Little Brother" showcased Dan's awesome guitar work, but it was "Knife", a song that very well may become Grizzly Bear's anthem, that propelled the set to another level. A blogger favorite, people knew the words, sang along. The set briefly took a surprising direction when Grizzly debuted a "new-new" song, "Final Round", that was both somewhat punk-pop and shoegaze (a friend turned to me: "Whoa, did Grizzly Bear JUST GO PUNK?!?!") and bears promise for future material. Early favorites "Don't Ask" (featuring Owen Pallett of Final Fantasy fame on violin) and "Fix It" appeared near the end of the set, and the show ended with "On a Neck, On a Spit", arguably everyone's favorite track off of House.

I, for one, couldn't have asked for a better show from these boys, and not only did they deliver, they're clearly going places. And, like in the past, we'll be there.