SLINT
CAT'S CRADLE, CARRBORO, NC
WORDS: AW HENDERSON
PHOTOS: AW HENDERSON & JENN HALTER PRENDA
JULY 19, 2007

It's hard to write about Slint's performance of Spiderland after the fact, because it's hard to remember Slint's performance of said record after the fact. I'm fairly confident this is a result of the powerfully esoteric nature of the material played, and not just an issue of a hazy memory, because I assure you I hear the first dusty plucks of "Breadcrumb Trail" reverberating in my ears still. No, the reason it's hard to remember is because there's just too much to hold all at once. A record like Spiderland never stops revealing layers of itself, as those who have listened to it since its release in 1991 can attest. How, then, can one properly absorb these songs' dark turns and corners all at once on stage?

Well, I guess it doesn't matter. You could just say that it was a great rock show, which indeed it was, and that should be enough. Slint delivered on their promise, presenting each song as an individually wrapped package to the audience, most of whom knew all the words. Not that there was much singing along to be seen, but the close-quarters zeal that Slint's fans posses was palatable. At times it seemed the crowd was too intent on merely experiencing the show to actually let down their guard and enjoy it. Slint themselves mirrored this, to a degree. Dave Pajo barely looked up from his guitar for the duration of the show, and Brian McMahon seemed to disappear from stage every moment he wasn't required to sing. For "Don, Aman" the band pared down to two guitars, sitting at the front of the stage in some parody of intimacy. A parody, because no warmth penetrated their set for its entire length. The show was mechanically precise, which is exactly the way it should be considering the legacy of math rock that sprung from Slint's ashes.

Following Spiderland, the band veered off into a handful of Tweez and extended instrumental tracks. "Kings Approach," a new song, melted together with the others in my mind, although I'm sure avid Slint fans already know it by heart. By this point in the show, I'd already got what I had come for. In a way, I wanted to see if Spiderland really existed outside of the precarious, temporary realm that it occupies in my head when I listen to the album with no distractions. Conclusion: it does.