Genrefication of mewithoutYou as simply "Christian Rock" is wholly incorrect. The band cites a wide range of influences, from ancient Islamic folk tales, to Neutral Milk Hotel. The music of mewithoutYou runs the gamut from upbeat, acoustic recitation, to heart-palpitatingly intense, vocal chord-shredding philosophical rhetoric. Vocalist Aaron Weiss raves like a man possessed, but still retains an understated melodic sensibility that keeps the existential subject matter firmly grounded in rock-music approachability.
Buried Beds and Kevin Devine did well opening the show. The bands were clearly enjoying this tour, as performer cameos were common place throughout every set. During Buried Beds' final song Kevin and a few members of mewithoutYou came on to assist with percussion. Later Eliza Jones, vocalist of Buried Beds, returned to the stage to assist Kevin with a cover of Sam Cooke's "Cupid." It's refreshing to see bands that really enjoy playing together on tour. The collective camaraderie spills over to the audience, building a sense of connectedness between the crowd and the band. It's a beautiful thing, and it goes a long way towards making a show truly great.
MewithoutYou's diverse catalog kept the show fresh. With Biblical folk-tunes, and heavy-metal parables to keep things interesting, you find yourself more readily engaged than you are at a usual club show. Opener "February, 1878" got things moving, and a mosh pit formed in front of stage left quickly. "C-Minor" kept the pace up and the blood pumping. Things relaxed slightly for "Messes of Men" and the rhythmic "Grist for the Malady Mill." The more folk oriented side of the band came out for a few songs, until the trend was broken with Catch For Us The Foxes rocker "Paper Hanger." Some difficulty presented itself when Weiss's overdriven mic lost volume for a good portion of the set. It returned intermittently, but it was disappointing to see Weiss scream so furiously and not hear a thing. Another Catch For Us The Foxes staple, "Son of a Widow," came later in the set to a receptive audience. A few minutes after exiting the stage, the band returned for an encore of "Silencer" from A To B Life. At the first notes of the recognizable riff cheers where heard, followed by quiet anticipation. As Weiss burst into his bipolar frenzy he skipped around the stage and hunched against walls, all the while his eyes were cast upward. The crowd was sea of bobbing heads and enunciating mouths; clearly they had wanted to hear this one, and it was met with thunderous applause after its conclusion. The band closed the show with "Allah, Allah, Allah," and they made sure it was a party. Kevin Devine joined the band on stage, bouncing to and fro like a tambourine-wielding jack rabbit. There was almost a childish singalong aspect to the song, and that made it all the more exciting, as a feeling of youthful wonder befell the crowd. After the song's conclusion, the band exited the stage to cheers, nearly ones of exaltation.
The range of emotion and stylistic diversity is what made this show great. Having such a wide range of songs really made the performance consistently engaging and entertaining. The bill was perfect for show, and the added sense of brotherhood created new layers of meaning with each song. I can truthfully say that after months of anticipation, I was not let down.
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