Panda Bear & Sonic Boom

Last week, I got to see Panda Bear play at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. He was not alone!

Boom left, Panda right.

He was joined by Sonic Boom, who helped produce Tomboy. Mr. Boom was a very welcome addition. Pitchfork's review of Panda Bear's (solo) show at last year's Primavera is telling:

Whenever I see a guy starting his set like Panda Bear did tonight, stepping out with a guitar around his neck and making his way to a bank of electronic gear and a single microphone, ready to do a show all by himself, I think: This dude has too much to do up there. Performing and singing are difficult enough without essentially mixing live sound in between guitar strums. Which is to say Panda Bear seemed like he missed the rest of the Collective a little bit during this solo show.

Even when performing with Avey Tare and Geologist, Panda is usually the least animated member, content to work his electronics and sing the sort of heavenly, reverb-drenched vocal lines that are now so often imitated. But tonight, without the visuals that usually accompany his solo performances (trouble with the projection set-up), his low-key stage presence made his set, heavy on unfamiliar new material, a tougher sell.

With Mr. Boom in tow, twiddling and mixing, Noah was free to focus on his (guitar and) vocals - thanks Sonic Boom.

The set just was Tomboy; the encore, Person Pitch. There's some good footage of both on YouTube, and over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to post it here, complete with analysis/gibber, taking you through this lovely gig.