Elvis Perkins in Dearland 6-19-09

Johnny Brenda's · Philadelphia, PA

BY ZACHARY HERRMANN

You know it's been a great concert when: you can see the sweat coming down the artists' faces, the band invites a crowd member to play bass and said amateur totally holds his own and half of the band (OK, so half of four is two) ends up in the crowd for the encore.

Oh yeah, and the tunes weren't bad either. In case you've missed a beat this year (it's understandable - there's been a lot of shit going on), Elvis Perkins (son of actor Anthony Perkins) has released one of 2009's best, endlessly re-playable albums under the moniker and title Elvis Perkins in Dearland.

Friday night, at one of Philadelphia's premiere hole-in-the-wall music and beer joints, Johnny Brenda's, Perkins and Dearland translated the album's textured Preservation Hall-meets-Dylan aesthetic wonderfully, which isn't to say pitch-perfectly but interpretively.

The four-piece covered the range of sound without nailing every note, which is pleasantly refreshing from what we would consider, for lack of a better modifier, to be an indie-rock group. Perkins's collaborators shift from instrument to instrument - trombone, saxophone, flute, upright bass, guitar, pump organ, electric organ, etc. - which, as drummer Nick Kinsey noted, is no small feat on Johnny Brenda's cramped stage.

Quick opening jests were soon forgiven (Perkins's comment that the crowd "looked like Pittsburgh" was greeted with jeers and boos) as the band commanded the audience's attention for a sweaty, rapturous 70-minute-or-so set. The album has only been out since March, but there were already crowd favorites, sing-alongs and bob-alongs ("Shampoo", "I Heard Your Voice in the Dresden", "Doomsday").

Perkins and Co. were also more than willing to shake things up in the set here and there. "Send My Regards To Lonelyville" got a Bringing It All Back Home-style rearrangement - the resemblance was so striking I half expected Perkins to start in with "I ain't gonna work on Maggie's Farm no more ...". What the band did with "I'll Be Arriving" was far stranger; almost an early '70s Stax sort of treatment. Granted, that was the same time Big Star played on the legendary record label, but really, it all just goes to show how varied and vast Perkins's influences must be.

Apparently, there's a bit of gospel in there to, as Perkins gave a truncated history lesson on sacred harp before launching into "Weeping Mary." Though the traditional religious tune shouldn't have been that surprising - Perkins's solo debut is Ash Wednesday after all - it still seemed to throw the crowd for a loop temporarily, as things got very quiet very quickly (Wasn't it Diane Keaton who said in Manhattan, "I'm just from Philadelphia. You know, I mean, we believe in God"?).

Once the guitars kicked in, everything seemed to make sense - the only thing Perkins was selling was rock ‘n' roll, which subsequently led to a new song titled "Stop, Drop and Rock ‘n' Roll." With faith in a certain plaid-shirted man picked from the crowd, Perkins invited one of the audience members to place bass on the song, and although the mix was at its muddiest (probably due to Wyndham Boylan-Garnett's blaring guitar), it was pure Sun Records bliss.

Not to get too caught up in hyperbole, but watching Perkins's band (which also included upright bassist/various utility man Brigham Brough) play musical chairs with their instruments called to mind another band, namely The Band. When Perkins played solo ("While You Were Sleeping", "All The Night Without Love") it was nearly impossible not hear similarities to the wailing acoustics of Jeff Mangum, which is by no means an insult. Both songs, though less interesting than the Dearland work, really affirm what an incredibly talented songwriter Perkins is.

But with Dearland, Perkins and Co. really have succeeded in creating a sound that is very much their own. The brassy organics and unrelenting stage energy has a bit of that anachronistic sublimity that made The Band both immediate and timeless. Too many musicians get so caught up in the idea of art that they lose sense of the visceral qualities that make live rock ‘n' roll an art form.

It takes a lot of nerve and sweat, but more than anything else, there needs to be that unequivocal joy of being able to perform for any number of people in any tiny club or bar. Boylan-Garnett and Kinsey didn't need to jump into the crowd to prove they had all that, but they did it anyway because it was fun for them and the audience. The effort was definitely appreciated.

Set list:

1) How's Forever Been Baby

2) Chains, Chains, Chains

3) Send My Fond Regards To Lonelyville

4) Hey

5) Hours Last Stand

6) Weeping Mary [traditional]

7) I'll Be Arriving

8) Stop, Drop and Rock ‘n' Roll

9) While You Were Sleeping

10) Stay Zombie

11) Shampoo