The Dears

They’ve been garnering a fair amount of attention recently but from where I was standing, support act Ambulance Ltd. were, in a word, YAWN. The most unremarkable bit of indie alt-country I’ve tossed back tequilas to in a while. What else is a girl gonna do?

Conversely, there is an enjoyable sense of drama as The Dears take to the stage. Having never even heard them before, my first impression of this collective is that they are not unlike those weird polygamous families from Utah you read about from time to time. Murray Lightburn plays the role of Father Dear and lords it over a stage-worth of devotees and moody teenagers (Natalia Yanchak). And this musical family has had its share of fall-outs and shame, with Murray’s self-confessed battle with booze, key figures storming out of the band and so on. It must have looked at times like they would never get here.

No wonder Murray opens by telling us that this is ‘a momentous night’. He goes on to thank us for sharing it with him ‘from here’ (points to his head), ‘here’ (thumps his heart) ‘… and here’ (grabs his crotch). By this point the crowd is more than ready for a show. After a difficult start with synths failing, sound problems and the like, The Dears find their stride. I am soon giddy from epic 10-minute orchestral adventures, which seem to take the contents of the Electric Ballroom and lift them up before spiralling us back down again. I am unsurprised to read a few days later that Murray thinks of The Dears as a 'quest for God'. I'm not sure that they found Him tonight, but things certainly got intense from time to time, supported by a dazzling light show. By the time the spectacle draws to a close, the crowd is won over and Murray is on intimate terms with a bottle of champagne. The night has been deemed a success by all parties.

When: 1/02/05
Who: The Dears
Where: Electric Ballroom
Review by: Jane Rich
Pitchfork reviews: The Dears