I've been anxious to see Devendra Banhart perform ever since I first heard the "I feel just like a child" track. I've followed his work since, and it has only been a worth while experience to see his progress as a musician.
I was very surprised to see such a small turn out for his performance in Dallas at the Palladium Ballroom. The large crowds I had usually seen him rock on the internet may have been all festivals with other musicians on the bill, but make no mistake, the large crowds love him. I wasn't too disappointed in a small turn out as it made the performance more intimate, however, I felt that he deserved a larger crowd for the energy he put out that night.
The night started out with the opener First Aid Kit (i think that was their name).
A trio with 2 females and one male drummer, which did quite well in their performance.
It really wasn't my style of music, but for what it was, they played some very mellow tracks that the audience didn't really respond well to.
A little bit after 9pm Devendra Banhart came up to start their performance with "Long Haired Child". The crowd was pumped, but for the first 3 or 4 songs, the sound was very bad. You couldn't hear anything but guitar, and the vocals were so low, even Devendra had to ask the crowd if he could be heard. Stopping in mid song, he requested that the sound man turn up the vocals, and provide some more monitor, and show up some lights, that for some reason just turned off for the first 15 minutes.
His performance was very dynamic, and he sang each of his songs differently than what you would listen off the cd. Doing some solos like, "I remember", really gave the audience a sense of his musical talent.
Devendra Banhart and the Grogs were top notch for such a small crowd, and my only real complaint was the Palladium Ballroom's sound-man for running the vocals on DB so low.
The majority of the show we could not hear him singing. My only nitpick about the band was that the bass player (who's name slips me right now) looked very bored throughout the performance. All the other guys looked like they were having a great time.
Sadly around 1045pm, Devendra said good night after returning for an encore, and gave Dallas a memory in excellence. I definitely look forward to his return sooner than later.
The Palladium Showroom @
- Dallas @
, TX @
- Sat, Oct 9, 2010 @
Favorite moment: Devendra asked the crowd if we were allowed to smoke weed. There was an obvious smell of it blossoming throughout the crowd. @
Setlist: There was so many I lost track. Long Haired Child, Baby, Fooling, I remember, etc. @
Opening act(s): First Aid Kit @