Panda Bear closes his tour in Atlanta alongside Animal Collective bandmate Geologist
Panda Bear’s latest music breaks experimental and sound barriers. Those who went to the last show of his tour at Atlanta’s Variety Playhouse experienced a musical event like no other; Geologist’s opening set was filled with strange noises that entranced the crowd with eyes closed in a daze, and Panda Bear’s performance of electronic experimental pop paired perfectly with Danny Perez’s colorful and weird-as-hell visuals. ‘Panda Bear Plays Buoy’.
The name of the tour baffled fans who originally couldn’t figure out it’s meaning (it would be revealed that he has a new track titled Buoys he would be playing on this tour), but it fit right in with Panda Bear’s (aka Noah Lennox) mysteriously weird yet amusing way of doing things. His latest EP ‘A Day With the Homies’ was released only on vinyl, which might make it harder for fans to reach his music but sure made things a little more interesting.
Besides playing songs from his latest EP, Noah Lennox treated fans with songs debuted on this tour such as ‘Dolphin’ and ‘Calling in Sick’. A highlight was when Panda Bear returned for an encore with his single ‘You Can Count on Me’ off of his 2011 album Tomboy, a track that has scarcely been played in the last 3 years. Geologist (aka Brian Weitz and also a member of Animal Collective) was the opener for the night, playing tracks that can now be found on a limited cassette release that he sold throughout this tour.
Danny Perez, an experimental visual artist who has done visuals for past Panda Bear tours and directed their visual film ODDSAC, complemented Panda Bear’s music perfectly with his intense and colorful video art projected onto 3 screens on the stage. The show also featured a surprise visit from Deerhunter members which could be found mingling amongst the crowd. Panda Bear continues to be a prolific artist, whether he’s working on his own or with Animal Collective. Although his tour just ended, watch out for whatever he comes up with next because it will surely be really weird and really good.
Coverage by Catherine Toruno
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