Maps & Atlases @ the Strutt [6/24/10]

     I'm back from the dead once again; this time with with an epic tale. It's the tale of a show the likes of which I have simply never experienced.
     It started simply enough. Jurassic Five was thumping through the speakers as Maps and Atlases loaded in; it was a fucktrillion degrees and there was already a crowd of anxious, sweaty hipsters building at the foot of the stage. The anticipation was palpable when J5 droned into a quick soundcheck.
     M&A hit the ground running, with fans cheering from the very first soulful notes that fell from frontman Dave Davison's beard-shrouded visage. They proceeded to weave an unbelievable set, marked by a subtle complexity: a mosaic of folk, rock and indie sounds that cascaded through the body like drops of rain on a sunny day. The watertight drum and guitar syncopation, adorned by Davison's heartfelt, Caleb Followill-esque vocals, blew threw the Strutt like a cool breeze and everybody seemed to forget the asphyxiating heat, set aside their Soft Parade drafts and sang, clapped and danced the rest of the night away. It ended in an explosive 3-song encore, one of maybe 2 or 3 encores I have ever seen at the Strutt (and the only indie-pop show at which I have ever seen anyone slam-dance).
     My crew and I sought refuge after the show on the patio of the venue, cooling off and exchanging various show-related nerdery. M& A was loading out and we stopped band members as they walked by (bass player Shiraz Dada and drummer Chris Hainey) saying hi and thanking them for the awesome show. They were not only graciously un-annoyed by our bugging them, but when my friend expressed wanting to have heard "The Ongoing Horrible" during the set, Dave Davison grabbed his Takamine out of their van, and played the song (for an audience of myself, two of my friends and two other fans) as well as a Cast Spells (Davison's solo project) tune, right there on the patio of the Strutt.
     Given my fixation on music-writing, I couldn't help but see this moment as an opportunity for an interview. I felt somewhat guilty for this inclination for a couple reasons-- one, because as a musician myself I felt bad for taking him away from his bandmates, who were in the grueling process of van-loading; two, because he was already giving us a once-in-a-lifetime acoustic/ solo mini-set AFTER playing an hour-long show with his band-- but could simply not help squeezing in a couple subtle questions (that's ok, right?).
     Davison ruminated on songwriting, giving a nod to their artful and quirky approach to lyrics: "I think there's like a balance of having a raw idea that's more abstract, rather than the idea itself being how raw [the song] is." This "raw-ness" and lyrical honesty is a large part of Maps & Atlases' prowess in the indie community, with lyrics (predominately on their latest release, "Perch Patchwork") that contain colorful imagery and abounding "that's fun to say!" wordplay (see: the Shins; Fruit Bats). Davison first picked up a guitar when he was seven, hasn't really put it down since: "It's hard to say [how much I play.] I pretty much just play all day. Just hang out." Must be nice.
     After many promises that we wouldn't put my friend's phone videos of Davison's performance on YouTube (despite voices of skepticism from certain bandmates), we bid Davison and the rest of Maps & Atlases adieu and moved on into the night, with the muffled modulations of J5 still thudding, echoing like footsteps behind us.

Maps and Atlases will be playing Aug 5 in Ann Arbor.