The Dear Hunter: The Color Spectrum
May 14, 2012 in Featured, Music, Shows by Marisa
Written by: Marisa Young Last Wednesday May 9th at the Somerville Theatre, I had the opportunity to watch The Dear Hunter perform their newest album The Color Spectrum all the way through in it’s entirety. Front man and mastermind Casey Crescenzo is known for his exceptional talent, writing in various time signatures and utilizing intricate polyrhythmic lines. He is also a master of conceptual album writing, as demonstrated through his several previous works. The Color Spectrum is no different: the album is a brilliantly written compilation of EPs based on nine colors of visible light: Black, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet, and White. The full compilation consists of 36-songs; each EP per one color and each containing four songs dedicated specifically to representing that color in a musical form. Experiencing the two and a half hour long compilation in a live setting was nothing less than exhilarating. The performance was broken into three sections with 10-minute intermissions between each set. Six performers took the stage initially: 3 guitarists, a bassist, drummer, and keyboardist. All players contributed to vocals at various points throughout the entire set. Despite the somewhat obnoxious crowd who felt the need to yell out to the performers during the brief song breaks, Crescenzo kept the talking to a minimum and focused on a professionally respectable presentation of his songs. Throughout the set, several guest performers played on stage with TDH including vocalist /guitarist Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra and vocalist /percussionist Cameron Thorne. Crowd favorites appeared to be “Misplaced Devotion” off the Yellow EP and “Mr. Malum” off of the Violet EP, the first of which gained a standing ovation from the crowd. As TDH played through the colors, the lights on the backdrop changed color according to the set list. Black kicked off the
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