Pedro the Lion

Recently on a comeback trail, Pedro the Lion is an indie rock band that was big for over a decade before taking a temporary (which ended up being an extended) break in 2006. Now that they’re back, however, the band hasn’t really skipped a beat, and that’s because the band’s front man, David Bazan, has been the key cog in the machine since its inception.

Watching them live, you’re transported back to those early Seattle days where music was really raw, unmistakably original, and impossible to put a true label on. A Pedro the Lion show is sort of like R.E.M. meets a toned-down Soundgarden, and the fans in the audience are definitely more of the coffee shop variety rather than the Headbangers Ball variety.

This means you can just sit and enjoy the show, without having to worry about any rowdiness knocking you out of your element…or out of your senses. Bazan has a lot of great tracks that he cycles through while playing, including some covers and some tracks that might not have made an album.

“Control” is a great tune that the band always manages to play, and it sounds great in an indoor arena. David’s deep, rich voice carries in a live theater and really makes you respect live music that isn’t auto-tuned in the studio.

He was in Galveston & that is enough. The set was really nice, although I wished it longer. Dude is a genius. His songs barely begin and barely end, and remind me of whispered prayers there seems nothing left but you and God. I would have wept during the first tune but I held my breath instead. After all, my two lovely boys were with me & we all know fathers don't cry. Advance Base write 21st Century hymns of failure. A modern prophet of the smaller despairs. Galveston Art Residences provided an intimate backdrop to an artist who sometimes sounds like he might quit right in the middle. His ability to finish his thoughts should drive us forward, that we all might get through.