PHOTOS: White Rabbits With Gull At Metro
By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 9, 2012 10:00PM
The White Rabbits played a rousing set at the Metro on Sunday night, and while it was an enjoyable show it lacked some of the attitude that we've seen in previous shows. We first saw White Rabbits in the summer of 2008 at a great little outdoor festival in Ravenswood that sadly has since devolved into a bunch of generic cover bands. The White Rabbits, too, have tamed since then, and their new album Milk Famous doesn't quite have that oomph of their previous releases. The things we loved are still there, though, particularly their energy and the dynamic performance of drummer Matthew Clark.
White Rabbits opened with a few songs off of their new album, and while they got some head-bobbing from the crowd, things were a bit slow to start. Then they pulled out "While We Go Dancing" off their 2007 release Fort Nightly, and the mood completely changed. A couple of songs fell flat, but when they were on, they killed it. The band-members switched instruments often and showed off their technical chops. When Stephen Patterson and Alexander Even combine their voices, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
White Rabbits closed out with the powerful pounding song "Percussion Gun" from their 2009 release It's Frightening, then did a three-song encore finishing with a retooled version of 2007's "Kid on my Shoulders." The White Rabbits will perform Wednesday night on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.
As for Güll, to call it a one-man-band doesn't do him justice. Yes, it is one man — Nate Rappole, also of Ultra Dolphins and Snacktruck — but he does more than just loop samples and play over them. He crashes cymbals with one hand and picks strings with the other, while furiously stomping the pedals. He wears a spooky skull-like mask that holds a microphone with heavy reverb and lets out animalistic howls. There may have been words, but we couldn't quite make them out until he covered Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus."