Collective Unconscious

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 17, 2004 6:54PM

Chicagoist, after discovering this past Saturday's Q101 hipster love-fest was inexplicably sold-out – we wonder how exactly you sell out an open field – attended the Polyphonic Spree and were rocked... hard. From the chorus with Brady Bunch kids dance moves to their frequent fist-pumping, the Spree put on one helluva show – an aural equivalent of Prozac. Exuberantly happy and amazingly sincere, they made Chicagoist think of The Flaming Lips minus the huge balloons animal costumes. It would be a tall order to top such an event, but the Animal Collective, who are playing at the Empty Bottle on Thursday, might be just the group to do the job. (Maybe we're just in need of seeing more musicians in animal costumes.)

Riding the success of Sung Tongs, one of the year's best albums, these guys prove that simplicity is the new black, stripping down their instrumentation to the barest essentials (acoustic guitar, voice, weirdness) to create stunning, complex experimental pop-music. Look no further than the album's second track "Who Could Win A Rabbit?" for a taste of the off-kilter sing-songy nature (nature being a key word there) of this album. They appear with like-minded tour-mates the Black Dice, another band that isn't afraid to go a little (or a lot) crazy. This show is only $10, so if you're over 21 (cursed Empty Bottle!) you really have no excuse. Unless you're at Andrew Bird, that is...