Review: Gotye

The jury is still out on whether Gotye will become a member of the one-hit-wonder hall of fame or a recurring Top 40 hit maker, and his headlining show at Crossroads KC presented evidence that things  could go either way.

The show was initially booked at the much larger Berkley Riverfront Park, which has room for several thousand fans. The reason for the move was immediately obvious: About 1,500 fans showed up Friday, barely more than half of Crossroads’ capacity.

The change to a smaller venue had its benefits. In a smaller space, the light and video shows were more dynamic. And the band’s energy was more palpable. Gotye likes to stay in motion, bounding and bouncing from one instrument (usually percussive) to another. 

The 90-minute set was larded with percussion and heavy rhythms. The stage looked like a showroom for drums. At one point, four people were banging on something. There was some organic instrumentation — electric guitar and bass, drums — but lots of synthesized , sampled and looped elements, too, from saxophone to disembodied background vocals. It all added up to a sound that was often as sterile as it was slick and glossy.

The vibrant and captivating videos displayed on a large screen behind the band salvaged what would have otherwise been a static show. Some exhibited various styles of animation (anime, clay animation). Several were a song’s official video, like the film clip to the electro-pop song “Eyes Wide Open.”

That song was one of several that aroused an outburst from a crowd whose interest seemed to ebb and flow noticeably, depending on what was coming off the stage, musically and visually. Gotye (Wally De Backer) is not a commanding vocalist. He can sound a lot like Sting — not exactly a Goliath of a lead singer — but over the course of 90 minutes, that resemblance slowly flagged and so did the crowd’s interest. It was most apparent during the midtempo numbers, like “Night Drive,” which sounds like a mid-’80s Phil Collins ballad. During that one, the crowd around me chatted like the show was in between sets.

Everyone stayed for the big moment. “Somebody That I Used to Know” is no doubt more famous for its sentiments than its songcraft. It has a captivating beat and an enticing melody, neither of which is especially original. But it’s a post-breakup song, former lovers assessing the coldness and depth of their estrangement after time has passed: “You didn’t have to cut me off / Make out like it never happened and that we were nothing.” It snapped the crowd to attention. Scores of phones were raised, either to video the song or relay it live to someone. And it wasn’t hard to find people singing along earnestly, as if reliving an experience. Caroline Polachek, the lead singer in Chairlift, one of the opening bands, filled in capably for Kimbra on the lead female vocal.

He played a few more songs after that, but by then a good one-third of the crowd was gone. One of the encores was a meandering instrumental called “Seven Hours With a Backseat Driver,” another was a feel-good pop-soul song called “I Feel Better” that sounded like something Chicago might have recorded in the mid-1970s.

Like most of what preceded them, neither registered much more than a superficial resonance — the reward of hearing something predictable and pleasant. It’s safe to say he will always be known for that hit song, one with lyrics so universal it will always be something more than a novelty. But it’s too early for a verdict on whether a year or two from now Gotye will be someone we still care about. Friday’s evidence was inconclusive.

Setlist: The Only Way, What Do You Want?, Easy Way Out, Eyes Wide Open, Smoke and Mirrors, State of the Art, Dig Your Own Hole, The Only Thing I Know, Night Drive, Save Me, Giving Me a Chance, Bronte, Somebody That I Used to Know, Heart’s a Mess. Encore: Seven Hours With a Backseat Driver, I Feel Better, Learnalilgivinanlovin. 

| Timothy Finn, The Star

Comments

[BrainOfJHA]

Really enjoyed the show. Didn't go in with high expectations and thought it was great. Loved the percussion. Good on ya mate!

[pellboy]

I'm shamefully out of touch. Had to google band and song.

[Geordan]

I have to admit to liking "Somebody That I Used to Know" the first 100 times or so that I heard it. It's a song you initially want to hate, like fun's nauseating "We Are Young," but it creeps up on you and gets stuck in your head (see "Pumped Up Kicks"). I even liked Gotye's performance on Saturday Night Live last season, but now I am kinda tired of hearing the song and I haven't heard anything else by him. One hit wonder?? Probably....

[Bart]

"" I'm shamefully out of touch. Had to google band and song. ""

me too... and then I played the song on Youtube, fell asleep... and only now just woke up....

Dang, I guess I should have gone to this show just to catch up my sleep, get a good dosage of Lymes disease from the tick infested wood chups, share some fecal matter with the general population and sprin my ankle walking on the unsteady wood chips.

[Hamster]

C'mon Bart, you can do better than the lame "sprin my ankle walking on the unsteady wood chips" danger at Crossroads. Seriously, put some effort into it. How about the "I might get struck by lightning" fear? Or the "What if I'm at a Crossroads show and an F-5 tornado hits downtown KC" concern? Bart/DT, you are an awesome genius and we are counting on you to save us from danger. Please don't let us down with a whimpy "sprin my ankle walking on the unsteady wood chips" blast. You're better than that.

[voice of reason]

Um....NO, he is NOT.

[Se7en]

For a person(s) whom have never used the same name two days in a row this DT sure isare well known.

Dont miss the Rolling Stones intro into MNF tonight in 9 minutes on espn. Hold onto your hat.

[Aaron]

Really quite surprised by the relative low turnout, considering the amount of coverage this artist has had in the past 6 months.

I despise "Somebody I used to Know" and believe that song should just be retired forever, but surprisingly enough I thought 3/4ths of the rest of the songs on the album were quite good.

I was out of town for the weekend but I bought my girlfriend tickets to this show and she said it was one of her favorite shows she had ever seen. So who knows, might check this Gotye act next time he's around.