For the uninitiated, let me explain: Rock concerts have often been compared to religious services. mewithoutYou concerts take this vague analogy and add both overtly and subtly religious lyrics (including quotations from Song of Songs and Sufi poets, among other things), an often largely religious audience, the reverence that fans have for lyricists like Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen (directed toward Aaron Weiss), and the physical impact of the dancier indie bands amplified by the post-hardcore backgrounds of most of the musicians involved. In other words, if this rock concert isn't a religious experience, there may not be a God after all.
That said, on to this particular show: I lined up outside the Trocadero, a former burlesque theater in Philadelphia's Chinatown district, with a pair of hardcore friends and their less-hardcore fiancee and girlfriend. Wandering up and down the line (which was down the block and around the corner well before doors opened at 7) I ran into about a dozen groups of friends I knew from various places: hippies, scenesters, nerds, indie kids, hipsters of various stripes, along with the occasional "normal" person. Once inside, we were greeted with the sounds of what appeared to be a Christian version of The Roots-Urban Sophisticates, a live hip-hop band with a small brass section (trombone and trumpet), guitar, bass, drums, an MC and a singer. Hailing from the South, they had evidently met the members of mewithoutYou at festivals around the country, their trumpeter even recording tracks for the new album. They ran through a half hour set of their material, pumping up the crowd and taking their own videos, before being replaced by Danielson (the MC and trumpeter would return for guest spots with the main act).
Here's one of their on-stage videos:
Danielson was... how shall I put this... interesting. A family band wearing nursing uniforms that reminded me of a cross between the Salvation Army and Awana, they were fronted by a vocalist who reminded me of the more grating moments of The Blood Brothers, Coheed & Cambria, and Modest Mouse (comparisons being shot around the crowd the entire time). After a few songs of their post-rock-ish indie jams (at least one of which involved the keyboard player simply mashing his hands rhythmically on the synthesizer in front of him), I elected to hit up the bar for a drink of water and check out the merch in the foyer, where I talked with the frontmen from Urban Sophisticates. After discovering that they were scheduled to play b-sides at Messiah in the fall, how they knew mewithoutYou, and the quality (or lack thereof) of the music being played in the other room, I let them leave for a quick Wawa run before they headed backstage for mewithoutYou's portion of the show. (Disclaimer: a few of my friends really liked Danielson).
When mewithoutYou finally hit the stage, the hometown crowd erupted. The clapping throughout nearly every song failed to obscure the fact that nearly everyone was singing along-to every single word, even the new stuff. Cheers erupted at the opening notes of each song as devoted fans recognized their beloved favorites. Joined on stage at various points by the frontman from the Psalters (singing background vocals and playing some foreign type of stringed instrument), the trumpeter and MC from Urban Sophisticates, a second trumpeter, a chamber group including strings and more winds, and former band members, mewithoutYou regaled the crowd with an unforgettable set of both old and new material, peppered with comments such as "Mom, it's like this every night on tour". By the time they returned for the inevitable encore, ending with perennial favorite "In a Sweater Poorly Knit", the crowd was dominated by dancing, swaying, sweaty veterans, hugging each other like they'd been friends for years and screaming the lyrics back at the band like their lives depended on it. I ran into people I hadn't seen in years, saw grown men brought to tears, and experienced such poetry that I just accidentally rhymed in a blog. This was not another show, not another concert; this was an experience we will all treasure for a lifetime.
Here's an (admittedly shaky) black & white video of what that final anthem was like that night:
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