REVIEW: Destroyer kicks off ‘Dan’s Boogie’ Tour in San Francisco
REVIEW
REVIEW
☆ BY ALEAH ANTONIO ☆
Photos By Cas Pascual
DAN BEJAR CANNOT HELP BUT BE HIMSELF—Ergo, there are several things about a Destroyer show that don’t change: The microphone stand at hip-level, used moreso as an arm rest than a stand. The lack of banter or witty song transitions. The back to the crowd. Several Stella Artois guarding the monitors.
On Wednesday night in San Francisco’s August Hall, the mind behind Destroyer took on his second date on the Dan’s Boogie North American tour. He fits the description of exactly the type of person to make what Destroyer sounds like: English major dropout, lover of French New Wave films and 40s era jazz. The Vancouver-based artist stands aloof on stage, staring at seemingly nobody in particular, in what seems like an attempt to pretend the crowd isn’t there. He sips his beer in between songs and crouches down, closing his eyes while his bandmates do the rest. Something tells me that this is his most comfortable and preferred way of performing.
He’s a notoriously shy performer—Early reviews of Destroyer all recall him coming on stage already drunk, if not drink-in-hand prepared for it. Nothing about his aloofness is anything new, either. In a recent interview with Pitchfork, Bejar said, “As a member of the audience for all the shows I’ve ever seen, I just wanted to be flummoxed. That’s all I ever ask from art. Just stagger me, stop me in my tracks. We don’t need to go through something together.”
Bejar is not really there to make connections—His music does it on its own. His 14th studio album, Dan’s Boogie, came out in March of this year and is beautifully expansive. It departs from previous sounds like the 80s pop of 2020’s Have We Met, romantic rock sounds of 2011’s Kaputt, and the folk of 2004’s Your Blues. Inspired this time by Rat Pack-era jazz, Dan’s Boogie is the most “Destroyer” he’s ever sounded.
Opening with the first track of his new record, “The Same Thing as Nothing at All,” the beauty of the band nearly blew me away. Joined by the two guitarists, the bassist and drummer were feverish and impossible to take your eyes off of. The keys player and trumpeter (with his own pedal board, mind you!) took the edges of the stage, with Bejar in the center. Regardless of his place, he is never the center of attention, even at his own shows.
Destroyer continued with the best of their new record (“Bologna,” “Cataract Time,”) and favorites from the rest of their catalog (“Kaputt,” “Cue Synthesizer,” “Suicide Demo for Kara Walker”). And as he went on, it clicked that there is simply no one who has the unique voice of Bejar. In the rare moments he makes eye contact with you in the crowd, his energy seizes you. His lyrics are akin to poetry—in one moment, he reads off the lyrics of “Hydroplaning Off the Edge of the World” from a piece of paper—and all of a sudden, even if he didn’t intend for it to happen, you feel incredibly connected to him and the music.
Destroyer is on tour through November 24 in North America. Get tickets to see them here.
