PREVIEW
XLbirdsuit
June 20, Ship & Anchor
June 26, Castle Pub
XLbirdsuit dead set on boomin' the boxes and preparing to fly
Consisting of established figures from The New 1-2, The Summerlad and Shecky Formé, XLbirdsuit is dead set on making a big ruckus. Their collage of ideas may seem new right now, but it shouldn't take the local scene long to start talking about the band that dresses all in white and performs expressively in front of a large flag depicting a giant, four-headed red bird. If you want to laugh hysterically, they invite you to.
Despite admitting that the four-headed bird is outlandish, Calgary's newest quartet takes the emblem seriously in that it's a hilarious reminder not to take themselves seriously. Most importantly, instead of attitude the audience can let the intense array of music hit them.
So far, XLbirdsuit has played two disparate sets marked by wild manoeuvres, from fearless big-beat numbers to "slow lovers' rock." Needless to say, they're emerging as an eccentric and electric effort to keep audiences from flat-lining during gigs. Augmenting their sound to come off as irregular and butt-shakin' as possible, they do what they want like stormtroopers of sound.
"We want to craft any kind of set for any given night and be able to create any mood possible," they say. "We have a lot of songs and we can structure the set in any way we want to create a mood – kind of like DJs playing a crowd.
"That's what the flag is about. It's a symbol of the band – the band can do whatever it wants and still hold its head high whether we're singing quiet songs or loud, loud songs."
Make no mistake, this quartet is not a schtick band. They are fuelled by equal parts gut instinct and whatever will give the audience a good jolt. Collectively, the band members have a ton of live show experience under their belt and they know what makes for an invigorating show. Not even a year old, XLbirdsuit have gelled, as is apparent from their raw energy on stage and their slough of new material.
"The audience has to be as convinced as you are of your trip, whatever it is," they explain. "You're playing music, but you're playing this fantastical music instead of just playing brainy music or something that's of this Earth.
"If you take yourself outside of just being Joe Average – hence, an identity or some kind of uniform identity – then you are ready to take it to the streets. I think when the audience (is) convinced that you are in it in your own realm, then it's like, man this is a new experience. I really haven't felt it before. Our songs are very genuine so we act very genuine to the song. There's no other way to do it."
"Even though the imagery and the whole idea of costumes and stuff may seem a little humourous, it comes from a serious place originally. Things may come off a little kooky sometimes, but that's part of the honesty of it – that anything can happen in it. That we're kooky people."
Another reason to get kooky: to stay off psychiatrists' couches and stay sane while getting to the bottom of crafting works that move them.
"The best and worse prescription for anybody is themselves. You gotta deal with yourself, so you might as well be yourself and deal with it, and that's where the kookiness lies." |
