Animal Collective played 'Feels' at Knockdown Center (Night 1)

Animal Collective are celebrating their album Feels by playing the album in-full at select dates, kicking-off with two shows at Knockdown Center in Queens, NY.

There was a time when, to me, the idea of hipsters in the early aughts was mostly painted by dudes in skinny jeans who listened to garage rock bands and were obsessed with the Velvet Underground or Bob Dylan. They were people who into fashion, high-end art, and other things you'd associate with the snobby characteristics that came to define that scene. It wasn't until I got to New York in 2006 that my mind got turned on to the more psychedelic music of the time. I was already familiar with the idea of "freak-folk" through the sounds of Joanna Newsom, but when I first heard Animal Collective via my roommate at the time, it was like a switch was flipped in my head. Suddenly I was aware of music that was more influenced by the Dead, Frank Zappa, or Captain Beefheart and the preferred drugs were mushrooms and acid instead of blow and other pills. While I myself didn't catch Animal Collective until the fall of 2007 when they were already supporting Strawberry Jam, at the time their big moment that also saw them shift towards more electronic styles rather than the jammy, familial, tribal folk music that they bested on the albums Sung Tongs and Feels, it was those early albums that made my head swirl in true technicolor wonder. After seeing Panda Bear and Avey Tare play Sung Tongs in-full back in 2018, it felt full-circle to be able to now see them play Feels and to be with said (now former) roommate and another friend who was at that 2007 show felt really special. As a band I've listened to for twenty years now, going back through their discography isn't something I do as regularly as I once did and usually my listening will fall to their newest releases with the occasional nostalgia dip if an older track gets stuck in my head, but it's not as regular as it once was in my life. For the past week, I've been re-listening to Feels again on a near daily basis and suddenly the album rushed back to life in vivid colors. Those squeaky, mumbling vocals, the rim shots and plodding floor toms keeping the beat while those guitars run wild and even enter into drone territory all recall feelings that haven't really entered my headspace in quite some time, but are welcomed with open arms as I reflect on my youth and early days as both an adult and a person living in New York City. As the band walked on stage, a massive screen stood behind them displaying the album cover in bright, vibrant colors. Avey Tare took to stage right and Deakin opposite while Geologist stood behind his many boards in the back alongside Panda Bear who sat in behind the drums. Slowly they started to build a rhythm and "Did You See the Words" started to take shape. As things progressed and the beats picked up, you could feel the crowd start to come to life and once Avey let out those first few screams, it felt like the roof blew off the place and everyone succumbed to the music. Emotions rang free when the transition into "Grass" happened and you could start to sense just how special this was for so many people in the crowd and the men on stage as well. "You found us!" exclaimed Avey Tare and the crowd let out an impassioned scream, the joy of being back in this moment an overwhelming things, but filled with the utmost positivity. "Flesh Canoe" mellowed things out just for a bit, but once the rim shots of "Purple Bottle" entered the mix and the BPMs started to increase, you could sense the tension in the room start to rise. When the beat hit, the release came and the room once again lit up with passion. Everything was buzzing with unapologetic momentum, the crowd bouncing with force and chant back to the band, letting out primal screams and yelps to match the intensity on stage. This was something really incredible and when the track finally wound down, the band looked out with amazement. The drone kicked in for "Bees," hypnotizing us all with Avey's melted vocals that stretched out to infinity and once that one wrapped up, someone yelled out "how long's it been since you played that one" to which a puzzled Avey Tare replied "maybe 2004 or something, but just wait it'll get to be older soon." As they worked up the groove for "Banshee Beat" it was another transcendent moment that crept up with styled anticipation and when the note change hit, the spark reignited the crowd and people were once again enthralled with the majestic tunes that were hitting us head on. Throughout the night, the reactions from the crowd started to hit the band and you could tell the joy was transferring to the stage as smiles lit up on their faces, Deakin dancing in circles as his free-flowing melodies swirled into a delirious haze of unfiltered happiness. Closing out the main set, the band played "Turn Into Something" for the first time in over twenty years and the building with electric, all of us coming together to celebrate something so magical and special that translated beautifully to the stage and made for one of the best sounding Animal Collective shows I've ever been able to experience. For the encore the band played the b-sides "Must be Treeman" and a pumping "Fickle Cycle" that brought the house down. The entire show was a sensational return to a moment in time that felt equally so distant in the past, but also somehow ever so present, a fact that really came full circle when my other former freshman year college roommate tapped me on the shoulder revealing a face I hadn't seen in twenty years that crystalized the moment and power of the band and their music. A beautiful celebration that never could've occurred in my wildest imagination, but one that became a wonderful reality.