Should I see Godspeed You! Black Emperor twice in 3 days?

September 13, 2012 5:26 PM

Should I see Godspeed You! Black Emperor twice in 3 days?

I have tickets to a festival where GY!BE will be playing, and now a side show has been advertised.

The question I guess is: are they likely to play a different set each time, or would I be throwing away my money by seeing the same show twice?

posted by UbuRoivas to Media & Arts (20 answers total)

Depends on how much you like them. I saw a band I adored play six gigs in about ten days once and it was awesome and fascinating - the set lists didn't change much, but the crowd and the venue and the overall vibe did. A festival set and a club set usually feel really different even if the set lists are identical.
posted by restless_nomad at 5:30 PM on September 13, 2012

I'd do it even if the sets weren't different. If they're playing indoors, I'd highly recommend wearing hearing protection. GYBE is the loudest show I've been to by a large margin (ears audibly ringing for multiple days afterward). Seeing them twice would be hell on your hearing.
posted by zsazsa at 5:48 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

If you don't, will you wish you had?
posted by scratch at 6:10 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

I've seen them four times. The first couple of shows was on two consecutive nights and they played only one piece both nights. However, because I was seated in very different parts of the concert hall, I was looking at completely different parts of GYBE, so even the experience of hearing the same piece was remarkably different. I picked up on completely different things. The soundscape is so varied that it's not possible for my brain to follow everything at once, so depending on which bits of the band you're in front of, you'll pay attention to other aspects.

The other two times was at the beginning and end of the same tour. The first one was one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. Half the auditorium was dancing and the others were rapt. The band was loose, happy and really caught up in the energy of the room. As I and my friends were waiting for another friend to get his car, most of the band came out to smoke where we were waiting. They were hugging each other and joking around and chatted with the people there. There was such a positive atmosphere.

The other one was really different. They faced a weirdly hostile crowd (the opening band, Jackie-O Motherfucker, got heckled). Godspeed blasted through their set, playing everything at a slightly higher tempo. They looked a bit haggard and worn and played with a furious intensity. It wasn't as wonderful as the previous time I had seen them on the tour, but it was one of more memorable concerts I've been too.

Long answer short, yes, go see them both times. Even if they're just playing the same songs in the same order, it's likely to be a completely different experience. There isn't a band like them.
posted by Kattullus at 6:29 PM on September 13, 2012

They will likely play slightly different sets, and the particular film loops, and the order in which they're shown, will probably change, as well.

If you want to do some kind of show-to-show comparison, you could check their page on Archive.org, and compare setlists from the same time period.
posted by god hates math at 6:33 PM on September 13, 2012

I saw them play last year. They sort of just played their songs, it felt more like seeing an orchestra where they play a fixed show that's pretty static, compared to other bands I've seen. The show was definitely intense and beautiful, but it didn't really leave me wanting more. It felt very well rehearsed and almost choreographed.

That being said, I would absolutely see them again if it was in a more intimate venue where there might be more chance for serendipity.
posted by !Jim at 7:15 PM on September 13, 2012

I've only seen them once but it was easily one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Absolutely go see them twice.
posted by saul wright at 7:15 PM on September 13, 2012

I saw them play twice on their last tour (in two different cities, spaced about a week apart) and the sets were similar, but not the same. I think the biggest argument for seeing them twice in your case is that a festival show is almost certainly going to be a very different experience from a show in a regular venue, even if the set list ends up being identical.

I enjoyed seeing them twice but I'm not enough of a fan that I think I would have wanted to see them more than that on the same tour. But in your circumstance, with the chance to see them in really different venues, I think it's definitely worth buying the ticket for the non-festival show - they'll probably play a lot longer, and it will feel more intimate, and you'll get a more full experience with the film component (because they may or may not incorporate film into a festival performance, and even if they do the lighting won't be the same...).
posted by jessypie at 7:40 PM on September 13, 2012

Response by poster: Should I add that the new show is in a theatre that "is classified by the National Trust and is listed in the Historic Buildings Register of the Australian Institute of Architects and is one of two surviving art deco theatres in Sydney and the only one in its full original condition"?

And it's about 5 minutes walk from my house...why am I even thinking of not going?!??
posted by UbuRoivas at 8:41 PM on September 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

Go! I'm jealous for you ;-)
posted by oceanjesse at 8:44 PM on September 13, 2012

Yes, go! We will all be enjoying it vicariously through you. Or jealous. I'll probably be jealous.
posted by Sidhedevil at 8:53 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Aaaand...done! It's on Valentine's Day so it will be a special date :)
posted by UbuRoivas at 9:45 PM on September 13, 2012

Worst case, you decide not to go and you resell the tickets for what you paid.
posted by inigo2 at 9:51 PM on September 13, 2012

Response by poster: [can't really give any "best answer" votes because then I'd be marking them all, which kind of defeats the purpose...]
posted by UbuRoivas at 10:45 PM on September 13, 2012

everyone's answered, but I'll also say 'yes, go!' and second zsazsa's comment about earplugs. They are crazy loud - the last time I saw them (in a small club) I had to leave early despite how great they were for fear of hearing loss. This is the first time this had ever happened to me, and I've seen the Melvins, Butthole Surfers, Jesus Lizard, and lots of other super-loud bands.
posted by chbrooks at 11:01 PM on September 13, 2012

So jealous! I saw them twice in the space of a couple of months and the two gigs were very different despite the sets being similar, due to the very different dynamics of each venue. I was enraptured both times and I don't remember my ears suffering unduly.
posted by freya_lamb at 2:02 AM on September 14, 2012

Godspeed shows are such an experience I can't imagine why you're concerned that the setlist might be similar. Enjoy :)
posted by turkeyphant at 2:46 AM on September 14, 2012

You mean your dilemma is choosing between "yes" and "fuck yes", right?

The correct answer is "fuck yes" and wear hearing protection, btw.
posted by a halcyon day at 3:37 AM on September 14, 2012 [1 favorite]

I saw them twice in two nights and they played slightly different sets each time and there was a different vibe too. So cosigning all the "fuck yes" answers even though you already decided to go for it.
posted by sm1tten at 7:00 AM on September 14, 2012

Dear god, if I had the option, I'd see them EVERY night. They're definitely my favorite of the "post-rock" bands to see live.
posted by Afroblanco at 7:17 PM on September 15, 2012