Remade Horizon: Dirty Projectors bring their experimental indie rock to Minneapolis

Considering how incredibly tight the vocal and instrumental interplay on Bitte Orca is, I was, needless to say, skeptical about whether or not the Dirty Projectors would be able to reproduce their avant-garde indie rock/pop sound live. Luckily for me and everyone else at the Cedar Cultural Center, it turns out that the band is exceptional at doing just that, and even better, they’re able to maintain their melodies and harmonies while improvising and jamming into and out of songs–a mark of true musicianship.

The sunny opening chords of “Cannibal Resource” fittingly opened the show, setting the mood for the remainder of the night. All nine songs from the Projectors’ highly-acclaimed 2009 album, Bitte Orca, made an appearance in the set, with the remaining few songs being a mix of new and old material. One of these new songs was “Ascending Melody,” which recently appeared on the UK-only Temecula Sunrise EP. The track is full of text painting, featuring several rising or “ascending” melodies (clever ones, those Dirty Projectors), particularly obvious during the chorus. It was one of my favorite songs from the concert, embodying the radiance and playfulness of the band; unfortunately, the majority of the audience seemed to have never heard it before and watched the performance with little reaction.

The middle of the set slowed down considerably, moving from “No Intention” to “Two Doves” and finally to “The Bride” from Bitte Orca, before coming to a complete stop as the band sorted out some technical difficulties. After fixing the sound issues, another new song was played, “When the World Comes to an End,” which was debuted live on Jimmy Fallon’s late-night show and has not been released on record as of yet. The band’s women–Amber Coffman, Angel Deradoorian, and Haley Dekle–steal the spotlight on this (and, let’s be honest, every) track, which showcases their ability to flawlessly pull off complex vocal interplay. Bitte Orca‘s first single, the funky, bumping “Stillness is the Move” followed, putting the crowd into a dancing frenzy that was further extended into “Useful Chamber,” the song that contains the iconic, cathartic shout: “Bitte orca! Orca bitte!” Translation: “Please orca! Orca please!” It makes little sense, but sure is fun to yell out along with hundreds of others.

A two-song encore containing “Fluorescent Half Dome,” another fitting choice, considering its placement as the last song on Bitte Orca, and “Knotty Pine,” from the Dark Was the Night compilation closed the performance. Leaving the stage ablaze with ecstatic songs, the Dirty Projectors cast their overjoyed light upon the audience, who walked out into the night newly illuminated and gleaming.—Cassie Traun, Editor