Panda Bear: September 11, 2010 Governor’s Island – Flac and MP3 Downloads
One of the most anticipated albums for this Fall season is Panda Bear’s Tomboy, his follow-up to one of 2007’s albums of the year, Person Pitch. On Governor’s Island on Saturday night, Panda offered an excellent preview of the album and clearly whet the appetite of the fan’s anticipation. The set included nine of the announced eleven tracks from the album, along with a selection of earlier material. We’ll admit to being somewhat ambivalent about attending a show on 9/11, but after reading Panda’s excellent interview with brooklynvegan, we were certain that he understood the significance and respect for the date. The clear weather offered a spectacular view of NY Harbor, and the 9/11 memorial lights shown deep into the night. With that backdrop and some outstanding video work from Danny Perez, Panda was well served by the surroundings, and he delivered a powerful set. Highlights included a guitar-heavy and melodic reworked version of “Song For Ariel (Guys Eyes)” (streaming below), and the two best numbers from the new album, “Tomboy” and “Bullseye” (also streaming below).
This set was recorded with the four microphone mix from directly in front of the soundboard booth. I am elated at how well this recording came out — the mix in the venue was superb and the elements and crowd are not a factor. There is a little wind during the encore, but it is barely audible during the music. Enjoy!