Until David forwarded me the link to their reunion set at the Cradle, I hadn't realized that an Archers reunion was even on the radar. Eric had been doing Web In Front during solo shows in recent years and Matt had been in Band Of Horses for a bit, but it seemed that AOL were a vestige of a bygone era. Evidently not, as the gents have managed to get it together for a fair amount of decent sized reunion dates. They played Fallon, too, where America got to enjoy the Gentling stage elan. This set was maybe not sold out, but like the D-Plan shows a couple months previous, the old Ritz was full of a decent mix of old-timers and kids who missed them the first time around.
Mr. Perfect opened, a band evidently comprised of a bunch of ex-Pitchfork (web blaggers, not Reis/Froberg franchise) that were ok, but suffered for no one in the room coming expressly to see them. They vacillated between playing as an intriguing three piece and a boring four piece and were gone in short order.
Archers Of Loaf arrived with little in the way of fanfare, opening with Strangled By The Stereo Wire, and touching upon most of what passed for the hits, along with some deep cuts like Smokin' Pot In The Hot City. Nobody looked especially old and everybody sounded great, garnering us a couple encores as well. The only real impediment was the presence of the worlds most irritating Superchunk fan, a constant irritation from NJ who shall go nameless here that unfortunately seems to have a liking for AOL as well. While he sadly went unmolested by Webster Hall security, the show was a good time. Archers were in fine fettle for their 24 forays into nostalgia. While I would expect there will not be a new album, unless maybe we get a DVD at tour's end, Merge is evidently re-releasing all four of the Archers studio records, starting with Icky Mettle on 8/2. Get the skinny here and see the boys if you are able to.
R
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