Slift is a band that, until last night, I was only moderately familiar with. I had given their albums a couple listens, but nothing in their recorded output particularly grabbed me. A couple days ago, BKOH guest contributor Josh Burke expressed astonishment that there were still a few tickets left for their show in St. Paul, as he'd seen them live before and they always put on an excellent show. So I decided to join him at last night's show, and I'm very glad I did. Josh is right about this one: Slift is a top-tier live band. 

Slift came out blazing, with a digital projection that led right into the title track of their most recent album, Fantasia. I'll admit that I don't particularly care for the vocals on this track, but it was immediately obvious that Slift was going to put maximum energy into their entire set. From the moment they took the stage the energy felt maxed out, and aside from a few quieter moments in some songs, it stayed that way across the entire 90-minute set. I've got to give a special shout-out to bassist Rémi Fossat, who performed with such barely controlled chaos that I thought he might topple off the stage at a few points. It's a rare performer that can seem so manic and wild without ever sounding sloppy. In fact, Slift was one of the tightest live acts I've seen in a while. 

The band did use some bone-shaking backing tracks during the performance, which may account for some of that tightness but even so, Slift's live prowess is unmistakable. Even with only a passing familiarity with their music, I was fully entranced by their mix of heavy psychedelic space rock the entire time. I connected most fully with the music when the band locked into the more krautrock or post metal side of their sound, getting into a trancelike state as they clicked into a repetitive groove that grew and swelled to an explosive climax. I don't know if singer Jean Fossat's vocals will ever be my favorite, but I listened to some of Fantasia today while writing up this recap, and their recorded music work for me more today after seeing them live last night. This is one of the true joys of live music. A great performance can completely change your opinion on a band. 

The night was kicked off by Cor de lux, an enormously charismatic post-punk/indie rock band. Their set bounced between melodic, borderline radio-friendly tunes with lovely harmonies and angstier, shredding garage rock. I enjoyed all of their songs on their own merits, but what really put them over the top for me was their stage presence. Drummer Jacob Richardson mugged his way through each song with hilarious facial expressions that demonstrated a comedic timing that rivals the best improv performers out there. Vocalist/guitarist Dawn Moraga gushed about her love for St. Paul's legendary surplus store Ax-Man, which is about a block away from the Turf Club. When Moraga broke a string while rocking out too hard, Richardson and guitarist Tim Lusk starting improvising a song about changing strings, which morphed into a song by Moraga about tuning guitars. Everyone in Cor de lux sincerely seemed to be having a great time on stage, and it was all enormously charming. 

Upon entering the Turf Club last night, I wouldn't have called myself a fan of either band playing. After leaving, I'll now go out of my way to see either band live again. That's the power of a great gig.