Saturday Night: Mount Eerie at Million Fishes

Photo via: johnvanderslice.com

Mount Eerie
Million Fishes
Saturday, November 1, 2008
By Melissa Baron

Better than: Staying in during the rain-free evening.

Last night felt suitably like a Pacific Northwest evening. The long, gray day filled with rain subsided just long enough for a pleasant night. Nightfall brought a damp and dreary warmth to the soggy city. The slight hint of the lovely scent of rain momentarily overtook the normal city stench. Finally it's November and fall has arrived. It was in this fitting atmosphere that Mount Eerie came to San Francisco.

The show took place at the Million Fishes arts space in the Mission at Bryant and 23rd. The venue hosted two events that evening, an art show in their gallery space and the show in their basement. The upstairs area was covered with instillations and pieces exploring Dia De Los Muertos. Downstairs, flannel-clad boys and girls packed into the basement. It had the ambiance of a real basement show, not like the house shows typically held around the city. It wasn't a living room of an old Victorian or the kitchen of a house in the Richmond; it was a real basement. The floor had big wooden planks, the walls were white with exposed pipes. The "stage" was squished into a far corner with the audience sitting on the floor and a merch table in the back. Eventually, the show attracted so many people that everyone had to stand so we could all fit.

Mount Eerie, also known as Phil Elverum of Anacortes, WA, encouraged everyone to get closer. He backed into the corner, guitar in hand, to make more room. Once the audience stood inches from his microphone stand, he began to play. The first few notes of each song were always beautifully distorted, then softer and natural while he sang. The sound felt raw and organic and his voice comforting. Instead of sounding too noisy, the notes fit into a greater melody that never overwhelmed his singing. Each song sounded dreamy, filled with references to nature and the world outside the city. Visions of mountains, starry skies and big trees enveloped the small basement. The music completely consumed the room as his soothing voice invoked a natural calm.

He spoke with the audience in a charming way, often asking whether everyone was OK and had enough room. Wearing a t-shirt, Carharts and flip-flips, he epitomized the essence of Anacortes, a city on an island in Washington state known for its natural beauty and recreation. Near the end, he remarked that he only had three songs left. After playing one he said he would only play one more and the crowd cried out in disappointment. He laughed, saying he would play two then and said we were very easy to manipulate. He seemed flattered by the audience's reaction.

Once the show ended, people piled around the merch table, stocking up on vinyl. As attendees filed outside, the night air started to cool. The ground remained damp and covered with leaves. For just one night it seemed like there was an abundance of nature in this big city.

Critic's Notebook:

Personal Bias: I'm from Washington. This whole event made me very sentimental.

Random Detail:Thanksgiving was supposed to open. They did not. Instead it was a terrible hip-hop group from the Bay Area that made a pathetic attempt at freestyling that did not fit at this show at all. Terrible.

By the Way:Mount Eerie will play in Oakland tonight to celebrate the release of a new CD. It comes in a book and is apparently absolutely gorgeous.