Brit Rockers Elbow Target Brainy Fans

The tickets to Elbow's show Saturday at the Avalon read "all ages," but perhaps it should have been billed "for mature audiences only."

It's not that the Manchester, England-based quintet's lyrics are laced with expletives, but its thoughtful, mostly midtempo rock is not recommended for those suffering from attention deficit disorder. Elbow's music is aimed at listeners who appreciate subtle musical flourishes and clever wordplay without being hit over that head with a hammer of power chords.

That isn't a bad description of Elbow's sound. The quintet has been frequently compared to fellow Brits Coldplay, whose Chris Martin has said he borrowed from Elbow's "Grace Under Pressure" for his "Fix You." The similarity proved valid Saturday, only Garvey's vocals -- which range from a throaty monotone to a soothing higher register -- sound more like Peter Gabriel's than Martin's. While Garvey is a personable frontman, he doesn't exude the sort of charisma or showmanship that make Coldplay and Gabriel such compelling live acts.That became clear three songs into the set when singer-guitarist Guy Garvey led Elbow through "Leaders of the Free World," the title track of its recently released V2 album. In the song, Garvey's weary protagonist is "sick of working for a living" and "just ticking off the days 'til (he) dies." Yet he still has the strength to dismiss the titular leaders as "little boys throwing stones" until "they're knocking on the doors of your homes." While punk rockers may have delivered similar ethos nearly 30 years ago over machine-gun guitars and a ranting vocal, Elbow stretched it out into a simmering six-minute-plus exercise that never quite reached the boiling point, but made you believe that Garvey's narrator is at the end of his rope.

In spite of the brooding nature of some of Elbow's material, Garvey turned out to be quite the good-natured host. Apologizing for the band's absence from touring, Garvey noted that guitarist Mark Potter and his brother, Elbow keyboardist Craig, both recently became fathers. (Later in the set, he dedicated the intimate ballad "Newborn" to the new arrivals.) When a member of the audience shouted, "Dads rule!," Garvey asked, "Does that make us 'dad rock'?"

However, there were a few moments in which Elbow turned up the heat, breaking from its usual somber balladry. "Mexican Standoff," from the new album, rocked with an enticing mix of Bo Diddley and Latin-flavored beats. On another number -- which sounded like an eerie Tom Waits track, only with the gruff vocals replaced by Garvey's croon -- the bearded frontman pounded on a pair of drums while lights flashed along with the beats. Then there was the celebratory set closer "Forget Myself," which inspired fans to clap along. If Elbow can continue to come up with more songs like that, then perhaps it could really give Coldplay a run for its money.

Source: http://today.reuters.com