Openers Port O’Brien, a four piece from California, adhered also to this neo-folkstyle, yet added a bit of Neil Young-ish croon and twang to their more hushedmoments and a bit of the shout and swagger of Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock totheir louder moments, compliments of vocalist Van Pierszalowski. They includedthe exuberant and slightly rowdy crowd in on their closing song by pulling outa box of various pots, pans, plates, cutlery and other audio din-makers,inviting everyone to clang and bang along to their final song, “I Woke UpToday.”
The jumpy crowd bounced right into Sea Wolf’s set. Asguitarist/singer Alex Brown Churchtook the stage with his mates in tow, they cheered and cajoled the group intotheir first song, a new track from their just-released album, White Water, White Bloom. “Turn the DirtOver,” a melancholy slow-burner, settled the audience into the finely tunedcomposition and storytelling, acoustic guitar fronted steps Church was taking.The second song, “Winter Windows”, off the band’s premier release, Leaves in the River, demonstrated thelively, orchestral qualities of the group, as cellist Joyce Lee and pianistLisa Fendelander kicked in the flourishes. “You’re awesome!” a girl in theaudience yelled at Lee, jumping up and down with excitement. Lee, lookingslightly embarrassed, smiled and shifted on her chair, but straight-faced itfor the band’s next poignant narration “Middle Distance Runner.” The cellohummed and cried as Church sang in his quavery tenor, “So won’t you run to metonight / do not pretend that we’re just lovers / but I’ll only ever be amiddle distance runner.”
Being their first Milwaukeeperformance, it was hard to guess what direction SeaWolf would take, especially with a brand new release, but the band knew wellenough to throw in some of the livelier tracks from their first album, and keptthe energetic audience on their toes with a couple subdued moments in between.When the band dug into “Song for the Dead,” bassist Theodore Liscinski, caughtup in the crowd’s admiring vocalizations, yelled, “Now that’s glock n’ roll,”referring to the glockenspiel sounds Fendelander sprinkled in like glitter onher Nord Wave to lighten up the otherwise morbid ballad.
For the encore Church, who had popped a couple strings onhis acoustic, sufficed his solo of “Orion & Dog” with an electric guitar,commenting that it was the first time that he’d ever attempted the songelectric. Fumbling a bit, but soldiering on, Church invited the rest of hisband mates back onto the stage for a final farewell of their best-known song,“You’re a Wolf,” which capped their near-perfect performance.
