Early Day Miners picked up where they’d started in 2000.Their first release, Placer Found, aheartbreaking practice in introspective pop, had a mindset that was shared byartists such as Mark Kozelek and David Bazan at their solo height. The quartet,fleshed out with singer Daniel Burton’s swapped-out guitar/keyboard withdepth-y pedal manipulations, created sweet and somber soundscapes, played inthe typical late ’90s-early ’00s style of polite nerdery. The band’s preppylook and subdued but professionally stoic stage presence recalled other groups’performance styles from that era. Whether this show was at Mad Planet or TheGlobe circa 2001, one could have easily squinted, and blurred the venue/timelines. The band’s new material (their first in nearly three years) blendednicely with the older material. Burtoncommented, “This is the first time that we’re in Milwaukee – have you guys been waiting for usto come here? We’ve been together for ten years!” Burton’s boyish and emotionally charged tenorvaporized slightly above the drummer’s persistent beats and the shimmery guitarchords that cut in throughout.
Decibully unwittingly brought the crowd back to the presentwhen they took to the stage. The Milwaukeeband, chasing the heels of their next self-release, subtly introduced the newin between a healthy offering of old favorites, keeping the enthusiastic crowdon their toes. They introduced their set with the old-school “Sing Out! SingOut! Sing Out!” and “Penny Look Down,” and the local crowd couldn’t have beenmore pleased. It’s easy to be pleased as a fan and appreciate Decibully’sintricacy in composition even moreso live, because it’s audibly obvious thateach instrument contributes a very important element. It’s easy to pick each out by ear and bysight: The six band mates have played together extensively, lending the senseof a glorified practice session to their performances, their enjoyment inplaying together lending to the liveliness.
In compare and contrast, singer/guitarist William Seidel’stenor purified his band’s lighthearted but sinewy music, whereas Burton’s tenor had moresoturned the Early Day Miners’ sound into a doleful lullaby. The crowd that hadslightly held their collective breaths during the Early Day Miners set expelledtheir energy in whoops and hollers during and between Decibully’s performance.Seidel, in between tuning and checking his acoustic guitar, grazed the crowdwith his eyes. “We have a new album coming out [World Travels Fast] …we’re gonna go on tour, too. It’ll be just abunch of old guys sleeping on the floor,” he laughed, looking visibly energizedabout the prospect of hitting the road and doing some hardcore couch andfloor-crashing. Decibully seems more than eager to take on their new album anda new tour; their energized performance on Saturday was demonstrative of thegenuine enthusiasm the band has and the consequential cohesiveness they’vegained. It’s Milwaukee’sluck and pride to have them show up the out of towners.
