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| Photo by Quinn S. |
On Saturday, Cass McCombs performed at The Ottobar here in Baltimore to an almost packed house. The lights were off before McCombs and his four-piece backing band stepped onstage, and they never once came up during the nearly hour and a half set. The only thing illuminating the room was the 10 panel screen standing tall behind the band, displaying an intricate constellation of animated lights. Never seeing a single face onstage might have come across as slightly impersonal initially, but with the room dark and quiet for McCombs' set, it became quite intimate. With the band visible as silhouettes, the show became a heightened aural experience. As a result, it felt like a concert less about the songs and more about their collective, projected mood -- not necessarily a bad thing. McCombs said little in between songs, which made the performance seem all the more unassuming and soft-spoken. Drawing from his extensive back catalog as well as his more recent output, including new single "Bradley Manning," McCombs and his band were tight and well-rehearsed, sharing solos throughout the set. Outside of his voice sounding somewhat strained and reserved, McCombsthe mix of late '60s/early '70s rock and alt-country settled into a natural groove about three songs in that perfectly soundtracked the serene feel of the room. It was certainly a unique, alluring concert experience in which the music truly did do all the talking. McCombs did not have an encore, and he left the stage just as he had entered, quietly and announced -- almost as if he was walking off into the night.
