The Anatomy of Frank – Kulturbackstube Die Bäckerei, Innsbruck, November 17th, 2017
Innsbruck is a city I liked very much when I was there during Árstíðir’s tour in May last year and I was happy to return there to see The Anatomy of Frank. They played at a venue called “Die Bäckerei” which means “the bakery” so I somehow expected it to be an actual bakery (would not have been surprising either, they have played all sorts of places), but it was not. It was more like and art and culture center and really nice too. Loved the place, loved the respectful audience and loved their set as well. I would love to go there again for sure. 🙂
It was a long trip to get to Innsbruck. Nine hours on trains until I finally arrived. Had some trouble with my hotel which led to having to rebook short notice, but landed at a really nice place this way. Sadly it was already getting dark by the time I arrived so there was really no point in going out and seeing the city. Spent some time resting and set off to the venue. Had tea, bought a ticket, got a front row spot and waited. By the time the guys walked on stage a small crowd had assembled, curious about the band and their music. I had talked to two of them before the concert and they had never heard of the band before, just thought it could be interesting.
They started with their trusted combo of ‘Photographs of Inuvik in January’, ‘Minnesota Part I’ and ‘Diagonal North America’. It worked nicely, the audience liked it. everyone in the room was listening quietly and then clapping loudly. I was singing along under my breath as I usually do and as ‘Patagonia’ came along I realized that pretty much every song on the South America has a line or a few I connect to. 😀 And even if I can’t connect to all of them, each and every one of their songs has some great lines. It’s one of the reasons I love the band so much. Once again the music drew me in, but the lyrics made me stay. It is always about the lyrics with me. <3
‘Holy Mountain’ has such a nice melody it took me a while to gasp how sad the lyrics actually are. There is something comforting in them too though and it is one of my favorites on the album. That is a tough claim to make though with so many greta songs. ‘To keep our hands from shaking’ sound like a glimpse into childhood/ growing up yet whose is anyone’s guess. When I listen to the song I can feel the mood in the house shifting. The words in both of these songs paint the images well.
Kyle told us it was their first time playing in Innsbruck as a band, but that he had been at the venue with Svavar Knútur and asked if anyone had been there, but to his surprise nobody in the room had. He told us the story of recording the South America album in a farmhouse in Ecuador and showed us the poster that comes with it. Max provided the drumroll and we all cheered. Then I heard he talk about details of ‘Viteri’ for the first time how the first story is about his mom, the second about his dad and the third about Oswaldo Viteri, his friend David’s grandfather. I had no idea these stories were true. It made me appreciate the song even more and I’d already loved it to bits before. It is such a masterpiece of a song and it gets to me every time, because while I may not be able to relate to the stories, I can relate to the emotions that come with them. The song is a perfect example of what love means without any cliches. <3
Anatomy of Frank shows always go by so quickly I hardly have tie to breathe before they are over. I love hearing the guys play and could listen to them for hours, but they usually don’t give me the pleasure of playing much more than one. So many time I decide to take in every detail so I can replay them in my head later, but despite my best intentions it almost always ends in a blur. 😉 I enjoyed being there though, watching the guys, listening to the lovely music and of course singing along, even though I fear I am a terrible singer. ‘La Llorona’ is always fun to sing along to and the audience did it well. 🙂
The song already marked the end of the show. Kyle introduced Jimmy and Max before they ended the set with ‘Andes’. I love how this song goes from something rather soft in the beginning to a wild and rocking end during which Kyle joins Jimmy at the keyboards and Max drums like a madman. It is awesome! The audience did not want to stop cheering and whistling when it was over. It sounded like the room was packed with people.
They came back and Jimmy thanked us, telling us they’d do another one. Kyle added that some gigs are terrible, because people don’t listen and keep talking and how they’d had one of those at the previous gig. He thanked us for being so quiet and attentive so he did not have to play another gig like that. Then he launched into the introduction of ‘Vancouver’ and made people laugh. One more time we got to hear them and one more time we got a nice sing along going. It was lovely. When they end a night with ‘Vancouver’ it always makes me feel at home.
Afterwards I asked the guys I’d talked to before the gig about their opinion and they’d liked it so much one of them even bought a CD. They sold quite a few by the looks of it and Kyle gladly stayed to talk to people. Eventually he had to leave so I hugged him goodbye and told him I’d be there again tomorrow. It was a wonderful night. 🙂
Setlist
Photographs of Inuvik in January
Minnesota Part I
Diagonal North America
Patagonia
Holy Mountain
To keep our Hands from shaking
Viteri
How do we lose it
La Llorona
Andes
Vancouver