SFist Reviews: Elvis Perkins in Dearland at Cafe Du Nord
by Moses Namkung
Elvis Perkins in Dearland is 3/4 Ivy League but they don't quite look or act the part, unlike say let me see I don't know, XL Recordings counterpart Vampire Weekend? Like, they aren't up on stage singing about Oxford commas and wearing Sperry Top-Siders. Instead, they use the harmonium, the sax, the trombone, the trumpet and the double bass. And excepting Matt Kinsey, the energetic drummer, the rest of the band has long hair that descends past the chin. That makes them legit, right?
At Cafe Du Nord last night, frontman Elvis Perkins, with his backing band, played for a good hour and 45 minutes for an appreciative soldout crowd. In the intimate set, the band managed to squeeze in all ten songs from the band's second album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland.
Elvis had a peculiar stage presence. He stood pretty far stage right, not front and center. His body was often in a slight S, knees flexed, back curved inwards. The waist of his pants rode low, visually elongating his torso. And you had to wonder while watching, I wonder what makes this guy tick? After all, his father was Norman Bates, and his name is Elvis.
Sidenote: who else, in the world, is named Elvis? The following colorful figures come to mind (readers, can you think of any others?):
- Elvis Costello, singer
- Elvis Duran, DJ
- Elvis Grbac, NFL QB
- Elvis Stojko, figure skater with hideous mullet
Sidenote to sidenote: the last name, Grbac, has always looked like Scrabble vomit. Gr... bac!? Awkward, like Q...doba or S...barro.
In his own quiet way, though, Elvis had the capacity to reel the audience in. When he sang during songs with slower natural pulses, his eyes closed behind his glasses and that's where he shined - for example, with two favorites from the band's debut, Ash Wednesday, "While You Were Sleeping" and "Ash Wednesday". He broke hearts with those, just a little bit.