Solid Gold at First Avenue, 12/7/12

Photos By Erik Hess

The band left a looped sonic sample playing while they took a brief break, which helped add to the mesmerizing nature of the performance. And if you weren't quite under Solid Gold's spell at this point, an adventurous, imaginative cover of the Beatles' "Love You To" gloriously drew everyone in. The band turned the saturnine number into a sprawling, free-form jam at the end, as each member added distinct, inventive textures to the track as the group truly made the song their own.

And, after allowing everyone to catch their breath for a moment, Coulter announced, "All right guys, here we go--last one. Thank you!" And with that, the band closed down their release show with a jubilant version of their older hit, "Get Over It," which got the crowd dancing, and brought the night to a rousing finish. Solid Gold triumphantly returned to the First Avenue stage as if they never left, debuting an exhilarating new batch of songs while reminding all of us just how potent a live act they have become.

Critic's Notebook:

Personal Bias: I've been a firm supporter of Solid Gold since I first heard Bodies Of Water. There really isn't another local band who sound anything like them, which has always appealed to me.

The Crowd: Full of longtime fans and friends of the band who were thrilled to see them back on the First Ave stage once again.

Overheard In The Crowd: Some surprisingly boisterous girls repeatedly demanding that Zack take off his jacket.

Random Notebook Dump: It was cool to see the neon Eat Your Young album art which Matt Locher created hanging over the merch stand, though it didn't appear to be for sale (as of yet).

Setlist:

Shock Notice

Six Days

The Pendulum

Armoured Cars

Bible Thumper

Nice Flight

All The Way Until It Stops

Who You Gonna Run To?

Eat Your Young

Laugh It Up

Elephants

Love You To (The Beatles)(Encore)

Get Over It (Encore)