By Andrew Judd, News Correspondent
Hordes of flannel-clad twenty-something hipsters crowded the Middle East Upstairs last week to watch Chicago-based “math rock” outfit Maps and Atlases. The band made the trip to Cambridge in support of its recent debut full-length album Perch Patchwork, released June 29.
The band’s sound has been described as the fusion of math rock with more traditional pop motifs. In layman’s terms, that translates roughly to fast guitars, involved drum beats and surprisingly unforgettable songs.
The band’s live set was busy, but in the best possible way. Maps and Atlases has made a name for itself the oft-forgotten, old-fashioned way: by being talented.
Watching the band play live, it is obvious that there is a high level of technical skill across the board. The band started its set with a furious smattering of string tapping and arpeggio picking, and never slowed down for the rest of the concert.
Lead singer Dave Davison, who at first glance appears to be nothing but a pair of glasses and an unkempt beard, was the only member of the band to not switch instruments at least three times during the show. This is, however, made more acceptable by the fact that he never seemed to play his guitar the same way twice, switching frequently between strumming chords, picking solos, plucking arpeggios and tapping the fretboard as if it were a sideways piano. The energy level was through the roof. This was particularly evident while watching the Chris Hainey, who had the rather daunting task of keeping everyone on pace with his drumming.
By the time the band finished its third song, their popular “Ted Zancha” from their 2009 EP You and Me and the Mountain, the crowd could no longer contain itself. The uproar of applause was almost deafening. There was an overwhelming feeling of admiration and appreciation.
During a lull between songs the half-drunk, sarcastic cry “play faster!” was met with laughter by both the band and the few remaining sober members of the audience. This is not to say that the crowd was out of control.
You know you’ve seen a good show when the audience makes a lot of noise when it’s over. You know you’ve seen a great show, however, when the crowd is able to contain its enthusiasm to a hush during the encore.
That may not be universally true, but it certainly was with Maps and Atlases. After their show was over, Davison thanked the audience and said that band members would love to play an encore, but that they’d rather do it outside, where it was a bit cooler.
And so it was that four musicians and over 100 fans huddled outside the convenience store next to the Middle East for a three-song acoustic encore. They played two of their most popular songs on the sidewalk, “The Ongoing Horrible” and “Pidgeon,” which would ordinarily have been met with thunderous applause and cheering. The young group of listeners, however, being cognizant of the sleeping city around them, managed to keep to light clapping and hushed singing along.
A policeman walked by the mysterious congregation of late night concertgoers and, upon seeing how tame the gathering was, walked away without giving anyone so much as a warning. Any band with the power to conjure up ear-shattering applause and then, minutes later, earn muted, well-controlled applause for their music is certainly a band worth seeing.
