San Fermin is tied to Boston. Lead composer Ellis Ludwig-Leone grew up outside the city. The band’s first ever tour made its first stop in Allston at Brighton Music Hall with Villagers in June 2013. They even played a set at September’s Boston Calling.
So it’s been something of a treat to watch this band evolve. At The Sinclair on Friday night, rx San Fermin’s evolution seemed fully at its height, clinic even as they approached the end of a lengthy fall tour.
San Fermin’s early shows seemed bent on recreating the sound on the great self-titled debut, but the band works even better when it comes truly unhinged. Take “The Count,” for example: On record, it’s a tune that alternates between quiet verses and booming instrumental breakdowns. Live, it takes on a new form: the drums are punchier, the breakdowns are more intense. Rebekah Durham, the violinist/vocalist supplies the haunting wordless vocals to open the song. Stephen Chen’s saxophone solo gives the song a deliberate impression of improvisation.
Charlene Kaye and Allen Tate are talented vocalists and performers — a virtue of not having instruments is the ability to truly be kinetic on the stage. Kaye went out into the crowd during a rousing encore covering “Heart In A Cage” originally by The Strokes. Perhaps the strongest performance from the two came on “Bar,” where the song reaches a climax and they have a great harmony. Kaye’s shining moment is on hit single “Sonsick,” which feels like a triumph every time I see it performed. Kaye pulls off the emotional core when singing “For a fire that burns too quickly / Why do you want to hurt at all?” But this time she stood aside while trumpeter John Brandon joined the crowd for a solo.
San Fermin also took this tour to road test songs from their forthcoming second album. The initial set closer, “Parasites,” has haunting vibes as the name implies. There’s a wonderful interplay between Kaye and Tate’s vocals.
What is so appealing about San Fermin is that even though lyricist and mastermind Ludwig-Leone is on stage, supplying keys and drums, the band truly performs it and infuses their own sort of personality into it. They seem to truly delight in playing music with one another. What once felt orchestral now has a rock edge to it. That chemistry and talent is what has me attending every time they play in the city.
Norwegian-Bulgarian singer-songwriter Mikhael Paskalev opened the show, playing a (mostly) solo set of folk-infused pop. Paskalev is an entertaining performer, with distinctive vocals. Mike Hanf, San Fermin’s drummer, joined for the last bit of songs, including the deliciously catchy “I Spy.” Paskalev is definitely worth catching, but I hope to see him roll around again with a full band.
Visit San Fermin’s site for tour dates. View Mikhael Paskalev’s tour dates here.
