Destroyer brings mellow grooves to the Cat's Cradle

All photos by Kevin Norris

The Cradle was packed on Thursday night as high-voiced troubadour Dan Bejar, known as Destroyer, came to share his mellow, groove-laden new album, Kaputt, with the masses. Backed by a seven-piece band including saxophone and trumpet, Bejar delivered songs from the album and a few older tunes that thrilled fans.

Bejar was the shy rockstar of the night, not playing an instrument during the set and crouching down or casually shaking a tambourine during instrumental sections, which were plentiful throughout the set. Quite a few of the songs ended with jams.

"It's Gonna Take an Airplane" was punched up and given a Kaputt upgrade, with a tighter rhythm and a danceable 70s vibe. People could be seen dancing across the crowd throughout the show, especially the first few rows in front of the stage.

"3000 Flowers" from the 2006 album Destroyer's Rubies had more fire under it, proving to be the most rocking tune of the evening. "Painter in Your Pocket" from the album also made it into the set, and was considerably more sexy that the recorded version.

After closing with fantastic versions "Suicide Demo For Kara Walker" and "Song For America," the band returned for a single song encore, the epic "Bay of Pigs." The song was incredible, starting with just a synthesizer, samples and Bejar's voice, and slowly added the rest of the band until the song erupted into a dance explosion. It was a great end to the set.

Philadelphia band The War on Drugs opened the show with an bright set of droney pop. Frontman Adam Granduciel's voice has the gravely drawl of Dylan, which is quite charming. The band played the Hopscotch Festival last year, and repeatedly shared their love of the Triangle with the crowd.

Destroyer set list
Chinatown
Blue Eyes
It's Gonna Take an Airplane
Downtown
My Favorite Year
Kaputt
3000 Flowers
Painter in Your Pocket
Suicide Demo For Kara Walker
Song For America
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Bay of Pigs (Detail)


Destroyer







The War on Drugs