Department of Eagles/Here We Go Magic
Bowery Ballroom / 1.19.09

The lights were dim, the floor was comfortably crowded, and the audience was remarkably quiet and respectful. They were much more like a Carnegie or BAM audience than the chatter heavy rock venue crowd, but then again Department of Eagles are also not terribly rock. Also a member of Grizzly Bear, Dan Rossen started out the set alone on stage, seated and plucking away at his banjo while his lovely voice consumed the crowd on “Balmy Night.” Afterwards, he was joined on stage by Fred Nicolaus and their new rhythm section. They played nearly every song from the outstanding “In Ear Park,” including a lovely rendition of “Herringbone” played solo by Rossen on piano. Nicolaus referred to it as the million dollar song, because they can’t usually afford to bring a piano with them on tour, but they gave New York City a special treat. The glaring omission from the set list was “Teenagers” which fans shouted out requests for at the end of the set, but the band refused.

Any fan of the record had to be happy about getting into the sold out show. While they didn’t bring a lot of extra magic to their songs live, they were tight, and Luke Temple’s new project Here We Go Magic was a real added bonus. Their set was almost as good as Department of Eagles. Intelligent indie rock led by Luke Temple’s well-crafted acoustic strums and airy vocals, they’re definitely a band to look out for.