San Francisco – The first time I saw San Fermin, it was in a tiny club in New Orleans called Gasa Gasa. Their eponymous debut album was barely six months old, and even on a cool March evening everyone was sweating in the tiny space. Still, it was a sold out show, and for good reason. Though the stage—and the venue—were small, San Fermin’s sound was enormous. This past Thursday at San Francisco’s The Independent, it was grander still.
San Fermin is the ongoing musical project of virtuoso Ellis Ludwig-Leone, who plays keyboards for the band. He also writes all the music - all of it. While he maintains a rather diminished persona onstage—off to the left playing keyboards and occasionally introducing a song or two—he is actually the brains behind the whole operation. None of the seven touring musicians in San Fermin is ever overshadowed, even though members like the powerhouse vocalists Allen Tate and Charlene Kaye (a healthy balance of both male and female vocals, á la Dirty Projectors) definitely have the potential to upstage everyone else. San Fermin operates like a collective, almost like a co-op: everyone participates whole-heartedly and everyone gets their time in the spotlight, even the more background-friendly characters like violinist Rebekah Durham or saxophonist Stephen Chen. San Fermin is a well-oiled machine that relies on the sum of its parts, and their live performances beautifully exhibit that functionality.
San Fermin is currently on tour in support of their newly released sophomore LP Jackrabbit (released just last month), and thus much of their set was focused on showcasing their new material (a good two-thirds of the set was lifted from Jackrabbit). They threw in some old favorites as well, namely “Methuselah,” “the Count,” “Crueler Kind,” and their breakthrough single “Sonsick,” which sparked a rather raucous sing-a-long amongst the sold out crowd. Even though their new material differs in many ways from the songs off their first album, each transition between tracks was flawless, each segue was fitting, each shuffling of roles was smooth and graceful. I was especially impressed with Charlene Kaye, who only joined the touring band last year, replacing Rae Cassidy as lead touring female vocalist (the female vocals on the first record were provided by Lucius’s Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig). Like I said: a well-oiled machine.
The band kicked things off by lighting some incense—that burned at the front of the stage for basically the entire show—and playing the first three songs off Jackrabbit, starting with the melancholy hymnal tones of “The Woods.” Almost immediately the crowd was completely rapt, under the spell of Allen Tate’s sultry vocals and the gorgeously constructed cacophony of rich brass and forceful percussion. Kaye took the helm with “Ladies Mary,” inviting the crowd into a mist of cascading melodic lyrics. With “Emily,” the audience was moved to dance, taking cues from the infectious energy of the band, taking us ‘down, down, down the rabbit-hole.’
“Astronaut” was a real treat to see live, as the live version was much richer than its studio counterpart, boasting full-bodied brass and a lengthy instrumental break during which each musician was allowed the opportunity to showcase their talents. The same level of energy was presented during “Philosopher” and “Woman in Red,” the latter serving a heaping portion of Tate’s signature warm, enticing vocals that conjured aural images of a young Tom Berninger. Perhaps the most favored track that was played was “Parasites,” which was the first track to be released from Jackrabbit. “Parasites” has a very conversational flow to it, as vocal duty passes seamlessly between Kaye and Tate, and if it weren’t for the boisterous energy of the track it could easily be mistaken for a track by UK trio The xx. “Parasites” not only showcased the talents of both of the vocalists, but also allowed for a saxophone solo as well as a violin solo, before erupting into chaotic delight at its climax near the end. The song garnered the loudest, longest applause out of all the songs performed; so long and loud that the band members seemed to blush, but maybe that was just the lighting.
The end of the set took on a tamer, more pensive mood with Jackrabbit tracks “Two Scenes,” “Reckoning” and “ Billy Bibbit,” but that swiftly changed with the band’s performance of Jackrabbit’s title track, which turned out to be the closer of the set. Everyone was jumping with joy during this track—including all seven members of San Fermin—as boisterous brass mixed with thumping percussion and Charlene Kaye’s perfectly timed, perfectly amplified vocals. Her vocals were so lively, it was as if they too were dancing.
For an encore, the band pulled out the first track from their first album, “Renaissance!,” much to everyone’s delight. What really killed was their final song, a jaunty cover of the already jaunty Weezer song “Buddy Holly.” A sea of faces looked at each other in confusion as the cover began but as soon as it got rolling, those looks of bewilderment turned to expressions of pure joy, as everyone basked in the artful re-working of a classic.
Besides the band’s actual performance, what was really admirable was the quality of the sound. Every word that either of the vocalists spouted sounded incredibly clear and crisp. I don’t know if it was the equipment, or the skill of the person at the soundboard, or if San Fermin’s vocalists are just excellent at enunciation, but it was definitely a sound for sore ears. With such layered and nuanced material, the highest quality of sound is absolutely necessary so the audience hears just the right amount of each of the band’s many interweaving elements.
It’s tough to keep large projects like San Fermin afloat. Balance is absolutely key, and San Fermin has gotten it down to a science. Each member shines brightly in their own way, and as a whole, it’s almost blinding. They’ve really come into their own since that sweaty night in New Orleans a year ago. Their operation is now trim, clean, and efficient, and above all, it’s a marvel to behold.
San Fermin’s sophomore LP Jackrabbit is now available via Downtown Records. They are on tour throughout the summer and fall in North America, including a stop at the Austin City Limits Festival in October (their only UK dates are at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August).
For more information on San Fermin, visit their website.
Corey Bell
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