The instrumental rock quartet Pelican has markedly evolved in recent years. Perhaps it was a result of moving from the band’s original hometown of Chicago, for the sunnier climes of Los Angeles. For where the earliest Pelican material skated around the borders of metal, as time has passed there’s been a distinct softening of the band’s sound. Not that this softening should be taken as weakening – the songs on the band’s latest album, last year’s City of Echoes, were aggressive as ever. But mixed into the driving, circular riffage were mellower passages in which melody floated to the fore.
The band’s last appearance in South Florida was this past spring, opening for Circa Survive and Thrice at Revolution. Stuck in a too-early opening slot for an audience mostly unfamiliar with the band, the sublime power of the band’s live show went sorely underappreciated. Headlining the Culture Room should do Pelican well; the band’s epic levels of pure volume, bouncing off the walls of an intimate venue, should create a lovely vortex of stormy sound.
After the jump, get full details about the show, and watch a video for "Dead Between the Walls," off City of Echoes.
Pelican performs Saturday, November 15 with Kayo Dot and Stephen Brodsky at Culture Room, 3045 N. Federal Hwy., Ft. Lauderdale. Doors open at 9 p.m.; tickets cost $12 in advance. All ages. 954-564-1074; www.cultureroom.net.
