Car Seat Headrest @ The Cobalt

What: Concert
Who: Car Seat Headrest & Milk
Where: The Cobalt
When: January 24, 2016

Car Seat Headrest was one of my favourite discoveries of 2015. I initially stumbled about upon their “Something Soon” music video after reading an article about him signing to Matador Records. Within the first 30 seconds I knew that this was a band that I wanted to know more about. When their Matador debut Teens of Style (a collection of songs from his independent release days rerecorded) came out, I had it in high rotation for weeks. Needless to say, this was a concert I had on my calendar months in advance.

The concert was opened by Vancouver band Milk, which Google tells me was formerly known as Watermelon. Milk just released an EP and are just starting to play shows to support it. Having not read or heard anything about this band beforehand, I was pleasantly surprised with their set. Their sound reminds me of the surf rock of Real Estate mixed with the vocal delivery of Casiotone for the Painfully Alone (Advance Base). They had a set filled with some pretty cool riffs and the crowd seemed to be in to it. It was a nice short opening set that set the tone for the rest of the night.

Car Seat Headrest came on shortly after 10pm and played for just over an hour. I was initially a bit worried about the audience size, as there were under 10 people present when I arrived, but the crowd had steadily climbed to around 50-60 people right before the show started. For a venue like the Cobalt, that is a perfect amount. The touring band of Car Seat Headrest included four people, with the lead guitarist and drummer singing background vocals for the main contributor of Car Seat Headrest (Will Toledo) all night.

The set started with a few of their heavier songs that allowed them to show off a bit of their musical chops. I thought it was an awesome way to start as it really got the crowd really into it. They made sure to include some of their better known songs like “Something Soon” and “Times to Die” into their set as well. The majority of the set was filled with songs from Teens of Style with the rest coming from his back catalogue and if I remember correctly there might have been new songs presumably from his upcoming album Teens of Denial as well.

I was very impressed with Car Seat Headrest’s live show. The band was tight and I can’t think of many parts of the show when my attention was off of them. They took time to jam out some of their songs as well so it sounded different than what was on the record. Prior to the show I had a notion in my head that they sounded a lot like The Strokes because of their garage band sound and the fact that Will Toledo actually sounds a lot like Julian Casablancas. However, after the show I have come to the conclusion that they have way more Singer-Songwriter elements than what the Strokes do. Part of their set honestly reminded me of the Beach Boys or Simon and Garfunkel. Getting this type of change in perspective is one of the coolest parts of attending concerts.

I would encourage anyone to go to see Car Seat Headrest if they get the chance to in the future. They are still playing small venues so it’s won’t be too expensive and they are definitely a band that could get a lot bigger in the next few years. As mentioned earlier, their album Teens of Style is great so I would check that out if you haven’t already. Look below for the “Something Soon” music video.

I Was There is a series based on events that I have attended, mostly around Vancouver. As I am not an expert critic, these will NOT be reviews. It’ll just be mostly about my experience and interaction with the event. Check back regularly for my reactions to everything good in concerts, arts, and general fun.