Cut Copy Urges You to Move
August 12th, 2011Cut Copy – Prospect Park Bandshell – August 11, 2011
Cut Copy lead singer Dan Whitford’s arms are perhaps the most expressive limbs in all of live music. With fists pumping and outstretched, open palms, his gesticulations closely resemble his lyrics. Take, for example, the chorus to “Hearts on Fire.” Onstage with his fellow bandmates, Whitford grasped for the crowd while crooning, “With hearts on fire I reach out to you tonight.” If the words didn’t move you, the music and dancing certainly would.
And so it was that on Thursday night at the Prospect Park Bandshell, Cut Copy along with openers Foster the People and Midnight Magic closed this summer’s Celebrate Brooklyn! series. The choice, while not obvious, positioned the Australian dance rockers as the final act to a lineup of talent that opened with Andrew Bird and included diverse bands ranging from the Books to the Heavy.
From the onset, Cut Copy wove new songs from the recently released album Zonoscope with older favorites. “Take Me Over” led to In Ghost Colours standout “Feel the Love.” And, while live the band mostly conjured a sound similar to its studio albums, “Where I’m Going” and “Pharaohs & Pyramids” are still best heard when fleshed out in concert. The samples and synths have a way of infecting the brain with an urge to move. And on a perfect late summer night, you couldn’t ask for a better compulsion. —Jared Levy
