Polvo
Waterloo Park, Nov. 7Can a band become a jam version of itself in its second act? That’s what 1990s Chapel Hill, N.C., guitar heroes Polvo returned as Sunday night. Or re-tuned. Polvo’s four albums between 1992 and 1997 were predicated on whiplash tempos and intricate shredding, but “Lazy Comet” off 1993 sophomore landmark Today’s Active Lifestyles was slowed down and reconfigured to standard tuning, so it was closer to a free jazz version of post-punk. This itself wasn’t a big deal – the quartet’s sound has always been carried by the dueling guitars of singers Ash Bowie and Dave Brylawski – but it was interesting to try to make out what songs they were playing. “Lucia” and “Beggar’s Bowl,” from last year’s Merge comeback In Prism, were updated versions of the band’s 1990s sound, more mature arrangements that still bob and weave. Polvo’s set, at just 30 minutes, was too short, even with encore “Right the Relation,” but kudos for evolving rather than simply trotting out “the early stuff.”
This article appears in November 12 • 2010.