DAVID BAZAN

Trimming the Fat

As the oversized wooden door at The Social opened I was immediately greeted with intense stairs from black-rimmed glasses and silence. A bit taken aback I quickly ensured that the door didn’t slam behind me. Last Thursday, a heavily bearded David Bazan sat on stage with his acoustic guitar and was the only voice that could be heard. Tip-toeing my way through the crowd I finally found a place in the back to make sure that I too could be silenced by the former Pedro the Lion front man.

Bazan, a singer/ songwriter from Edmonds, Washington, has been a staple of the independent foray of artists since the early 90’s. Since his former band split his music has not changed all that much from the sultry, politically/ religiously (he’s liberal and Christian) charged lyrics to the no-frills approach to song writing.

The music was simple, as to be expected with a guy only playing an acoustic guitar, but his tone and lyrics were enough. Bazan’s voice is highly trained with a deep southern-sounding drawl and spot-on key changes. From one song to the next came a different story. In between songs he paused for questions and gave fans an intimate glimpse into his lyrics, Pedro’s break-up, and whatever else was asked.

There was no opening act and encore (it was an early show). Everything about the set was delectably simple. In a business of all fat and no meat, Bazan brings back the substance and refrains from the usual indie-rock pretension.