Pitchfork

By the end of the second set, legs aching, the big question of the evening was established: could Seattle guitar juggernauts Juno blow the good Dismemberment Plan boys off the stage, deep in the cryptlike recesses of the Baltimore club scene? Without pausing to build suspense, the answer: it's not a football game-- both bands were great.

But the intensity of the show was such that there might well have been a competition in the offing. There, on September 8th at "intimate" Baltimore venue Fletcher's, in the famous Fell's Point belching district, the Dismemberment Plan and Juno, with support from the local band Slow Jets, played joyous, electrifying sets to the delight of a delirious young crowd of meticulously unkempt scamps.

Juno, fronted by seething singer/guitarist Arlie Carstens, turned their amps to twelve and began an all-too brief assault on the audience, aggressive, yet also friendly in the manner of a snarling, frothing Newfoundland that bowls you over and licks your face. Guest bassist Jason Lajeunesse made the most of his final show with the band, rediscovering the ages-old rock concert tradition of taking a quick leap onto to the floor monitor and pitching off. As the aural carpet-bombing intensified, guitarist Jason Guyer joined Lajeunesse in his step aerobics. Guitarist Gabe Carter finessed each note as if it were his last while smoke spewed from Carstens' ears, and drummer Greg Fergusen pounded away jubilantly. The intensity of the set might have been quantifiable if one had kept track of the number of times a player's instrument clocked another player's forehead. It happened.

Highlights included the entire set, intensely and-- dare I say-- emotively played. Juno favors long-winded, oblique song titles, so I had to consult my two-disc Juno discography for the setlist. Opening with an instrumental version of (ahem) "The Great Salt Lake/Into the Lavender Crevices of Evening the Otters have Been Pushed"-- and including cuts such as "A Thousand Motors Pressed Upon the Heart," "Covered with Hair," and "You Are the Beautiful Conductor of this Orchestra"-- the set blistered like napalmed Jiffy Pop.

The band closed with a simmering reproduction of "The French Letter" from their latest offering, A Future Lived in Past Tense. Unfortunately, deferring to the Plan, no encore was in the offing.

After midnight, the technically savvy Dismemberment Plan took the stage. Offering a contrast to Juno's wall-of-sound whitewash, the virtuosic bass of Eric Axelson and the keyboards and guitars of Travis Morrison and Jason Cadell were distinct and isolable on most songs. Joe Easley's drumming amazed, though he was unfortunately behind Morrison, so I couldn't baselessly assess his technique. Morrison, for his part, like Juno's Arlie Carstens, possesses a tremendous stage presence-- emoting, shaking, screaming, and singing in an almost Pentecostal display. Both bands needed Gatorade.

During an ebullient set played to a fatigued yet ecstatic crowd, the Dismemberment Plan showcased songs from their forthcoming album, Change, which is due in stores on October 22nd. The guys have taken a compelling turn with their new songs, shedding much of their prog-punk Talking Heads guise for a more downbeat and reflective refinement of the heralded music of Emergency & I.

To be sure, the new songs sounded excellent live, but it was the classic tracks that really got the place jumping. The band ran through "Memory Machine," "Gyroscope," "The City," "You Are Invited," and "What Do You Want Me to Say" with flawless execution and the intense, passionate energy that's made their live show renowned as one of the greatest experiences modern indie rock has to offer. They also threw in some older material for good measure-- a blistering extended version of "OK, Joke's Over" from their 1995 debut, "!", and "Do the Standing Still" and "Ice of Boston" from their 1997 sophomore release, The Dismemberment Plan is Terrified. Smashing.

As was the entire show. Smashing. An unlikely pairing of labelmates, who joined forces earlier this year on a split EP, it was a bill I'd love to see again. Worth the money, worth the effort. Both bands at their prime. A joy to witness.