We Went There: Destroyer (Solo) at Turf Club
Destroyer, the long-running project of Canadian Dan Bejar, made a stop in St. Paul Saturday as part of his solo tour and dug deeply into his catalog for a sterling 75 minute set that showcased how his music stands up even without the usual glam and shine that he utilizes so well on his recordings.
Bejar handled acoustic guitar and singing and was joined by an electric guitarist, pulling songs from sources as disparate as 2022 LP Labyrinthitis, 2001’s Streethawk: A Seduction and 2004’s Your Blues, with extra emphasis on his two classic LPs, 2006’s Destroyer’s Rubies and 2011’s Kaputt. One of the key elements of Destroyer songs is the nearly over-the-top nature of the production, so it was interesting to see the songs standing with a mostly barren structure sounding them.
For many songs, like “Times Square,” “Don’t Become The Thing You Hated” and “Trembling Peacock,” they almost sounded made for the format. Others, like the cheeky “Cue Synthesizer,” the charm was stripped away a little bit in the format. But for many of my favorite Bejar’s songs, like “Destroyer’s The Temple,” “Painter in Your Pocket” and encore closer “Chinatown” there probably isn’t a way to play them that wouldn’t be amazing.
In what felt very much like a greatest hits set, in a format that would expose some songwriters for the fragility of their actual songs, Bejar shined. His low-key charm and commanding presences doesn’t need epic arrangements and full blown band productions (even if they are awesome when he does the songs that way) to showcase his immense talent. The sold out crowd at the Turf Saturday night seemed to understand the power of these songs, even in their most stripped down versions, highlighting the talents of what many of us believe is a generational talent.
Check out Adam’s photo set HERE.
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