El Vy- Turner Hall Ballroom, 11/20/15

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch

Gone was the charcoal gray three piece suit and bottle of red wine, and in its place was a crisply pressed white shirt and matching white slacks when charismatic baritone vocalist Matt Beringer took the stage on Friday night in front of a sold out crowd at Milwaukee's Turner Hall Ballroom.  El Vy, is the collective side project of longtime friends, Matt Beringer (of The National) and Brent Knopf (of Menomena/Ramona Falls).  The duo were joined on stage by drummer Andy Stack (of Wye Oak) and a bass player for an energetic hour-long set which featured performances of all eleven tracks off of the duo's debut release,  Return to the Moon.

El Vy is very much it's own project.  Summed up in one word, El Vy is clever.  Beringer's distinctive low haunting voice and signature crouched stance over the microphone was ever-present, but lyrically and musically, this project is a stark contrast to The National.  The brooding, longing laments of The National are replaced with brighter songs focused on catchy wordplay and electro-pop melodies.  My personal favorite, the title track "Return to the Moon," starts off with the line "I scratched a ticket with the leg of a cricket and I got triple Jesus," an image that just seems to stick in your head.  Pair this with in infectious guitar hook and melody, and you've got yourself one of the best songs released this year (in my opinion).  Many of the songs off of Return to the Moon also translate well live.  "I'm the Man" is perhaps the most musically adventurous number, with a driving bass line and multiple layers of sounds and samples going over it.  In many ways it sounds like a lost track of Beck's from the Odelay era.   Other slower tracks like "It's A Game" and "Silent Ivy Hotel" had their own distinct sway and swagger to them.

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch

Adding to the performance was a top-tier light show, not something you often see with side-project bands, which often draped Beringer and Knopf in rainbow-like halos during the tracks.  Each song was lit differently adding more depth to the performance.

As an added treat, El Vy covered Fine Young Cannibals's 1989 smash, "She Drives Me Crazy," which was an interesting choice to hear Beringer sing the vocals in a low voice when the song was originally performed in falsetto.

Before their last number, "Need a Friend," El Vy thanked the Pabst Riverside Theater Group for their support, generosity and kindness, and especially called out another Matt Beringer (this time the Matt Beringer who helps manage the theater who has the same namesake as the singer of The National and El Vy who apparently has gotten emails for the National front man in the past).  As a member of the audience, I too have to give major props to Matt Beringer (from the Pabst) and his team for bringing great, interesting acts like El Vy to town.  The only complaint that was felt in the audience is that we wished to hear more of El Vy (even thought they played all of their numbers), as many audience members lingered around after the show wanting to hear more from this eclectic act.

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Boch

Setlist:
Careless
It's a Game
Sleepin' Light
Sad Case
Happiness, Missouri
Silent Ivy Hotel
Return to the Moon
Paul is Alive
I'm the Man to Be
She Drives Me Crazy* Fine Young Cannibals cover
No Time
Need a Friend

photo courtesy of Gigshots by Stephen Bloch