The Books! concert, 2007-04-15, Somerville Theatre

So, as you might guess from the fact that I absolutely love The Books, I loved this show. I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole time, in spite of the relaxed ethereal ambiance. This first pic is their set up - you can't really see much, but there are two electric basses, a guitar, and a cello. Two mics, and maybe other stuff I'm forgetting. Also notable is the stack of old school amps in the back (presumably for the amplified "celloton" (cello skeleton) and who knows what else. Also, the screen in the back was used for their exceptional films, photo montages, etc. which were set to the music in various ways.

From BOS_webalbum

Zammuto joins de Jong on stage

Alphabet song intro

Zammuto sings, de Jong picks away. Snow-covered tree clip

The Books cover Nick Drake - amazing. They did the Cello Song, apparently as part of some big Nick Drake memorial collaboration dealie. Very cool moving colors film to go along with the song.

Nick's bro Mikey (Bass) joins the crowd, adds some impressive acoustic-electric bass-ing.

SO glad I finally got to see The Books in concert. It's a must - seeing de Jong do those things on his cello is worth the ticket in itself, and Zammuto is just a great singer and guitar player. The film adds a lot to the gesamtkunstwerke. I must buy the DVD as soon as it's available. Only complaint that the mix made it a little difficult to hear the samples, at least where we were sitting. Amazing show. I will see them every time it's even slightly possible.