Battles’ performance at the Croc last night was absolutely monumental. I’ll agree with Jeff, my mind was blown. It was the first time in recent memory that I’ve been to a show that packed at the Crocodile; a crowd that was densely populated with members of local bands like These Arms Are Snakes, Minus the Bear, Joules, Whalebones, et al. The absolute virtuosity Battles displayed was simultaeneously inspiring and crushing.

Early in the evening I joked with Grandy that after Battles’ performance we may see a lot less active bands— I mean you and I can strive to write challenging and intricate music but we won’t be Battles. I can imagine ambitions melting in the face of Battles’ monolithic talent, in the same way I know a few young jazz pianists who abandoned playing after witnessing the fleet fingers of Brad Mehldau. It should also be remarked that in addition to being a dynamo of sweat and drums, John Stanier had placed a splash cymbal at a comically high position above the heads of the standing members of the band. I’m not a Helmet scholar, is this just something he does?

My favorite parts of Battles’ set were the selections from the B EP which is the album that got me into the band. Songs like “S Z 2,” benefited from the momentum of playing live, tightening the expansive ambient sections that segue into the tight angular riffs that propel the last half of the song. “Atlas,” was the song that everyone in the crowd recognized, the person behind me commenting that it was the only Battles song he had heard prior to that evening, going on to say that, “This is really cool but I’m pissed that no one is dancing!”