Quilt Covers MFA in Cosmic Domesticity

“A lot of people like to have trippy visuals behind them,” said Quilt’s guitarist Shane Butler about an hour into the band’s Feb. 26 concert at the Museum of Fine Arts. “I find this,” he continued, gesturing upstage, “to be the most out-there thing.” He was referencing a projection of an absurdly long midcentury infomercial for Frigidaire. Earlier, the indie-neo-psych group (a genre to which The Crimson has apparently assigned a beat writer) had been backed, as they debuted their third album “Plaza,” by grainy films of carpet cleaning processes and sundress-clad women exploring flower gardens “It’s crazy how we come to be and how things are represented,” Butler mused.

Crazy, indeed: In few contexts would such commonplace imagery seem genuinely surreal. But even with their very name, Quilt infuse—and amplify—the cosmic with the domestic. Butler and fellow guitarist-vocalist Anna Fox Rochinski approach inter-song banter with down-to-earth humor that interestingly contrasts the depth and indie cleverness of their lyrics. “This is fun—we’ve never played with strings before, live,” Butler said after the concert’s first song, “Passersby,” which comes from “Plaza.” An hour later, playing old material, he announced, “We’ve never played these songs with strings, ever, so this is a first-first-first.” If he was asking the audience for slack, he didn’t need to be: The strings were as well-integrated into the band’s sound as they are in “Plaza,” and they added nice flourishes to the older material.

Psychedelic rock may seem, at first glance, an odd fit for the MFA’s Remis Auditorium, a neat, small venue that feels more like a lecture hall than rock club; but Quilt are fundamentally an art-rock group. Any psychedelic influences are there as a dressing for the music, not as a part of Quilt’s ethos. This distinction helps the choice of Tredici Bacci as an opening act make a bit more sense. Tredici Bacci are a Boston-based 13-piece ensemble who play music inspired by Italian soundtracks of the 1960s and ’70s. The controlled chaos of these instruments, ranging from violin and trumpet to accordion and electric guitar, is directed by Simon “Luxardo” Hanes, a highly engaging frontman who plays guitar mostly with his back to the audience. Hanes’s self-aware persona—“Prove you don’t need a microphone by shouting the name of my favorite person: me!”—and Tredici Bacci’s musical complexity made them surprisingly apt complements for the main act. Their energy overflowed the stage.

“Plaza,” which The Crimson gave a mixed-to-positive review, worked better live than on record. The album’s strengths—its inviting sound, strong melodies, and excellent lyrics—remained, and its chief weakness, monotony, was less problematic in the live format, especially with the aforementioned visuals keeping the audience on its toes. Quilt also demonstrated their superb musicianship; in particular, Rochinski alternated seemingly effortlessly between complex, fingerpicked rhythm parts and slide leads, all while singing marvelously. Their three- and four-part vocal harmonies, which for all the album listener knows are overdubbed, positively shone; all four members are able singers. “Now it’s time for the drummer to sing a song, so it’s a good time to go to the bathroom,” drummer John Andrews joked before beautifully performing “Something There.” Fortunately, it appeared that no one did.

After playing “Plaza” from start to finish, Quilt performed seven of their most popular songs from prior albums. While all were tightly performed and well-chosen, Quilt offered two particular treats. First, as mentioned above, they welcomed their four-piece string ensemble from the “Plaza” segment of the show back for two previously unadorned songs. While they mostly just followed the guitar lines on “Arctic Shark,” they played a less trivial role on the captivating “Penobska Oakwalk,” creating an intro better suited to the band’s new, more psychedelic direction. Second, on “Penobska,” Rochinski invited Quilt’s former drummer Taylor McVay to join on backing vocals, a pleasant bit of continuity as they launch a six-week tour of their new album from their hometown.

By the time Quilt left the stage shortly before returning for a finale of “Cowboys in the Void,” the film reel had turned to footage of the maintenance of Pan-Am airplanes. “What is this? Oh, planes. Pan-Am. Cool,” Butler said. Whether or not the clip was truly random, it made for a fitting conclusion—as proudly idiosyncratic, charming, and compelling as the show itself. As Quilt depart on their tour, armed with additional instruments, a changed sound, and a new album, all signs indicate that they will fly high.

—Staff writer Trevor J. Levin can be reached at trevor.levin@thecrimson.com