It's not every night that, when you find yourself running behind schedule yet again, you can turn on the radio and listen to the opening band of the show you are rapidly approaching from across town. But then, not every show is "John in the Morning at Night New Year's Weekend Bender," hosted by legendary KEXP morning DJ John Richards and crew. The night's lineup includes The Village Green, Catfish Haven, Pablo, Wild Sweet Orange, and headliner Jeremy Enigk.

In a race against time, we listen to openers Catfish Haven as we speed across Seattle. They sound loud, scraggly, and long-haired. Pictures posted later on John Richards' blog confirm this to be a fact indeed. As we arrive at the club, the live broadcast is wrapping up. The club is packed to capacity, and there is a general feeling of oneness- these are our brothers and sisters in KEXP loyalty. John Richards and mid-day DJ Cheryl Waters work the crowd and we settle in to enjoy the show, now that the broadcast of opening bands has finished.

Richards has been a huge supporter of Pablo and has been pushing their latest album, Half the Time, which he ranked at #10 of his top albums of 2006. The love is palpable as Richards introduces the band enthusiastically, and Pablo takes the stage to wild cheers of support.

In what will turn out to be their only misstep, Pablo opens the set with "Wall Street," a quiet gem of an album track, but not an opener to compete with crowd chatter and bar noise. Vocalist Paul Schalda strums acoustic guitar, backed up by his dad Bill on harmonica. Schalda's vocals are stunning, soft and emotional, unfazed by the room noise. When the song finally breaks wide open with the whole band kicking in- brother Will Schalda on keyboard, Michael and Brian Strandberg on guitar and drums- their sound fills the space, and the crowd belongs to them from that point on.

Pablo makes a hell of a beautiful racket. Songs build to rocking crescendos, then break open their wall of sound in perfect places, near-silences punctuated by perfectly placed guitars and keyboards. Schalda's vocal range is mesmerizing- emotive, vulnerable, tough, quavering, or strong at any given moment. The band plows through songs with amazing speed- their 11-track CD clocks in at just over 30 minutes.

As the set continues, "Loser Crew" bounces along with deliciously jangly guitars, trembly vocals, and piano breakdown. There is no longer a problem with crowd noise- silences are silent as they should be, and far more affecting. "Get Around" proves that it has indeed gotten around enough on KEXP to receive cheers of recognition and even some singing along.

Paul Schalda's wife Maggie joins the band to sing backup on "Calm Down" and a new, down-tempo song. Guitarist Strandberg switches over to bass, and the stage gets a bit cluttered as guitars are passed around and everyone seems to switch places. The move to bass is a brilliant one, and the band rocks out. "That was our best song yet!" grins Schalda.

The album's title track is a crowd-pleaser, partly due again to heavy rotation on the radio. The keyboard-heavy song uses the buildup/breakdown effect marvelously, spotlighting Schalda's vocals again and working in harmonies from the rest of the band. The song is almost shockingly true to the album track, a testament to the band's simple production and recording style. There is no gloss on the album- what you hear is what you will get in a live show. It's a treat.

"We've got three more. Is that OK?" Schalda announces, and the crowd approves heartily. A cover of Gershwin classic "Summertime" follows; its haunting synthesizer and lap steel guitar bring to mind some sort of creepy carnival ride. From there, the band whiplashes into "The Talk," starting off with a driving drum beat and building up and up to a tempo change and sound-wall chorus.

To close the set, Bill Schalda returns to the stage. "This is my pops," Paul beams. "Til We Die" is a classic campfire song, with everyone singing along in harmony, dad on harmonica, simple guitars and vocals.

Pablo is a family affair, and at the end of the set, we all feel like one big happy family. The band sets out January 25th on a US tour, supporting Kevin Devine.

--Photo by Gregory Perez

By Brittany Abbott.
January 13, 2007