Concert Review: Preoccupations at The Ballroom

Preoccupations brought its “Arrangements” tour to The Ballroom for a fiery performance on November 9, 2022.

Written by Miranda Garza 

Photos by Miranda Garza

 
 

Canadian four-piece Preoccupations played an unmatched set at The Ballroom, leaving fans wanting more. The band began the U.S. leg of its tour for its most recent album, Arrangements, in February, and had no shortage of Austinites anxiously awaiting to see the group play when they finally made it to town in November.

Opener Cindy Lee gave a stunning 45-minute performance to a budding crowd, as the Ballroom’s fluorescent pink lights beamed off of them effortlessly. Fashioned in an elegantly beaded dress, the singer shared the stage with cardboard cutouts of Marilyn Monroe and other Hollywood icons and fit in with the starlets perfectly. Their dreamy avant-pop sound hypnotized concert-goers with lush instrumentals and velvet vocals — a definite contrast from the strident sound to come, but enticing nonetheless. 

Lee’s set ended at 9:30 p.m., with Preoccupations following shortly after at 10:00. The initial riffs to Arrangements’ opener “Fix Bayonets!” signaled the beginning of the show. Guitarists Scott Munro and Daniel Christiansen played relentlessly, with drummer Mike Wallace queuing in with a heavy drum pattern and bassist and vocalist Matt Flegel’s resounding bassline showing equal ardor. The song’s minute-long intro ramped up fans, who devoted their undivided attention to the post-punk band without question. Without pause, the band followed with “Ricochet,” where hazy guitars and Flegel’s prominent vocals took center stage. An unnerving drumline introduced “Death of Melody” and threaded it through a distorted haze of guitars and instrumentals. Christiansen played his set of six strings intently, with unbreakable concentration radiating off of him.

Melodic guitars and steady drum patterns slowed the tempo down for “Slower.” Blue stage lights reflected off of the band and onto the loyal crowd as they danced along feverishly. The slow pace continued for “Advisor,” a darkly transcendental track that’s guided by an emphatic bassline. Halfway through the seven-minute song, the punchy instrumentals mellow and Flegel’s bass incited a tempo change, making for a brisk latter half of the track. Soon after, the band took their first breather, which gave Flegel a chance to interact with the crowd. He introduced each member one-by-one and followed with sardonic humor, where he acknowledged that he was wearing the same outfit that he wore in the band’s promotion photos, and swore to the audience that he had other clothes. The interaction was sweet but brief as the band quickly moved onto the drum-heavy “Recalibrate,” where the audience could feel Wallace’s deafening riffs through the floorboards. Flegel’s stark vocals opened “Tearing up the grass,” and layers of flickering guitars brought the song’s heavy rhythm to a crest. 

 
 

After the track, the lead singer interacted with the crowd once more, where he announced  — on the off chance that anyone in the crowd was unaware — that the band had just played Arrangements in its entirety from start to finish. This garnered the musicians a round of applause, which quickly escalated to full-blown cheers when Flegel announced that they’d now be playing a few of their older songs. The first notes of “Continental Shift” threw the crowd into a head-banging frenzy, with the occasional scattered scream disappearing behind the song’s strident cadence. They followed with the breakneck “Silhouettes” which had both guitarists hastily riffing while Wallace played double-time patterns at ample velocity. The drum-induced catharsis continued for “Disarray,” a dusky piece that featured a wash of punchy guitar chords. 

For “Memory,” Munro and Christansen divided their attention between their guitars and electronic keyboards. One would play a wave of moody synths before returning to their set of six strings and queuing the other to pick up where they left off. The eleven-and-a-half-minute song felt like an everlasting collection of atmospheric reverb and drawn out notes. The band ended its set with “March of Progress,” a scattered sonnet of cloudy instrumentals. The closer’s prolonged intro featured a looping round of drums among a collection of misty synths that were all held down with Flegel’s grounding bassline. The lead singer retreated to the back of the stage, behind Christiansen focusing solely on his bass until halfway through the track, where his vocals took the reins. The end of the song was met with a surge of acclamation, varying from earnest applause to fanatical cheers.

The members of Preoccupations made their performance feel like an hour-long fever dream, and their devout fans had absolutely no interest in waking up from it. The praise for the four-piece was well-deserved, and their fidelity to their craft made their show unforgettable. The next time the band returns to Austin, they’ll be welcomed with open arms — and yet another packed audience waiting to see them.