Caspian to rock High Noon

After a late 2012 tour to promote their then-unreleased album Waking Season, post-rock group Caspian is back on the road again.

Caspian’s last tour marked their first in three years. The group has shows booked back-to-back on many of their tour dates, and have been driving around the country hoping to give every region some attention. The group will be coming to the Midwest fresh from a solid run of performances on the West Coast. After a show at 7th Street Entry in Minneapolis, Caspian will be playing at the High Noon Saloon Wednesday, March 13, along with bands Control and Native.

Control shares many of its musical qualities with older post-rock bands, with heavier and more distorted guitar and a hard-hitting sound. The group was added at the last minute to the night’s lineup and their sound should pair well with Caspian’s.

Native is a math rock/post-hardcore band with a sound more distinct from the other two groups. With frantic, fast-paced songs using odd rhythms, Native also throws the occasional scream in their tracks for variety. With Caspian on the gentler side of the post-rock spectrum, Native is an unique choice for an opener. It should be interesting to see how the different sounds come together.

Waking Season has helped propel Caspian to even greater popularity, with the band even recently joining the lineup for Boston Calling, a festival in late May featuring the likes of fun. and Of Monsters and Men. With almost universally positive reviews, Waking Season demonstrated the maturity and polish of the nearly decade-old band.

Caspian’s newer material is the focus of their shows on their current tour. Over the course of their three full albums, Caspian has changed their sound substantially and accumulated a solid amount of material. As such, they’ve been leaning heavily on their last two albums in their live performances this tour.

Post-rock bands don’t come through Madison too often and the experience should be unique as well. Some listeners are thrown off by the genre’s lack of lyrics. But this absence does not detract from the experience—for many, it enhances it.

As Erin Burke-Moran, one of the band’s numerous guitarists, put it simply in an interview with The Badger Herald, “There’s a lot you can say without words.” Post-rock shows, by nature of the music and the performance, are often emotional and communal experiences in comparison to other genres of music. 

“We’re telling our stories,” Burke-Moran said. “Everyone has their own and identifies in their own way.”

The High Noon Saloon couldn’t be a better venue for such a performance. Burke-Moran admitted the venue is “a little bigger-sized [for us],” but it’s still certainly not a very large concert venue. The band has played at High Noon before and are looking forward to coming back to the venue after their last performance there. Caspian’s seven members will no doubt crowd the small stage and with a decent turnout, the atmosphere will be ideal for a post-rock show.

While this genre of show may be uncharted territory for many concert goers, they are a unique experience and enjoyable for most. With relatively inexpensive tickets, Caspian’s performance Wednesday provides the opportunity to see an established name in post-rock at a great price, in a great setting.

Caspian will perform this Wednesday, March 13, 8 p.m. at the High Noon Saloon. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 day of sale.