Quasi has been playing shows for about thirty years. When they played Philly earlier this month, something was different. Frontman Sam Coomes and drummer Janet Weiss stood behind their merch table as they typically do, selling posters, vinyl records, and tote bags, though there was nothing relating to their newest record, 2023’s Breaking the Balls of History.
On almost every item of merchandise was an ancient you, a ceremonial wine vessel from the Shang Dynasty; similarly, the vessel adorned t-shirts of many of the concertgoers. It even hung from a banner on the World Cafe Live stage. If you were paying attention to indie rock around 1998, this ancient artifact might be intensely familiar to you; it’s the you that adorns the cover of Quasi’s 1998 record Featuring “Birds.” Though the record turns twenty-six this year, Quasi was touring the album, playing it in full for the first time in their history. It’s not often that bands tour an old record in celebration of a twenty-six year anniversary, but there’s never a bad time to spin Featuring “Birds.” Unless you’re in a good mood and want to keep it that way.
Quasi | photo by Claire Brown
Whether or not the name “Quasi” means anything to you, if you’re an indie rock fan, you’ve probably heard the music of Coomes and/or Weiss. Janet Weiss has played for Sleater-Kinney, The Shins, and Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks; Sam Coomes has played for Built to Spill, Heatmiser, and (most famously) Elliot Smith. The impact that the two Portland-based rockers have left on their scene is undeniable, and that’s just looking at their work with other bands. Together, Coomes and Weiss are Quasi, a band that’s something of an indie rock superduo. Their versatility shines through on Featuring “Birds,” a record that jumps from genre pastiche to genre pastiche with reckless abandon; the result is a listening experience that has all the advantages of a cohesive, thoughtfully constructed album and a bar band taking requests with reckless abandon. It’s not hard to see Quasi would want to pull it out of retirement.
Opening for Quasi was New York rock legend Marnie Stern, whose grungy but earwormy sound is the perfect match for Quasi’s indie-rock-influenced takes on Brill Building and Bubblegum Pop. Stern herself played as technical as ever, though tonight it was especially impressive; about half way through the set, Stern informed us that she’d gotten drunk off a single beer. No matter – she didn’t miss a note, tapping a veritable knight’s tour of notes around every piece of the fretboard, and doing it all while singing effortlessly. Of course, everyone expected Marnie Stern to go hard; the talk of the evening was Stern’s drummer. It’s only fitting that a math rocker who worked with Zach Hill on her debut album would need to enlist someone above average, but the drummer stole the show, his double-pedal-kick-drum rattling through the air like machine gun fire. He played fast and he played loud. If you’re wondering why XPN is publishing a review of a show from three weeks ago, it’s because my ears only just stopped bleeding.
Quasi | photo by Claire Brown
Following a thrilling set from Stern and company was the main act, Quasi; following Marnie Stern is nearly impossible, but kicking off their set with “Our Happiness Is Guaranteed,” Quasi immediately conjured a swirling storm of noise that was just as exciting. One of the many things that makes Quasi so singular is that Sam Coomes plays his piano like an electric guitar, and he plays his electric guitar like a piano; through the album’s opener, Coomes got so into the dissonant breakdowns of the album’s opening track that he lept up from his bench several times, sometimes giving his rusty old electric keyboard a little jump with his knee. The converse of this came later in the show, when Quasi got to “Please Do,” a sappy little showtune that feels like an old-timey piano rag transposed to guitar. Janet Weiss is no slacker either; she drummed with a passion that matched Coomes, but never crowded his winding melodies. You can tell that, in thirty years of playing, they’ve learned how to give each other space – with fellow Jicks alum Joanna Bolme joining the duo on bass for a few tracks, Quasi’s rhythm section was a tour de force.
Featuring “Birds” is pretty perfectly paced for a liveshow; it took about an hour for them to run through all the songs (the record’s only 47 minutes, but Coomes and Weiss are too talented not to jam on these tracks a little more live). After bringing the closing track “Only Success Can Fail Me Now” to a triumphant finish, Coomes took a moment to thank the audience for their continued support of the record. He waxed on the creative process, remarking that he always thinks the next record he makes will be his best; there was a mix of emotions as Coomes seemed to reckon with the status that Featuring “Birds” has achieved. It might be the most famous album the band ever releases, and the duo seems more than aware of that. To any other musician, that’d be discouraging, but Quasi seems perfectly happy to be responsible for an album so beloved.
Quasi | photo by Claire Brown
“We’re gonna play a few more songs,” Coomes said, to which the audience immediately started shouting out requests. A whopping ten tracks later (which constituted another hour of freewheeling jamming), the lights went up; and back down they went, for Quasi to play three more tracks. It became clear that the crowd wasn’t here to see Featuring “Birds,” but here to see Quasi; any of their tracks, from any of their albums, absolutely kill when they play them live. I’d watch Quasi play Hot Cross Buns if I could. Seeing them storm through medleys of deep cuts and fan favorites, the massive banner adorned with that ceremonial you behind them seemed increasingly appropriate for a show that felt like a celebration; not just of Featuring “Birds,” but a celebration of two technical wizards playing to a ride-or-die fanbase. Raise up your ceremonial wine vessels; here’s to thirty more years of continued success.