If you’ve read my review of Fanfarlo’s Reservoir, you’re probably well aware that it’s next to impossible for me to discuss Fanfarlo’s music in terms that aren’t, well, nigh-religious. And I’m afraid that after seeing them last night, I probably won’t stop doing so anytime soon. You see, it’s one thing to see a band put on an intense show. It’s quite another to see a band take the stage as if their lives, and perhaps even their very souls, depended on it.

Looking at both the crowd and the band as they performed—from Simon Balthazar’s wild-eyed face to Cathy Lucas’ booming stage presence despite her timid first impression —I could understand why parents and authorities have always been concerned by rock n’ roll’s power over the young ‘uns. A good concert gets your body a-movin’, but a great show has a decidedly spiritual aspect to it—and there is something distinctly spiritual about this band and their music.

The anthemic group shouts and frenzied manner in which the 5 bandmembers flung themselves headlong into their maelstrom like people possessed. The wall of sound that made up the transition from The Walls Are Coming Down into Luna. The opening bass thrums and Motown breakdown of I’m A Pilot. The lyrics that call the listener to never deny one’s imagination (“But kid I’m a pilot / it’s all I believe in”).

Experiencing these things live felt like nothing less than a baptism by fire, and at times, I was moving, shouting, and hitting the wall in ways that would have raised a more than a few charismatic eyebrows.

I can’t help but wonder about the legacy that this first San Francisco performance will leave behind. In a simpler, less cynical time, a performance like this would be sending ripples throughout the community. Bands would be convicted into laying down their instruments, having just been shown how it’s done. And just as many bands would be inspired to reach for something bigger and better.

They all looked passionate and charismatic throughout their intimate yet enormous performance. About mid-set, the band threw out about a dozen or so 3 foot tubes that made howling sounds when you swung them over your head. They stopped making sounds when you whacked the nearest person standing next to you.

I’m confident enough to say the next time you hear Fanfarlo coming to town, it’ll be at the Fillmore.

Fanfarlo – Drowning Men (Acoustic) from Reservoir + Bonus (2009)

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