Oxford Collapse hopes for high-energy crowd at Columbia show

The indie band will play tunes from its fourth release, Bits.

By Shannon Montanez

Published Sept. 11, 2008

For many bands, a new album is an excuse to step back and celebrate the music, to look for some calm before the touring storm starts again. Oxford Collapse is already touring heavily, sharing the music with its fans. For the Brookyln band members, their next stop is a first.

"We've never played in Columbia before, but we heard it's the place to play in Missouri," guitarist and vocalist Michael Pace said.

The band's new album, Bits, which dropped in early August, has allowed the band to incorporate new material into its show, something Pace looks forward to.

"If we're playing for young, hungry college students, they tend to be really receptive (of the new material)," Pace said. "When we play for 60-year-old men, it's a little less exciting."

The 60-year-olds in question were part of a less-than-exciting audience at the Muzak Convention in St. Augustine, Fla., where the band performed during the summer. Pace expects a more high-energy crowd from Columbia than the Sunshine State.

"I hope the show is outstanding and amazing and there are people hanging from rafters," Pace said. "I have high hopes for this show."

The new material from Bits feels softer while still holding onto classic Oxford style. Tracks like "The Birthday Wars" and "Young Love Delivers" are warm and open with the classic feel of a SubPop release.

Like many of the songs on Bits, "The Birthday Wars" carries the album with an upbeat melody and vintage indie appeal. This is Oxford's fourth album, and the evolution of the band's music is audible in the more poetic take on the band's staple sound.

"Bits is the best," Pace said. "That's the short answer. We took a lot of time to actually make it, and in the past we had made albums rather quickly. We now wanted to take our time and we recorded a lot of songs. We got to work with friends and do it differently, and working with friends is a different experience rather than recording in a studio."

This new recording attitude has given the band an opportunity to expand from its days of cranking out albums as quickly as the weather changes in Missouri. Pace describes the band's latest album as "jolly, wistful" and, with a laugh, "rhubarb."

As obscure as Pace's description sounds, the band gains inspiration from a relatively mainstream band that has not only influenced indie rock bands like Oxford, but rappers like Lil Wayne: Nirvana.

"It goes without saying that Nirvana influenced everyone who is around our age, not only us," Pace said.

During downtime, the band enjoys utilizing a book on "road food" to try out different places on tour. A downtown Columbia favorite? Booches.

"We went there and were blown away," Pace said.