Explosions In The Sky @ Variety Playhouse
Monday, April 14, 2008
I saw a flyer for this show a couple of months before they came and procrastinated in getting a ticket even though I really wanted to go. Turns out they sold out a few weeks before hand and I was sad :(. Fortunately, they decided to do a matine show as well and I quickly grabbed a pair of tickets.
Opening for them was a guy that went by the name Lichens. He and a few loop pedals and instruments sat in the middle of the stage. He started off with some almost synth sounding guitar loops and continued to build around that for the next 20 minutes or so. He brought in some vocals, did some beating on the guitar for drums, and took the audience really far out there. His set reminded me of the recording of Wireman O and Wireman Spacewars, and I throughly enjoyed it.
I was well prepared for this show, and grabbed another Sweetwater during the set break. Explosions came on stage and without ever saying a word(I like this) and began their journey. They took us through quiet times, slow building jams that seemed to never end but also never seemed to be the same. They took us through very exciting overdriven times, occasionally reminding me of 13 Day Mission(or maybe we reminded ourselves of Explosions?), and as with Lichens, I throughly enjoyed it. Occasionally the bass player would pick up a guitar and there would be 3 guitars blasting us all with a massive wall of sound which was very cool, the only other time I have seen that in a performance was with Battles. It is really great to see an instrumental rock group getting so much support. The variety holds about 400 people and the place was PACKED...this being their first show of 2 for the day. That being said, I look forward to seeing what kind of effect Explosions has on the industry as a whole and hope they are able to continue to grow their fan base by leaps and bounds.
- B
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posted by Conqueror @ 6:40 AM,
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13 Day Mission, Beatrix Kiddo, Miles from Pangaea, and Ship to Shore @ 11:11 Teahouse - 04-04-08
Saturday, April 5, 2008
HIJACKING MUSIC PRESENTS:
13 Day Mission
Beatrix Kiddo
Miles from Pangaea
Ship to Shore
The second HIJACKING MUSIC event to be held in Atlanta was a huge success! Despite some difficulties from a lady down the street that likes to leave her window open and call the police about any small disturbance in the force...everything went very smooth. All of the artists showed up early to hang their pieces, all of the bands were able to make it and played without technical difficulties, and there was a nice turn out from the ATL night people.
Ship to Shore has greatly improved since the last time I saw them, which was the last time we played with them over at the Eyedrum also in Atlanta. Before they did half of their set with a drum machine and the other half with a newcomer Jack on drums. This time it was all Jack and Jack ripped it up. He was much more confident with the music and the group as a whole flowed through their material for almost an hour. Their sound is almost timeless but fresh and new at the same time. The keys and melodica were very smooth and clean while keeping the bassy parts in the mix. The guitar colored over both of them and took the melodies elsewhere but kept it tight with the music. Great set from these guys and definitely the longest set of the night.
Ship to Shore
We have been trying to get Beatrix Kiddo in front of some people here in Atlanta and this night we were able to do it. They were all a little shaken about a show they had earlier in the week that was not very cohesive and planned out, although they said their set was good the rest of the night was funky. Fortunately the vibe on this night was perfect. It was a bit muddy at times due to the room acoustics at the Teahouse, but definitely tolerable. The bass lines were coming through strong while Wes belted out his vocals into the mic. The guitar riffs are jamming as always and Chris dominated the drums. The new music they played sounded really good and I look forward to hearing those songs work themselves out.
Beatrix Kiddo
13 Day Mission snuck in a vocalist to perform with us. We had rehearsed a few times before and one night the week of, the goal being for him to know when to come on stage and when to go back off stage. He did it flawlessly and the report from the people was good news. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and the energy was really great from all of us on stage. We cut out one of our songs so that we could get Miles From Pangaea on stage before the cops shut us down for good.
Unfortunately the police had been called about 7 times by the time MFP went on stage. They asked that we cut the music at 12:30...they were setting up at 12:00. Anyway, MFP were able to run through a few of their songs before they had to stop for good. They have been working on new material as well and played some of it for us again, and its great! They have also been bringing extra percussion and the drummer from Ship to Shore has been joining them for a few songs. I am a huge fan of percussion so more is always better. Their set, although short, was sweet and true to their other performances this year.
The artists that showed their pieces are all very talented, and it was great to be able to bring them all together in once place. Because of the quality of their work, the owner of the Teahouse asked them all to leave their pieces on her walls for a few weeks so she could continue to show them. In her words "it's just nice to have such a breath of fresh air come through". I could not say it any better myself. Below are some pics and a vid of the art and some of the live painting.
Labels: ShowReviews
posted by Conqueror @ 10:39 AM,
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Shows
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Friday, April 18th @ Fontana Dam, North Carolina
Miles from Pangaea is performing with special guests from 13 Day Mission and Beatrix Kiddo to mix things up. For more information on this event check out http://www.myspace.com/hiyakfestival
"Hi-Yak: Another Dam Festival. Hikers grab your packs and kayakers bring your boats as we celebrate the Appalachian Trail and Cheoah River. If you're an overall outdoor enthusiast come along as well! For this event we will be having trail maintenance with the Smoky Mountain Hiking Club and Benton MacKaye Trail Association, river clean up of invasive species, music from great local bands, vendors, lectures, movies, and more."
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, April 18, 19, and 20 @ ParkGrounds Atlanta
For more information, schedule, and tickets, please visit http://nophest.com/
Labels: Shows
posted by O Team Press @ 1:01 AM,
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13 Day Mission, Sorry No Ferrari, Ahleuchatistas @ Drunken Unicorn - 03-27-08
Friday, March 28, 2008
13 Day Mission
Ahleuchatistas
Sorry no Ferrari
To start, this is by far the best show I have attended as well as my band has performed so far this year. It will definitely be high on the list of 'most excellent shows 2008' throughout the year as well.
As I said, 13 Day Mission dominated. So far this year we have had technical difficulties almost every show, and while the audience probably had no idea, our set suffered because of it. This time, no technical difficulties, no bad stage sound, just straight up awesomeness. The sound guy Chad at Drunken Unicorn always does a great job and we were definitely happy about the outcome. The crowd response was excellent and I think people were actually 'getting it'.
13DM
The last time we saw Sorry No Ferrari was actually the last time we performed with them, we were a two piece at the time and did another Stickfigure show at the Eyedrum in Atlanta. That show they set up on stage with another band and they would rotate playing after every song. This time SNF were able to play their set in its entirety. These guys dropped a few songs on us and then announced they would play their last song after having been on stage only about 15 minutes...I knew what was going to happen based on their promo's earlier...THE PROG ROCK EPIC! SNF bobbed and weaved their way through 17 minutes of post rock mathy tapping looping craziness with great precision. It was great to see them perform again and they did so with confidence and excellence.
SNF
Now for my personal favorite part, Ahleuchatistas. I have been listening to them for a little over two years now and have been waiting on them to hit up Atlanta so I could catch the performance. Little did I know that when that time came we would also be performing with them, something I could only dream of. These guys bent and warped my brain for almost an hour. The guitar riffs are all over the place, the bass lines are huge, and the drums are so fast and clean. Watching them start every song was like watching them all fall into line every time, no counting, just magic synchronization. What I really enjoy about this band is the sounds they are able to create individually and as a whole without using any effects outside of a volume pedal and reverb built into their amplifiers. The songs swell from quiet to overwhelming with the quickness, then right back to some off time signature flawlessly. The bands performance was very solid and I am happy that I was finally able to witness it in live action.
Ahleuchatistas
Overall an incredible evening of instrumental rock, anyone who was there will agree with me and anyone who missed it, missed something special happen in the universe for the few hours that we spent together inside the venue.
-bp
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posted by Conqueror @ 7:15 AM,
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Fag Static, We Verses The Shark @ I Can Fly House - 03-18-08
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
http://www.myspace.com/weversustheshark
http://www.myspace.com/quakerguns
Last night I went out to the I Can Fly House for the first time. This is just a house in Atlanta where the tenants throw house shows occasionally. I was going to see this band from Brazil that I have been talking to called Debate, unfortunately they had some family things to tend to back in Brazil and have gone back ending their tour.
Starting things off was Fag Static. I was pretty excited to get some video footage, but the venue is just so loud(being that the band is just set up in the dining room), my camera kept shutting off because it was shaking from so much bass. Fag Static is four guys dominating some heavy indie rock. The bass and guitar played off each other with harmonics and such keeping my ears peaked. The sound of the bass was incredible, I was really impressed with the tones he was getting from his setup. The drummer beat the hell out of his kit for the entire set, definitely surprised me as I am used to having to tolerate less than par drummers just holding a beat down. A really good performance from these guys and I would definitely like to see them again if not play a show with them.
I have been listening to We Verses the Shark for a few months now via myspace, I heard about them through Cinemechanica. Their recordings are definitely good jams but the live show is a whole other level of awesomeness. Again the bass players tone for this group was really good. He also had a keyboard that he rock a few times and it sounded pretty awesome in the mix. There were three guitarist switching in and out the whole set, one of which apparently was just on tour with them recently subbing for one of the regulars. On drums was a crazy dude that just pounded away the whole set. He actually took a break for one song and was on vocals. He ended up outside on the front porch screaming his brains out while the band rocked out inside, very cool.
After they finished I left, not that I did not want to see the next two bands, but it was already pretty late and I was spent. I met a couple of cool people and other members of bands that I had seen perform before which was a nice networking level up, and overall the event was a success.
- Bret Phillips
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posted by Conqueror @ 8:29 AM,
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13 Day Mission, Beatrix Kiddo, Goodbye Donovan, Miles from Pangaea @ The Warehouse - 03-15-08
Monday, March 17, 2008
HIJACKING MUSIC PRESENTS:
13 Day Mission
Beatrix Kiddo
Goodbye Donovan
Miles from Pangaea
In route to The Warehouse, Chris, the drummer for Beatrix Kiddo, was in a car accident. He is OK, his car is trashed, and he was unable to make it to the show. Leaving three bands on the bill.
Up first was Goodbye Donovan. This four piece, with Wes from Beatrix on bass, played some indie, poppy, rock for us. They brought it to another level though. All of the musicians are very talented and the song writing, though familiar, was very strong and the players of it very tight. Wes beats up the bass all the time, it was cool to see him rocking a different flavor of bass lines. The guitarist held it down with the basics until the band would let him have at it. At that point he ripped it up with some blues solo licks only to fade back into the music shortly after. The front man, or woman I should say, did a great job leading. Her voice sounds smooth and fresh over the music, and she sings on key while also playing some guitar. The drummer beat it down the whole set, between songs letting himself go, then holding down the ones and twos with the whole band. Excellent showing from Goodbye Donovan this night.
Goodbye Donovan
We(13 Day Mission) took the stage next. Since Wes borrowed my gear I had nothing to set up and was ready to rock. As well, because Beatrix was unable to perform, we had Taylor(guitarist from Beatrix) jam on stage with us for two songs before we started our set, and it was good. Our set was smooth, NO technical difficulties for the first time this year. The sound was ok on stage, I could barely hear the drums if I was not facing them, but overall not too bad. No idea how it sounded in the crowd, but if it was anything like the other bands, it was not too bad. I can not understand these places with huge 18's all over the floors that have NO kick drum pumping through...come on dudes, fire those bad boys up! Lennys is the same way.
13 Day Mission - Fear Dims the Sunlight(minus about 20 seconds of the begining)
Headlining was an old favorite Miles from Pangaea. These guys are getting better and better with each performance. Dave picked up a new amp(fender hotrod deluxe...in all white...VERY sexy) and a new pedal. His tone definitely was different than when he played through the marshal head, but it was still very under control and spaced out like he does. Frank on bass seems to be better now that his finger has healed from slamming it in a door post Athens show, and his sound was coming through strong. Jared played very well and having Jack(drummer from Ship to Shore) on stage for the final song as some extra percussion was awesome.
Miles from Pangaea - Cosmic Shores
- Bret Phillips
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posted by Conqueror @ 5:24 AM,
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The Human Abstract, August Burns Red @ Masquerade 03-13-08
Friday, March 14, 2008
http://www.myspace.com/thehumanabstract
http://www.myspace.com/augustburnsred
There were more bands on the bill for this evening, but I went to see The Human Abstract, and stayed for the next band August Burns Red.
The Human Abstract ripped it up as the opening band. This is the second stellar metal group that has come to the MASQ this year and played first. Protest the Hero being the other, unfortunately I missed that show :(. I was sad to see them perform post A.J. Minette, but this new Tapley guy is a pretty big guitar badass as well. He and Dean did a very solid job of harmonies and solos, Brett on drums destroyed the whole time, I was very happy to see him perform. He thinks outside the box and manages to keep the metal drumming on point. Nordeen on bass was a pretty big presence, most of the time I could not hear anything he was doing though, same for the keyboardist that was with them. The vocalist did a great job the whole time, it has to be a bitch to actually try and sing in tune after screaming your head off, but he went back and forth through both really well. It was great to finally see The Human Abstract live and I look forward to their return, hopefully as a headliner for their own tour.
This was the first time I had heard of and seen August Burns Red. The first thing that comes to mind is BREAKDOWNS. This music was almost entirely breakdowns. Fortunately the musicians were all very talented so they made breakdowns OK. Instead of your typical terrible metal band breakdown, they just let some of the guys hold the breakdown and some of the guys rip up their instruments. I enjoyed their set and they definitely got the crowd moving which was great. Some kids actually were making contact in the pit too, definitely something you do not see at the regular local shows.
- Bret Phillips
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posted by Conqueror @ 8:57 AM,
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