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
Labels: ShowReviews
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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