Explosions in the Sky, Atlanta 03/15/07
It is not very often that I get a good reason to blow off work for a rock show. More often than not, shows that I’ve really wanted to attend usually involve some air travel. I was completely prepared to do so for Explosions in the Sky until the declared their tour for their latest album All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone. M||3 and I bought tickets way in advance and had been waiting in anticipation for the show for months.
We hooked up with our friends in the neighborhood Marc and Carolyn and invited them along. The show was at Lenny’s, which turns out to be somewhat of a half assed club in a strip mall over a bridge. I say half assed, but they really seem to by trying, since I overheard someone in charge boast of the added watts to their sound system to clinch this gig.
Check out some EITS videos at YouTube
UPDATE!: Downloadable Live Show from All Songs Considered. Get it before you have to stream Real Media. Bleech!
Eluvium opened and was a complete pleasure. I am glad that someone can sit down to their keyboard and guitar and Mac laptop can draw a crowd. More interesting is that he can do some sonic Phillip Glass and get attention in this day and age. Next was the Paper Chase, for whom I hold much respect but can’t break down and say that I actually enjoy their music. They work really hard for it and to see them live makes you appreciate it, but I just can’t imagine sitting down to it for enjoyment.
Explosions in the Sky took the stage and everything changed. Either they have a contingent of very tall fans or Lenny’s just isn’t capable of providing good vantage points, so m||3 and I took the side stage right and admired the show from there. I haven’t been so inspired by a couple of guys that will come to town explicitly to rock your socks off for some time. The sound matched their albums amazingly well in a small club which leads me to believe that they can match what their audience expects just about anywhere. Their energy was high as each song rolled into the next without pause or explanation. Quit a few whiskeys into the show I was completely ready to sell my soul to the band and I might have if they had done an encore. Alas, they refused and my soul is intact.
It’s been a long time since I felt so good about seeing a live performance. I must give thanks to Marc and Carolyn for hosting our travel down to East Atlanta and made it possible. It also reminds me how much that I often get jaded and don’t give a damn that good bands are doing good things out there and sometimes I just need to say hell with work and make sure I witness something worthwhile.
If anyone out there has documentation of the performance (photos or videos) please comment some linkage!
Nice to see you drawn into ITP life, it’s the only decent ATL, and into the old 4th Ward no less! I haven’t been to the new Lenny’s, but I’m sure it’s a scum pit much like the old one. And that is the charm of the place. EitS must have been a big show for that venue.
Rock on, Wayne! Rock on, Garth!