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What music would you take with you if you were left stranded on an island? It’s an oft-asked question, heedless of drinkable water, food, or duration, never mind important things like whether listening thru ear buds or an Atmos Dolby surround sound system. Infer that you’ll be stuck there a while. Do you really want to listen to your favorite music, that music that you know note by note, word for word? Maybe. Would you hate it within a month? Yes.
Might I suggest Explosions in the Sky? Pick any album (2001 and 2007 if you need a head start). They’re post-rock. That means you won’t find standard song structures, choruses, earworm phrases and such. It’s instrumental music that wanders through some range of emotions, and it’s up to the listener to decide what that is. Or, more satisfyingly on that fabled island, to imagine the setting(s) for it. It can take you places figuratively while you’re pining away for a passing cruise ship.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor, another post-rock band, cuts to the short of figuring out both emotions and context. They provide video footage for an audience to feel their way through. In the end, I think I favor that for a concert experience, but it necessarily carries an audience to a place more closely intended. Not surprisingly, Explosions has recorded a variety of soundtracks, which makes perfect sense for what is often described as cinematic or ambient music. As one fan pointed out, some number of the audience likely attended due to their familiarity with the band’s work on the movie Lone Survivor. For a genre where one usually has to search, a movie soundtrack provides a means for the music to find you.
The band performs with little in the way of visual spectacle. A ring is set around the band from which lights periodically emit, almost always peaking with crescendos in the music. Visually, it’s a great look, defying the typical theater lights by primarily shining from the stage up. The ring also defines an island, of sorts, intended or not. An Explosions show, despite guitars, keyboards, bass and drums, does not present for a rock audience. There was little shouting, whistling or even much of background conversational murmurs. There is head-nodding by some, still contemplation by others, frequent feet tapping when a song finds a lifting mood… What is the audience thinking? Who knows. It’s obvious that most are familiar with the music, but it’s a shared experience finding unity in the diversity of appreciation, each person searching for or knowing a context absent external influence. Sadness, hope, longing, rejoicing… It’s up to each to decide.
Guitarist and occasional keyboardist Munaf Rayani greeted the crowd, thanking Atlanta fans for showing up for their shows over the years. That was the last that was heard vocally from the band. They played nine songs, three from their just released album End, otherwise touching favorites from the early 2000’s, concluding an hour and twenty minutes later. The new songs, which include more electronic elements, felt right at home with their older material. The relative brevity of the concert compared to other concerts is understood as there was literally no interaction between songs. While the audience/band relationship typically yearns for such, skipping the chit-chat makes sense in post-rock because the music flows as a soundtrack. Spoken words would intrude.
This was a great show for people who know the band’s music and have internalized it in some way. I couldn’t find someone new to the band to ask what they thought, but I would wager that a friend encouraged them knowing that they really listen to music.
Kudos to Athens/Atlanta’s Maserati who opened the evening. They have mined a similar post-rock catalog over 20 years, their set generally featuring a brighter tone and a more intentional focus on a persistent, almost danceable groove. Great stuff also and worth checking out.
More photos follow for both bands.
Setlist:
One Response
Great photos! thanks