The Airborne Toxic Event has a small problem. Their song, Sometime Around Midnight, is a dreary, instant classic about lost love. This song will be on the radio 25 years from now.
How is that a problem?
The song was something of a hit for the band but its style and tone is not really an indication of that the band is all about. Their music has certain joyfulness to it. Sure, it is sometimes a little sad but this is a Celtic sort of sad--the sort of sad where you say “I am sad but fuck it! The next round is on me.”
Those who know the band only from one song will be surprised by how high energy they are. And how the music IS (sort of) Celtic. That wasn’t an analogy picked out of thin air. They call to mind, not The Pogues, but Chicago’s own The Drovers (but way LESS Celtic than that).
Most bands you would feel silly wanting to get poetic about in a description but not Airborne Toxic Event, there is poetry in every note.Their songs are memorable. They stick with you. After hearing their latest record, All At Once, one time you will easily recognized every song in the live set.
How is that a problem?
The song was something of a hit for the band but its style and tone is not really an indication of that the band is all about. Their music has certain joyfulness to it. Sure, it is sometimes a little sad but this is a Celtic sort of sad--the sort of sad where you say “I am sad but fuck it! The next round is on me.”
Those who know the band only from one song will be surprised by how high energy they are. And how the music IS (sort of) Celtic. That wasn’t an analogy picked out of thin air. They call to mind, not The Pogues, but Chicago’s own The Drovers (but way LESS Celtic than that).
Most bands you would feel silly wanting to get poetic about in a description but not Airborne Toxic Event, there is poetry in every note.Their songs are memorable. They stick with you. After hearing their latest record, All At Once, one time you will easily recognized every song in the live set.
One of the great things about the band is how they mix up their instrumentation. This gives the band real sonic depth in their set. Some songs have piano, some violin, some a stand up bass.The multi- abilities of the members keep every song fresh.You might hear early 60s Greenwich Village folk in one song and in the next you will hear a tiny hint of something that sounds almost like synthpop and maybe even hints of bands like The Cure.
At one point in the set a sort of drum circle even breaks out. And this doesn’t make the audience run for the exits.
At one point in the set a sort of drum circle even breaks out. And this doesn’t make the audience run for the exits.
Buy this record...
Did you leave before the encore? You missed a solid third of the set. What is it about people who HAVE to get out first? Is there some prize at the door? You paid to be here! Relax, take the load off, and listen to the music!
Right before the end of the evening they broke into I Fought The Law which is a telling cover, considering others who have, famously, covered the tune. There is very definitely a little bit of old school punk rock lurking in all their music. Not Green Day kids but rather The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Boomtown Rats and X Ray Spex. But let’s not put too fine a point on this comparison either. It is just a hint, a part of what this band is all about.
Right before the end of the evening they broke into I Fought The Law which is a telling cover, considering others who have, famously, covered the tune. There is very definitely a little bit of old school punk rock lurking in all their music. Not Green Day kids but rather The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Boomtown Rats and X Ray Spex. But let’s not put too fine a point on this comparison either. It is just a hint, a part of what this band is all about.
Opening act, Mona, are a band worth a listen too. A separate piece on them sometime soon.-Patrick Ogle
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