Music Fans! We Want your Answer!
Seen a great Canadian Film Lately?
- COMING SOON - The End of the World in THE COLLAPSED
- PRESS RELEASE - Bell Media To Sponsor Whistler Film Festival
- PRESS RELEASE - Recipients of Birks Canadian Diamond Unveiled
- Podcast: Game of Thrones: A Man Without Honour
- DANCE ALLSORTS: JUSTINE A. CHAMBERS AND ARTS UMBRELLA - New Works
- Farewell Housewives
| THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT (Toronto - Slideshow) |
 |
 |
| Sunday, 20 November 2011 22:59 | |||
 "All At Once doesn’t pack the musical punch its predecessor carried. There are some gems, this is true, but it’s not as immediate or as catchy." Concert Review
Artist: The Airborne Toxic Event
Venue: Phoenix Concert Theatre
Date: November 15th, 2011
   Reviewed and photographed by Sarah Rix
TORONTO – When the night first started, it was hard to tell just how much the five members of The Airborne Toxic Event were enjoying themselves. It was a fairly jarring introduction, mostly because they seemed so serious. I’d go so far as to say the Los Angeles band performed the first five or six songs like it was the most important composition ever penned. So, while there were a few smiles tossed around, it took them a while to make the shift from mechanical song-playing to an obviously good mood.
“This is roughly our 200th show of the year,” said vocalist and guitarist Mikel Jollett midway through the first of two encores. And it showed. They’re obviously practiced. Perhaps their weak start can be attributed to the fact that they opened with relatively new material, songs taken off April 2011’s All At Once. Without the crowd singing along to every word, it seemed hard for them to find their footing and weigh audience interest. Regardless, the album—the band’s follow-up to their 2008 self-titled—has shown they’ve matured in their musicianship. As Jollett noted prior to the fourth song, band member Steven Chen had batted four for four in terms of instrument-to-song ratio. Impressive by any standard.
But the sad fact is, All At Once doesn’t pack the musical punch its predecessor carried. There are some gems, this is true, but it’s not as immediate or as catchy.
What worked in the new material was the catchy “Changing.” It swung live with energy and a catchy guitar hook. Even so, the crowd seemed to indicate their preference for older material. Five songs into the set, the introduction of 2008’s “Wishing Well” received loud cheers. The same went for “Something New,” “Losing You,, “Papillon,” and “Gasoline”—all tracks from their first album. Pass it off to audience familiarity, maybe, but the truth is those songs are strong. Far too strong for the new material to overcome.
Other highlights of older material included “Does This Mean Your Moving On?” which saw Jollett jumped off the stage, ran through the audience and end up singing from atop the venue’s side bar.
Not so great was 2011’s “Welcome To Your Wedding Day.” Although it received a pretty strong crowd reaction, it sounded like them trying to channel My Chemical Romance channeling Nickelback. It seems to be their attempt at some heavier rock, but it just doesn’t sit well. Also strange was their decision to transition from that song to their most well-known: the instantly familiar “Sometime Around Midnight.” It wasn’t an obvious mix and it’s hard to imagine the two songs are from the same band,
Song choices aside, the night ended with a high. The band—which also includes violist/keyboardist Anna Bulbrook, drummer Daren Taylor and bassist Noah Harmon—became more comfortable and more confident. A moment between Jollett and an angry (and possibly drunk) audience member was a hilarious highlight. Jollett, part way through a speech, was met with a cry of “Shut up!” He quipped back, “F*** you man.” He paused. “He did say 'shut up,' right? That’d be funny if he was like, 'I love you man!'” Another pause. “The night just took a right turn … That just put me in too good a mood.”
By the end of the set, Jollett was tossing around water, spraying band members and the crowd. The Airborne Toxic Event put on a good show; they just need to work out the early kinks on newer material.
Thanks to Live Nation.
|
Search what you are looking for
Liked a review?
