Tag: tabernacle
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SHOW REVIEW: Crystal Castles at the Tabernacle
A threesome of musicians swarmed the Tabernacle stage, awash in black, taking their places before a massive, eerie depiction of a cloaked figure embracing a naked human form. The waifish, platinum blonde front woman, Alice Glass, took a drag from her cigarette as the heavy beats reverberated around the room.
Crystal Castles provided an incredibly contradictory show in the best way on April 17. Though Glass and crew entered the stage to a near riot – the audience had waited over an hour for Crystal Castles to come on – the stall proved to be entirely worth it. Opening with “Plague”, the first track off their new album, (III), it was quickly clear that this set would be all about digital, electric glamour with a wash of old-school punk ideals.
Soon enough, the trio – consisting of founding members Glass and producer Ethan Kath, and touring drummer Christopher Chartrand – dove into tunes from their previous album, including “Baptism” and “Suffocation”. This is when things became truly rock ‘n roll. Between Kath’s impressive electronic instrumentals and Chartrand’s mind-blowing drum solos, Glass struggled to pull away from a security guard and crowd surf several times, and even began taking massive swigs of whiskey and spitting it over audience members.
We were most thrilled when we heard the first few beats of some of our old Crystal Castles favorites: “Crimewave”, “Alice Practice”, and a portion of “Vanished”, to name a few. By this point, Glass knew she held the crowd in the palm of her hand. She stood before thousands of energized fans, slugging from that same bottle of whiskey and twirling the microphone in her hand, as if teasing us to beg for more.
And “more” is what we got: among the trio’s encore songs was “Not in Love”, their undeniably catchy cover featuring Robert Smith. While we danced nonstop for the last minutes of the show, we couldn’t help but think how in love we were with Crystal Castles’ live performance.
SHOW REVIEW: The xx at Tabernacle
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If you’ve listened to even a tiny fragment of a song by The xx – any song at all – you can not only acknowledge that the band is perfect in a very technical, musical sense, but also that the purity of their music provides an incredibly ethereal experience for the listener. Now, imagine it live: the drums reverberating through your very core, voices ever more ghostly, each silence ironically amplified a thousand times over. When The xx played the Tabernacle in Atlanta on February 2, the beautiful simplicity of their music reminded us of why we should be thrilled to be alive.
As we had so desperately hoped, Romy Madley Croft, Oliver Sim, and Jamie xx played a substantial amount from both of their albums, xx and Coexist. Opening with “Angels”, the first track on Coexist, the trio set the mood immediately: dark, emotional, and – appropriately – angelic. We instantly noted that Crofts’ and Sim’s voices sounded nearly identical to the way they sound on the albums – just much, much more intense. Though we were a bit disappointed that the band moved around the stage very little, we soon realized that the gripping, otherworldly nature of the music entirely made up for the lack of movement.
By next playing “Heart Skipped a Beat”, The xx effectively relieved fans of their concerns that very few tracks from xx would be played. Soon after, “Crystalised” was swept through as well, male and female vocals layering beautifully. We were thrilled when we heard Jamie xx’s steel drums opening up “Reunion”, a song that brings in what we believe to be the better half of Coexist. The track was chilling, filled to the brim with emotional tension – that is, until a steady drumbeat was ushered in as Croft nearly whispered, “Did I… see you… see me… in a new light?”
Finally, the trio played our favorite track on the entirety of Coexist, “Sunset”, a song that manages to be extremely dance-worthy while exploring pure heartache. Toward the end of the band’s set, they began to once again bring back older tracks, including “Shelter”, “VCR”, and “Islands”, three of their all-time best, and three that ideally exhibit the unheard-of vocal chemistry between Croft and Sim. By the time the three tiptoed shyly off the stage, the crowd was all but drooling for an encore. And, boy, did they get one. The xx came back with the powerful “Intro”, and promptly ended the night on a much softer note with “Tides” and “Stars”.
Though the music in itself was nothing short of heavenly, the charm and humble nature of the three indie pioneers made the experience entirely refreshing. While Sim constantly thanked the crowd, Croft was often seen looking around the venue in a state of total awe and disbelief. When it comes down to it, though the insanely talented threesome seems to retain a very modest lack of perception of their massive effect on their listeners, one thing is for certain: The xx is crafting a sound that no other band can replicate.
Dropkick Murphys at the Tabernacle in Atlanta
Go see Dropkick Murphys. Right now. Stop reading this article, and go buy a ticket.
For those of you who need a little more convincing, I’m happy to oblige. Read on.
I just went to see DM at the The Tabernacle in Atlanta. This is one of the greatest shows I have ever been to. Let’s get a little crazy and start with the encore. Everyone was completely satisfied and ready to rock out to a few final songs, hang out at the merch table for a bit, and then pack it in. The night was complete, and I was happy just having witnessed such a fantastic, energetic performance. However, a traditional encore was not what DM had in mind. Instead, they decided to invite the women (and then some of the men) from the mosh pit up on stage for “Kiss Me, I’m Sh*tfaced.” Now, I’ve seen bands pull people from the crowd, but it’s usually one or two people, and it’s been very rare. I have never seen anything like this, and it was shocking in the best way possible. Everyone was so excited to be a part of it. It brought the crowd together in a shared experience even more than being pressed up against each other all night moshing had. Perfect end to a perfect show.
Now that that is out of the way, I can tell you about the rest of the show. Brilliant. From start to finish, this show was energy, noise, and excitement (and the show went on for over an hour). There was no down time, and each song had everyone moshing, headbanging, and- pretty regularly- dancing Irish jigs (or at least faking it). Their setlist was perfectly put together with a mix of some older favorites and some newer…new favorites.
Being in the photo pit for the first three songs was incredible. There is an lower extension off of the main stage, and Al Barr stepped down several times to reach out to the crowd as I was standing there. It got to the point where I had to step back to get a shot that would fit his whole face. Never been that close to someone while they were performing.
That’s the thing about DM- they are all about interaction with and amongst the crowd. They are not just standing up on stage and playing at us. The whole night was about bringing everyone together in a great big celebration. I’m still a little baffled as to how they managed to pack so many unforgettable experiences into one show, but I suppose if anyone could do it, it would be DM.
I could go on for another two pages about how amazing this show was, but I think you get the idea.
Before I wrap it up, I really need to take a minute to rave about the openers. The Mahones started the show, and I was blown away. I hadn’t taken much time to check them out before the show (shame on me), so I was completely blindsided by their super-awesomeness. Definitely a band to check out if you haven’t already.
Frank Turner I had listened to (and loved) before, and his performance with The Sleeping Souls was especially impressive. Both of these bands were stand-alone great and a perfect start to the show.
So, there you have it. If you don’t like fun and Irish pride, don’t go to this show. Otherwise, this is a concert to break the bank for.