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Airborne Toxic Event Flies Back to Boston at Orpheum |
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Nov 19, 2011 at 12:00 AM |
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Sat. Nov. 19 Here’s what happened last time Airborne Toxic Event – which plays the Orpheum tonight – played town, or at least as I had in my Boston Herald review … A rock ‘n’ roll show on Lansdowne Street is, by definition, a local happening, but pretty much all tours are national affairs. When a band’s frontman yelps, "Boston, you’re the best!," you can bet that he’s said something similar elsewhere. He’s not being terribly dishonest. It’s just rock shtick. But Mikel Jollett gave the Airborne Toxic Event’s nearly two-hour show at House of Blues Wednesday a real Boston accent. After five songs, the singer-songwriter-guitarist-keyboardist paused to dedicate an unrecorded song, "Days of Wine and Poses," to Billy Ruane, a vociferous champion of the band dating back to its eponymous debut album in 2007. Jollett called Ruane, who died last year from heart failure, "a gentleman … a legend in this city." "Wine and Poses" wasn’t written about Ruane – it was about an ex-lover - but many of the lyrics fit. "A face so warm and gaunt," Jollett sang. "Just bury me, and promise me, you'll fire this smoking gun." The song began in a key of sadness, but ended in hard celebration – which was perfect Ruane.And it encapsulated what the ATE does. The quintet - which just released its second disc, "All At Once" and played most everything from it – was both intimate and grand. Not unlike Arcade Fire, they mixed literate, introspective lyrics with all kinds of post-punk, alt-rock and Springsteen-ian structures. For encores, the ATE covered the Boss’ "I’m On Fire" and did a Clash-ified version of "I Fought the Law" which segued into Johnny Cash’s "Folsom Prison Blues." Spirited violinist Anna Bulbrook carried many of the leads. There was tension and conflict in song, but also a good measure of triumph and release. This rang out loud and clear early on during "Wishing Well," with its mountain-scaling momentum and its wrenching, twisting emotions. It calmed down with a cover of Magnetic Fields’ sad and elegiac "The Book of Love," and roared up again with "Changing" and "The Kids Are Ready to Die." Sang Jollett: "The cards that were dealt, will be tossed like a storm in the sky." Before playing "All For a Woman," Jollett – who also writes fiction - wryly noted the downside of writing about a breakup and then having to sing about it for two-and-a-half years. As you might expect from a band that took its name from a chapter in Don DeLillo’s "White Noise," there was a lot of lyrical darkness, many people caught up in situations beyond their control. That undercurrent ran through the set as the music carried us to a more hopeful, rocking area. Tickets: $23.50. Starts at 7:30. 1 Hamilton Place, 800-745-3000 www.ticketmaster.com |
