{"id":50058,"date":"2017-04-26T12:50:23","date_gmt":"2017-04-26T16:50:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mattsteffen.com\/?p=50058"},"modified":"2017-09-02T13:21:48","modified_gmt":"2017-09-02T17:21:48","slug":"explosions-in-the-sky-bogarts-cincinnati","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mattsteffen.com\/explosions-in-the-sky-bogarts-cincinnati\/","title":{"rendered":"explosions in the sky @ bogart’s – cincinnati"},"content":{"rendered":"

We like to compartmentalize. \u00a0It\u2019s comforting to know where things sit. \u00a0Consciously or not, we\u2019re always ticking away putting like things in like piles, a deep-seated urge, a coping mechanism to not get overwhelmed by the mountain of information constantly streaming our way. \u00a0But dammit, if it isn\u2019t uniquely satisfying to have that square coming down the pipe that you just can’t cram into any of the round slots. \u00a0It\u2019s good to know we can still be surprised.<\/p>\n

\"\"I\u2019ve been trying to catch an Explosions in the Sky show since they released\u00a0How Strange, Innocence<\/i>\u00a0in 2000. \u00a0The lead off track\u00a0A Song for Our Fathers<\/i>\u00a0hit me from the beginning, I heard all things my band wasn\u2019t putting across in our music. \u00a0The helicopter-like staccato intro, the melancholy walking bass line, the sparsely plucked clean guitars being chased by a loose, ham-fisted, cymbal-washed beat that gets completely overrun by a chaotic, overdriven guitar only to drop out completely and fall back into that static filled whoosh that started us on this trip. \u00a0I was in. \u00a0But 17 years is a long time to wait, how can anyone possibly live up to that kind of a buildup.<\/p>\n

Explosions in the Sky might not sound familiar to you by name, but I guarantee you\u2019ve heard their music. \u00a0Theirs is an instant, ready-made soundtrack for any cinematic piece looking for a breath, a contemplative interlude to show character development. \u00a0They were the background of the hit show\u00a0Friday Night Lights<\/i>. \u00a0Judging from the nearly 30 million clicks\u00a0Your Hand in Mine<\/i>\u00a0has garnished on Spotify, people are finding them. \u00a0They grew out of the post-rock millennium movement that found everyone noodling with odd timing and a stripped back sense of arrangement, forgoing the verse-chorus-verse and letting a song settle into itself just shy of venturing into the jam band waters. \u00a0Explosions in the Sky ushered in the soft-loud-soft with The Appleseed Cast, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Do Make Say Think, Mogwai and the like.<\/p>\n

\"\"Finally in Cincinnati, they stand on a dark stage, the only spotlights are hidden behind amplifiers, competing with an army of fog machines. \u00a0A mechanical row of led lights line the front lip of the stage sending up a pulsing, striated wash of color over the band.\u00a0 There are no mic stands to clutter up the silhouettes. \u00a0It\u2019s a great visual marriage to the music, though for my comrades in the photo pit, lighting conditions like this and quality photography run on separate paths, in opposite directions.<\/p>\n

Explosions in the Sky looks like a standard rock band. \u00a05 guys, 3 guitars, a bass and drums.\u00a0 Usually\u00a0a stage with this many guitars is reserved for that encore reprise when every band on the festival ticket joins together for the\u00a0Rockin in the Free World<\/i>\u00a0jam. \u00a0Explosions in the Sky keep it loose, though. \u00a0Each guitar occupying its own tonal pockets, sitting out when the mood shifts, mimicking each other at times and suddenly all pulling together in sludgy power chord wall of overdrive. \u00a0But somehow, you feel safe that we\u2019re miles away from\u00a0In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida<\/i>\u00a0making an appearance.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s soft twinkle, frenetic math loops working themselves into a knot, raise your fists and scream energy, then back again. \u00a0Instrumental music doesn\u2019t normally get this personal. \u00a0Disregarding vocals and lyrics, it\u2019s easy to lose the personal element, the human quality to latch onto, but their formula seems to strike a chord in people. \u00a0Young men with tears streaming into their almost beards. \u00a0People stretching out their swaying arms like Joel Osteen just took the stage. \u00a0It\u2019s a diverse crowd having diverse reactions. \u00a0There\u2019s a lot of room to stretch out in this music, plenty of space to find your own perspective.<\/p>\n

\"\"Explosions in the Sky closed out their set with\u00a0The Only Moment We Were Alone<\/i>\u00a0from 2003\u2019s\u00a0The Earth Is Not A Cold Dead Place<\/i>. \u00a0I\u2019ve packed away my gear, settled into the crowd, and just listen. \u00a0Soft, high pitched guitars twinkle over a kick drum keeping the pulse. \u00a0It\u2019s sparse enough to lull you into its cadence. \u00a0I drift off to think about something entirely unrelated. \u00a0The second guitar adds a repetitive note into the mix to give my thought a little direction, old memories and old friends. \u00a0The drums break up a bit, cymbals cracking through, building, building. \u00a0I wonder if that was the right way to have handled the situation, where are they now. \u00a0A military snare rat-a-tats its way into the mix, giving this day dream a sense of purpose and confidence. \u00a0Guitars are now working out their own melody lines, swirling around and through each other in a wash of flashbacks and reflections. \u00a0Everything drops out momentarily to reveal just the original gleaming guitar only to be smashed by a wave of power chords and distortion pedals, the air fizzing to the surface in a wash of crash cymbals. \u00a0My thoughts drift into nostalgia, long gone faces and voices now run through my head. \u00a0The intertwined melodies blend back in with more persuasion. \u00a0Just when the swell becomes too much to take, they stop on a dime. \u00a0Stage is black, like we just blew the\u00a0circuit\u00a0breaker, and we are all left standing there by ourselves, in a room full of people.<\/p>\n

The 17-year delay did not affect the outcome, Explosions in the Sky held up to the weight of expectation. \u00a0They filled Bogart\u2019s to capacity and left the crowd reflective and satisfied. This band is a bit of an enigma, they don\u2019t fit neatly in any category. \u00a0Post-rock, indie, instrumental, ambient, cinematic, emotion inducing powerhouse, tonight Explosions in the Sky was a 5-piece meditation tool.<\/p>\n

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Explosions in the Sky<\/a>\u00a0played to a near capacity\u00a0Bogart\u2019s<\/a>\u00a0in Cincinnati, OH on 04.25.17.<\/p>\n

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