Bubbles & Bullets...

I had the chance to see Explosion in the Sky last night at St. Andrews Hall in Detroit. Seeing (& hearing) this band is a bit like watching an approaching storm...first you are hit with a slight breeze, that builds steadily...distant thunder, darkness creeps in and surrounds you, lightning strikes and the action begins. Explosions in the Sky have an amazing ability to offer up the soft, subtle and delicate that make all feel peaceful (the bubbles) and then deliver some of the hardest, most aggressive and destructive beats that feels like machine gun fire ripping up the venue (the bullets). Instrumental bands are a difficult experience to summarize, as the music hits everybody in a different way, but this band seems to play with one pulse, one brain and one central nervous system...this is not an exercise in experimental noise...this feels like a living organism that is quite a sight when you see it live. In mere moments, you are taken from inner peace and a feeling of floating to an assault on your eardrums, led by a phenomenal drummer who can play the hell out of a drum kit with a rhythm that seems to be the glue that holds it all together.

Here is an interesting time lapse clip on YouTube that someone set to this amazing music style...somehow it captures what this band is about.


And check out this great Screenprint poster that the good folks at Madhouse created (designed by Alana)...they sold really well at the show. Spend some time on the Madhouse site...all kinds of interesting stuff going on there.