Usually when a show you went to was good you tend to realize that fact on your way home, talking to friends you were with and saying "yeah, it was an excellent show". I believe it's because in the moments when the music hits your ears and when your eyes feast on the stage, you overtly forget the fact that you will have an opinion about it later and you just enjoy the moment. But yesterday's experience was 180 degrees different. Maybe because I'm in a sensitive time on a personal level or because I generally like to think about the music I indulge in. Maybe. But then you think about it a bit more carefully and come to a conclusion that it's not you, that you could have been in the worst or the best mood, it matters not, for you have witnessed artists who detonated an emotionally charged bomb in front of you and you had nowhere to run. Then again, why would you?
The lines above probably made zero sense, since last night I was again introduced to the meaning of words "stunned" and "speechless". Until I get a grip on myself and get into the proper writing mood let's just take it the old fashioned way. The show was held yesterday evening (now actually the day before yesterday), 29th of July 2010 to be exact, in a venue named "REX" in Belgrade. Although the venue is in my hometown I never actually visited "REX" before and I have to say that I was quite impressed. It's quite a small place, but designed and decorated perfectly, reminding me a bit of the Student Cultural Center (SKC) in Belgrade. To make it even better, the room where the actual gig took place has excellent level of acoustic and the sound doesn't get splashed and deflected around, giving you superb sound quality during the show. The show was set to start in 9 pm and with a slight but tolerable delay of about half an hour it started around 9:30 pm.
As my friend and myself entered the venue I was kinda bummed at the extremely low number of people who attended, somewhere around 20 or so. "Adorno" and Eric were probably satisfied with even those low numbers, but it still justifies the fact that this type of music is not really common in my country. That, plus the retarded thing that a lot of people I know just don't like going to shows, they'd much rather listen to music at home. Whatever the reason it's a completely different subject, so I won't stray in that direction.
"Adorno" opened explosively and the first thing you notice is that instead of two, they played with three guitars. I haven't seen them live before, so I don't know how different it is compared to having just two guitar players, but this kind of band composition really adds something more. Even the gentlest songs from the "Said and Unsaid" release sound much more expanded, powerful and creatively layered. The most amazing thing is that despite the creative chaos bursting all around you, you still fully get to feel that specific, amazing vocal type, a literally soothing sound. If I remember correctly, all songs from "Said and Unsaid" were played, songs in which I'm very much in love with, so I got my share of singing along. During the early moments of the show, Joao (one of the guitar players) talked about how happy he is to be able to play with his friends and that in fact this show was their 100th gig. Heh, that really made me both happy that they celebrate it here with us and sad since they really deserve more people to hear their music. But there is also next time to correct past mistakes, right? At least the crowd was alive, not much dancing, but quite a lot of cheering and clapping.
As the show progressed "Adorno" played some of their older tunes with a bit of a heavier sound at moments sounding a bit post-rockish. This is where the 3 guitar combination really excelled. The sound radiating from the speakers was just gigantic and explosive, a behemoth literally crashing down and swallowing you without remorse. I stood there in the front row for those blissful half an hour or so and was quite shocked and stunned with what they threw at us, such emotionally infused music which I really had no idea I would experience at this level of amusement. I have to admit though, I am bad when it comes to knowledge of their older songs, especially the last song they played. I think (but I'm not so sure) that the last song was "Fetishized Facts" and the amount of pure epic proportions was unimaginable. The end was particularly impressive, when one by one they left the stage while the rest continued to play, the guitar players even leaving their instruments face-down on the ground which gave way to some unique sounds. I don't know what else to say about Adorno's part of the show other than that it was amazing beyond my thoughts.
After a little break and a visit to the merch section (yay for my new "Adorno" T), Eric Ayotte took the stage. Ok so, as the story goes on the interwebz, he is (and I quote) "the nicest man alive". And the only thing I'm gonna say to that "yes he is". Period. If the scientist of this world could improve the cloning program so that a mass production of this man could ensue and every household has one to have him sing and talk you to sleep I think that then the world would be a much better place. I have never heard such beautiful music, accompanied with an amazing humor enhanced talks with the audience, as well as meanings of the songs he plays...so amazing. The amount of smiles on my face during those thirty plus minutes surpassed all my good mood I amassed for the past few days before the show. Eric really managed to create a friendly and warm atmosphere, basically you have the feeling that he is playing in your living room instead of a club. My heart was quite full when my favorite song was played, namely "Bear You Are", but during the show I think I discovered a new music love in the form of the song "Fallujah". I heard the song before, but while it was played I was absolutely stunned by the amount of passion it radiated and during the song you really feel how the lyrics are sad and heavy. At the end, the crowd didn't let Eric go so easily, so we got a bonus song.
After the show I walked away with my friend and even before it was mentioned in the upcoming conversation I realized that I already knew what to say and how my opinion on the show looked like. It was probably the first time in my life that a show review was literally writing itself in my head without the thought-hibernation time, every step away from the venue a letter on a page. It's so amazing to witness how music can pull together such talented, passionate and nice people, no wonder you walk away inspired and with a heart filled with joy. In the end I would just like to thank Joao for being quite friendly and taking a few moments to talk to my friend and me and for actually being a follower of my blog. And of course, thanks to anyone who managed to organize this event and bring these great artists to Belgrade, this has the potential to be the best show this year.
No comments:
Post a Comment