Explosions in the Sky

Let's start with the fact that I came in 40 minutes before the opening of the Roxy, did not expect, but in front of me stood 40 bodies, I met a friend from Russia, which left at the end, during this time i could see the bus for group and transport equipment. Czech warm-up appeared, they started playing music in the post-rock genre with psychedelic vocals in some moments, it is not surprising to me. After an hour they said goodbye, got good applause, and the time of waiting, when the first not much goes their chief technician and part of their main Rowdy and begins to check the equipment with other techniques, all of course professionally and very quickly. Well, that's the time when the band takes the stage smoothly, fly obligatory applause in length to the first composition, they are starting to make a re-review of its instruments, the setting, the group makes a lot of preparations before the concert, so the first few minutes of an organized moment. Traditionally Munaf says something on the language of the country where they stand, but he says that the Czech complicated language and could not understand it, in other matters, I understand it. When they played the first notes of Wilderness, I have as much goose bumps, next I'll be a little philosophize, Catastrophe, which is just awakened and opened the accumulated rage and let it go, it was very relaxed and easy on the soul. Greet Death, oh, it is simply a positive aggression that tells you "do in the life what you want and do not listen to anyone," a third-minute begins incredibly beautiful ambient instrumental that made me open it on a new, and love. Ecstatics returns positive energy and gives the mind a rest, First Breath After Coma, for me it is something more because combines motivation, struggle with himself, however this is not true obsession. Under The Birth and the Death I just withdrew into himself,i closed eyes, I had so many bright colors, sensations, I just enjoyed it. With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, for me it has always been a kind and difficult, but on a ninth minute waiting for a very nice surprise melancholic. Here eits acted very cleverly, Colors in Space, is perhaps the most relaxing for me, and it is smart because it really gives time to relax before two very beautiful and emotional creatures. I knew every song from the set list so it was very easy to listen and anticipate each note, it was clean, no bugs, traveled of delays, lost fingers on the other trouble, smooth, even too much, all perfectly trained. By tradition, the last 3 of the track: Your Hand in Mine, on something bracing, in my case it Disintegration Anxiety, to be prepared for a rather emotional and, in my opinion, with respect to the best The Only Moment We Were Alone, which may seem incredible if you listen to it several times.
At the last note Munaf effectively cut down the light, the rest of the band left to applause. That's all, my hands were given automatic applause for 5 minutes, as well as everyone do.

Where, so often, post-rock live shows can represent exercises in overblown self-indulgence, Explosions in the Sky do their best to bring things back to basics. The Texans tick all of the right boxes for instrumental rock; setlist staple ‘The Only Moment We Were Alone’ has the exhilarating, sudden jumps between loud and quiet guitars covered, whilst cuts from latest record Take Care, Take Care, Take Care - such as the gorgeous ‘Postcard from 1952’ - have delicacy and nuance covered, too. They seem to have fallen into the positive habit of avoiding most of the obvious post-rock pitfalls, too; their sets tend to run to around the ninety minute mark, relatively pithy for their genre, and there’s no paranoid over-reliance on garish visuals to somehow make up for the lack of a frontman - the Texan state flag draped over an amp is about as showy as the spectacle usually gets. They’re living proof that instrumental music can be life-affirming without resorting to melodrama, and genuinely evocative without needing to be overly dark; with a seventh studio album surely not too far away now, it shouldn’t be long before a protracted UK absence is brought noisily to an end.

The post rock quartet Explosions In the Sky have been touring for over fifteen years and in this time they have become masterful instrumentalists due to the ability to continuously tweak and develop a live show whilst constantly testing out new material and differentiation with the baying crowds that continue to flock to their stage.

Despite having recently took off commercially in the US, they are still considered an acquired taste in the UK yet their latest tour could have easily turned around even the most skeptical of critic. Beginning with a celestial, dreamy 'Postcard From 1952' the band briskly gets to work proving exactly why they have garnered such critical acclaim.

The audience is instantly transfixed beneath the hazy multicoloured smoke as the band weave tales through their riffs and percussion. The poignancy of the vocal found on 'Catastrophe and the Cure' is chilling and by the finale of 'The Moon Is Down' the crowd is so secure and comfortable within the ethereal, majestic world of Explosions In the Sky it makes reality seem somewhat of a disappointment.

I've been lucky this summer. I've seen Explosions In The Sky twice. Thankfully, one of those shows was at a venue with a decent sound system. Or a decent sound guy. Or both.

Sadly, last night's show was a disappointment based purely on the sound. The visuals, marrying the amazing, emotive soundscapes with such atmospheric lighting creates a wildly impressive experience which worked in the Academy as well as at a much smaller venue earlier on this tour.

What really disappointed was the quality of sound coming from the stacks at the numerous drops, either screeching with feedback and little else or filling the room with the dull thud of the bass and low-range drums. I left well before the end, disappointed that a band with such captivating music failed to truly excite a partisan crowd.

Surely I wasn't the only one to feel sorry for both the band and the crowd who'd made as much effort to be there as the five guys on stage? The connection was clearly there, just not through the sound.

When I discovered Explosions in the Sky I was at least 15 years old and I was very impressed by the feelings they gave me when listening to their music, 15 years later the feeling is still alive and seeing them live has been, personally, one of the experiences most rewarding of my life, for the long wait, for the reward. The sound was beautiful, as far as they are concerned, its performance was impeccable (maybe the sound of the room was not the most appropriate but let's say that in terms of quality we give it 85%). Each passage of the concert has been magical and unforgettable. Many thanks to Explosions in the Sky for reviving me once again.

This was one of the very best live shows I have ever seen. The band hardly talks at all--they just show up and play with feeling. They didn't miss a single note, and the audience gets a chance to see how some of the more creative sounds are made (i.e., Munaf Rayani letting the reverberations from the different amps play the strings of his guitar). The music only stops when silence is the appropriate sound; the rest of the show is nonstop, one song bleeding over into the next. The synchronized lighting was true art. The band's capacity for putting 100% of their emotion into each song was amazing to see.

It's been a long 5 years since I've seen them and wasn't sure what to expect. I didn't think they could get any better than the last time I saw them live, but I was wrong. It was an Amazing show at Terminal 5. They've added another musician to the live act, which I was not aware of before the show. Originally wasn't crazy about the newest album, but I grew on me and after seeing 4 of the new songs performed live, I am now a huge fan of the new album. Setlist available at:
http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/explosions-in-the-sky/2016/terminal-5-new-york-ny-bfde93e.html

The venue is really nice and the performance was flawless. It was done in a way where one song blends with the next.

Acoustics of the Fox Theater suck for loud concerts though, the reverb was making it sound very busy at times and the subtleties of the new album's glitches and electronics were mostly gone.

As for the band, they not only don't have lyrics, they also don't speak to the audience at all. And there's no encores. So that was unusual.

All in all though, we enjoyed the concert a lot.

Incredible and moving. They played a continuous set for over 90 minutes, seamlessly bridging each song. It was a sonic opera/opus. I've never had a concert experience like it before. They gave a true gift to the audience, and as I was watching I had the repeated thought, "Thank God for artists!" Restored my faith that there are really good people in this nation even if crooks, liars and power-hungry scum dominate our media, corporations and politics.

Seeing EitS live compared to listening to them on a home setup is a completely different experience - their concert could best be described as a living wall of noise, with almost no let-up between tracks. A stunning lightshow further adds to the intensity of the experience.

My main gripe would be that they didn't play Your Hand In Mine live, which was heartbreaking as it was the deciding factor in making me buy tickets to go see them.