For Slideshow go to: http://www.flickr.com/2010domino
Ghostly soulful, rich vocals reverberated out through the sold out Troubadour show for The Airbourne Toxic Event last evening. ‘All I ever wanted’ warmed up the room. By ‘Book of Love’ 5 songs in, the intimate venue matched the eloquent heart felt song. After ‘Numb’ Singer/guitarist Mike Jollett said ‘So we have a record out today, sounded like I was fishing there, but we’re just a small band from LA playing all over the world’. He added how he just spent the ‘last 2 years of my life singing about my ex-girlfriend’. Painful thought. ‘All for a Woman’ sounds like a Irish limerick and as the set continues it’s obvious that the storytelling lyrics are the essence of the band. The mellow crowd started hopping to ‘Happiness’ and dropped back down to hawker mode unfortunately. The band had fun, which was obvious by their on stage antics for ‘gasoline’, they had a violen vs guitar moment, they body checking the equipment roadie who was fixing the mic, and just smiled and laughed more than any band I’ve ever have seen on stage. It’s all good fun which is sweet to witness at the level of success they have achieved. ‘Kids’ according to Jollett, raised the questions in European journalists to ask if they were ‘anti America’ and their response was they are ‘anti lying’. Agreeable concept, but the song seemed, at first, like a forced anthem, like an Indie version of ‘American Idiot’ because it rolled right into ‘Wedding Day’. Their hit song ‘Midnight’ blasted the crowd and really confirms the power this band can generate live. When Jollett said ‘Thank You’, it was the most appreciative moment of gratitude I’ve seen onstage in awhile. Encore ‘all at once’ has a funky surf punk vibe which rocked even though his guitar malfunctioned. He jumped in the crowd and sang ‘Moving On’ much to many fans delight. They turned ‘Misery’ into Springsteen’s ‘I’m on fire’ which sounded a bit country with the violen and sped up two step beat. They ended up the show with Johnny Cash’s ‘Folsom Prison Blues’ which added to the high energy of the night. Being somewhat judgemental of this band being a one hit wonder when I entered the show made me feel guilty as I left with a great appreciation for their diverse musical talents. It was also refreshing to see success worn so well and egos checked as Jollett hung out with fans post show, fresh off the stage. Though their songs gravitate towards anthems, they have a unique blend of songs that gives everyone a taster of damn good, powerful music with a story. Michele McManmon
