Explosions in the Sky with Lichens
4/1/08
Congress Theater in Chicago
The genre of post rock has always been a curious one… It’s almost as if it implies that rock music has disappeared off of the face of the Earth. I always feel like I’ve missed some catastrophic event, as if I was in a coma the day the aliens came and informed every man and woman playing a guitar “Rock is over. Now, begin the next stage of your life!” Explosions in the Sky have often been labeled with the post rock moniker and it feels ill fitting to me. For example, though they are not by any means a standard rock band, their guitar playing builds and intensifies throughout many of their songs as the very name of the band suggests. It’s not exactly rock music but it has its roots based in the genre. Perhaps, it just uses some of this and can take it farther. It would be fair to call the band experimental and instrumental. They are also incredibly creative in their use of musical frameworks that develop over the course of each song. Though it’s not a specific genre, I’d also call them experiential because it’s the sort of music that fills you up and, at its best, takes away the emptiness inside.
I’ve always been fascinated with the idea of a universal language. I’m not talking about something specific like English, French, or Italian, here, either. I’m talking about what I think instrumental bands like Explosions in the Sky have the ability to do, which is to bridge a gap between two people who can have a shared experience through music that doesn’t relate to specific lyrics. In some ways, though I’m particularly fond of so many bands that use lyrics well, it’s more of a challenge to find those commonalities between people and place then in a musical equation that can be experienced by both.
To backtrack, Explosions in the Sky is a four piece band based in Austin, Texas who use primarily guitars to achieve their message (with some drum and bass as well). They have four studio albums and an EP to their credit and they put on a really accomplished live set. Playing a little over and hour, it somehow felt right when they didn’t play an encore even when the audience begged for more. Even more importantly than what seems like mere logistics is how much more effective the band is at reaching the audience and a diverse crowd than other instrumental bands, like Ratatat for instance. Instead of aiming to impress the crowd, Explosions in the Sky show the crowd their insides and allow the people present to come along for that ride. It’s such a different thing altogether. It’s like being a child at the beach, picking up a shell, and what you hear inside is all your lost memories instead of emptiness and air.
Lichens AKA Rob Lowe proved to be a perfect opener for Explosions in the Sky. I’ve seen Lichens before a couple of times and each time I’ve found the experience to be incredibly ethereal. It’s almost like the music is the Earth. Sometimes, it cries out and sometimes it groans while spinning on its precarious axis. At other times, the Earth is singing and praying to us from within. If you’re really listening to Lowe perform, you may find it impossible not to tremble.