EITS Live

Well, I did it. We did it, really, the collective Vicki and me. After a four-hour drive to Burlington, VT, we saw Explosions in the Sky live. The venue was very similar to a poor man's House of Blues - an open dance floor-type ballroom with a couple of bars. Being some of the first fifteen or so people there (the hotel was a five-minute walk from the place), we actually made our way to the stage and decided we'd be in the front row for a while. So we were right up close and personal with the band for the first half of their set, and then decided to go to the back for the second half of the show. Here was their set:

• First Breath After Coma
• Catastrophe and the Cure
• The Only Moment We Were Alone
• Postcard From 1952
• Greet Death
• Your Hand In Mine
• Let Me Back In
• The Birth and Death of the Day
• The Moon is Down

It was a really good set that was taken from their four best albums, the transitions from song to song were always continuous (so it was 80 minutes straight of them playing), and they sounded REALLY good. Album quality, but you could see the effort it took to do what they did. Especially from the front row. One of the band members gave a quick intro at the beginning, and after 80 minutes, said thanks for coming, and that was that. No words in between, no pauses between songs...just music. A couple of years ago, it was a mere thought that I would see them, and I was plainly curious what a lyricless concert would be like. Since then, EITS has become such a huge part of my life, for whatever reason. Their music didn't save me from anything, they didn't reinvigorate my lifestyle....they're just a tremendous part of me. I realized this when I was searching my blog for mentions of them, and all of those posts have a serious tone to them. Whether I was talking about my own death, remembering my great aunt, listening to an album like I was reading a book, talking about what breaks you or makes you feel at home, or being afraid, I was listening to Explosions. If I had to pick any kind of music that gets to the crux of what life is, it would easily be this. I'm not sure why I'm still listening to music from Lost for my end-of-the-Stonehill-year blog posts; it should be EITS. I dunno...it's very clear to me that their music is super-important, and I had gone from "yeah, they'd be cool in concert" to "it is a need for me to see them." And now that I have, I just want to go back for more. For the time being, I can cross something off my nonexistent list of things I want to do. I feel as though being that close to them, and watching them play and put everything they had into every song, really tapped into me somewhere. It's definitely a feeling that won't go away...hell, my ears are still ringing, and this is over 36 hours after seeing them. Mega props to Vicki for getting these tickets. She deserves all the credit in the world for this, and there is nothing I can do to make her know how much I appreciate having been able to see these guys live. That sure as hell won't stop me from trying, but it's just nice to know that someone else can feel even a fraction of the love I do for EITS. And people do, don't get me wrong, but it was just a really special night. So special that I'm still without a title for this post...let's say that that's the point. This concert, despite what I've just written about it, has left me speechless. It's really something that I can't explain, and am not able to. You just had to be there.

3/4 of the band during "First Breath After Coma," their opener.