Oh, I'm Such A Bore!: An Airborne Toxic Event Review

Oh, I'm Such A Bore!: An Airborne Toxic Event Review

I haven’t written a real entry in a long while. College and work and personal issues have bombarded me and left me with no real time to contemplate a lot. I’m finally writing again for two reasons:

1. I have finally been inspired. Took me long enough, Jeebus.
2. Many people have forced me to write again. I’m glad I have a bit of a fan base.

Usually I mention how I feel about shows. I know I’ve definitely been to a few great ones this year. I kid you not; the show I went to last night was absolute madness. It reminded me of why I started to love music in the first place, and why I secretly want to be a front [wo]man in a truly great band.

The main band in this truly triumphant night was The Airborne Toxic Event. Aside from having their one ‘major’ single/video “Sometime Around Midnight” looping on VH1 earlier this year, they’re not really widely known to the public. T.A.T.E. was highlighted in Rolling Stone in 2006 as one of the Top 25 bands on MySpace, and was one of the breakout acts at the CMJ Music Festival in 2006 and 2007. Nowadays they are known for being one of L.A.’s biggest rock acts, and their popularity is starting to become widespread. Their two shows at Webster Hall were sold out, so it’s obvious New York loves them. Luckily, my friend Chaz and I managed to get right up front and center, which will lead to many benefits during the night.

The first opening act, Red Cortez, instantly drew me into their work. Their overall sound reminds me strongly of an Americanized Razorlight with frontman Harley Prectel-Cortez having vocals resembling Arctic Monkeys’ Alex Turner. So, I guess they’re a better version of a lot of British rock bands. Their material is definitely worth checking out, but that wasn’t the most memorable part of their performance. At the end of their set, Harley takes off his All-Access pass and hands it to me, then does a writing gesture on his hand. I assume I was supposed to give him my number? I wouldn’t know. I didn’t have a pen on me, anyway. Flattering, though. I’m glad I’m lead singer material.

The Henry Clay People came on next, and they were just as great as Red Cortez. I knew I heard one of their songs around before, and I just realized this morning that one of their songs was featured on an episode of Gossip Girl. Go figure. They come on stage and they’re probably the nerdiest looking band I’ve seen in a while. However, the men can really rock out in their plaid. While their music was quality, they were really good due to the fact that they were just having a good time on stage. They also did a spectacular cover of Mott the Hoople’s “All The Young Dudes” with Red Cortez. Chaz called that someone would sing that song during the night, so I was amazed that that actually happened. Good taste, men, good taste.

Sometime around 9:15, The Airborne Toxic Event strutted on stage, and their confidence showed both in appearance and performance. The quintet, composed of vocalist Mikel Jollett, guitarist Steven Chen, bassist Noah Harmon, drummer with an impressive ‘stache Daren Taylor, and cutely dressed violinist/tambourinist Anna Bulbrook, had a set list that included all of their songs from their self-titled debut, along with some brand new untitled songs. As if I couldn’t love these guys more, it turned out that T.A.T.E. sounds a lot better live. Jollett’s vocals are extremely rich and unique, which some people may not like. Despite his youngish age (34), he is an old soul who seems to have been through a lot. Harmon’s bass skills are beyond skilled to the point where he could effortlessly play with a violin bow. As the sole female on stage all night, Bulbrook stood out with her ability to effortlessly play the violin while rocking out with the bad boys.

I didn’t think my night would get better than it was, but it did when Jollett sat a foot away from me to play acoustically. Literally, I was at the point where I could touch his guitar without moving my arm. He played two songs, an untitled new joint and “Wishing Well”, which was absolutely beautiful. The rest of their set list was done flawlessly, particularly my favorite song from them, “Papillon”. Their encore set was absolutely sick. They started with “Happiness Is Overrated” and ended with a long edition of “Missy”. However, sandwiched in between the two was a punk classic by the late Jim Carroll, “People Who Died”. Red Cortez and The Harry Clay People joined them on stage for this, and a riot ensued. Heineken and expensive Jameson was sprayed on band mates and into the crowd (I ended up smelling like cheap white trash when I got out of the venue and had to ride the subway back to my apartment) and Jollett jumped on the barricade right in front of me so he could get close to the audience. I’m happy to report that I did get to touch the sexiness that is he. Oh, also, the video is posted below, courtesy of Chaz.

Concerts like this don’t happen too often. Hell, quintessential New York nights like this don’t happen this often. I’m proud to say that I’ve had a true memorable musical night. I highly doubt that never again will I earn a backstage pass without trying or get drenched in expensive liquor for a long while. All that I know for sure is that this topped the night where I moshed with P. Diddy.