Toxicity 47

Steven Chen of The Airborne Toxic Event breaks in a new axe at The Fillmore. Photo by Elva, Sept. 18, 2014.

By Glen

We’re now two weeks into The Airborne Toxic Event’s fall tour, and fan reviews are positively giddy in their praise. Many who have seen the group perform three, four, a dozen, even twenty-plus times are saying that this is the best they’ve ever been. The band is tight, the new tunes electrifying, the rarities like the rediscovery of old friends long lost, and the stage show a cut above anything TATE has put on in the past – and that’s really saying something.

The only disappointment, as one who catalogs the band’s media coverage, is the relative dearth thereof. Apart from the interview that Mikel Jollett did with Yahoo to promote their live stream, there hasn’t been a single feature article published as the fivesome has made their way across the southern states. Proper show reviews have been few and far between – but fear not; we’ve got you covered in that regard, with eight gig reviews coming your way in the next four weeks, including six of the next seven dates on the docket. This is one time that it’s good to have This Is Nowhere’s writing staff scattered hither and yon.

#TATEnoon

The big news of the week is actually about 2.5 hours from breaking at the time this post was published. The Airborne Toxic Event caused a stir last night when they alerted fans that they will be announcing some big news today at noon ET. Based on some things that were said from the stage last night in DC and last weekend in Atlanta, we have a pretty good guess what the news is… but you can wait a couple more hours to find out, right??? Stay by your screens!

Strike a Pose

Various members of the band posted photos Wednesday from something that looks an awful lot like a photo or video shoot for the new album. What do you think?

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A post shared by Anna Bulbrook (@annabulbrook)

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A post shared by Anna Bulbrook (@annabulbrook)

4 TATErs on their dope machines:

http://instagram.com/p/tn746OysVp/

Sometimes people ask us what we do on our days off… pic.twitter.com/Yn0hsCC8bT

— Airborne Toxic Event (@Airborne_Toxic) October 2, 2014

2nd Denver Show Confirmed

This week brought us the official announcement of a second show in Denver, Nov. 7 at Ogden Theatre. The tour poster and t-shirts had already spoiled that this was coming, but it’s good to have confirmation nonetheless. The pre-sale is on now.

Tour Round-Up

Looking ahead, Axs.com published a brief preview of Tuesday’s New York appearance. Nothing new to report, though it’s heartening to find Adrian Rodriguez mentioned, in contrast to the many media outlets which haven’t yet caught on to the roster change.

Starting with the most recent show and working backwards, here’s what we’ve been able to dig up with regards to coverage of Airborne’s engagements of late:

• Flickr user mich40u2 posted a nice photo gallery from Atlanta.

• NolaVie posted a short but sweet review of the New Orleans gig, noting,

While playing for a small crowd, The Airborne Toxic Event performed from an eclectically lit stage with a giant bird statue serving as a backdrop — elements that ultimately produced an intimate setting — with the band personally thanking the attending fans for their continued support. The band’s set was comprised of material from all three of the band’s studio albums, as well as one new song and the anthem they wrote for last year’s Dallas Buyers Club — all of which showcased the multi-instrumental talents of the band, while the moody light show reinforced the dark overtones of the material at hand.

• The Austin concert got some love from The Horn. Calling the performance “an old-school celebration intended for the fiercely faithful” (an apt description of this entire tour), reviewer David Hall astutely points out that:

Whenever a band decides to tour just for the sake of touring – not to specifically promote a new body of work – there’s always the potential to witness some exceptionally cool shit. Deep cuts, covers, untested new material – all of those are distinct possibilities in this sort of scenario. In the case of Airborne Toxic Event’s Friday night headlining turn at Stubb’s, core fans were rewarded with all of the above during a spirited – and sometimes punk-ishly rowdy – unrestrained dance party.

• Austin was also captured by photographer Jenna Million, in a sublime collection that shows the stage in a different light than we’ve seen thus far. Soundcheck Magazine also published a well-stocked gallery.
• This Is Nowhere contributor Stephanie Webb had her excellent, comprehensive review of the Fillmore residency published by ALTsounds.
• And finally, we’ll go back in time yet again to Rifflandia Festival, for a peek at TATE through the lens of Darren Ho.

Toxic Gold

For this week’s gold, we return to The Fillmore for another rarity, courtesy of Julie: “It Doesn’t Mean a Thing” – a song that made another appearance last week in the Austin encore.

Glen is the founder and editor of This Is Nowhere. He’s grateful for an understanding wife and kids who indulge his silly compulsion to chase a band all over the Pacific Northwest (and occasionally beyond) every time the opportunity arises.