Explosions in the Sky gig review

By Chris Chew

Rating: 7/10

Malaysians who bemoan their country’s lackadaisical concert scene tend to fall into two sets:

1. Those who despise most things Malaysian
2. Those who have lousy music tastes.

Yes, there are also those who simply don’t care about music, and others who can’t afford the admission fee. But by and large, anyone who has been traversing the circuit for the past 10 years or so would realise that the days where a typical year might produce less than two or three platinum-sized, musically acclaimed acts are slowly disintegrating, steadily being subverted by an era of increasing choice. So while it ain’t yet Coachella 24-7-365, it ain’t Kuala Kubu Bharu either.

And in this bubbling context, the arrival of America’s post-rock icons, Explosions in the Sky (EitS), to Kuala Lumpur—their only other Asian stop besides Taiwan on the current tour—marked another notch in the ever-bulging vat of shows that Malaysians can boast to have seen. Soundscape Records played organiser, Ruums Club played venue host, and Malaysia’s indierati played starry-eyed consumer of all things cinematic.

The stage design consisted of an LED board that hung above the intimate set up, displaying the band name in lit-up letters. It was plainer than Calamity Jane, and the band’s layman appeal became even more evident the moment they appeared. No dimmed lights, no trippy video montage, no faux-accented MC squealing “ARE YOU READDDDYYYYYY!!!”. Just four guys strolling up to their instruments right on the dot of 9pm, while some in the crowd were still ordering their drinks at the bar. The screams were instantaneous, and incessant; the Texans looked bemused over the unanimous fawning of the 1,000-plus before them. “Hello,” said guitarist Munaf Rayani simply, with the nonchalance of a college band doing its regular Friday evening slot at the campus bar. As the other three assumed positions—Mark Smith on the other guitar, Michael James on bass (which he would frequently switch between that and more guitars), and Chris Hrasky on drums—Rayani was asked to stall time to let others come in. He willingly obliged, using the extra time “to practise my Malay”. Helped by a scrap piece of paper, he said good evening, thanked the crowd, and introduced his ditzy little band as “Letupan di Langit”.

That was the end of words, and the beginning of euphoria. ‘First Breath After Coma’ launched into its opening twinkles, and the quick-picked, slow-burning passages that followed. The band’s controlled, articulate construction of its dense sound is truly a thing of wonder; a reverb-drenched base melody built by Smith, harmonised with melodic counterpoints courtesy of Rayani, anchored by James’ unobstrusive bass work and cocooned in Hrasky’s kingdom-sized drumming. Dynamics elevate, guitars resonate, bodies gyrate. Then everything subsides, and the twinkles re-enter. Then feedback, looped through a stomp box, while the band sets up for the next song.

It was certainly less mechanical than described, but the EitS live experience does take some adapting to. For one, with zero—read: zero—banter from start to finish, you’re left to succumb to the theology of purism; it’s all about the music, sure, but that’s because the music is all there is. On top of that, distinguishing one song from another can prove to be quite a task; the band decide their set list minutes before going on, and each song segues into the other, with the intervals bathed in washes of feedback or droning guitars—a sonic template not unlike that found in the songs themselves. And while EitS are certainly reputed for their epic, crashing passages and melodic sensibilities, it would be far-reaching for even the most fanatic Explosionite to suggest that seamless hookery occurs through every single song. In spurts, the band falls short of the consistent melodic acumen of genremates and co-heavyweights Sigur Ros, or the voluminous proportions of Mogwai, and constantly run the risk of colliding into convenient comparisons.

Yet much of the aforementioned gripes cannot supersede the band’s trump card: a shameless passion for their craft. With anguish bleeding from their amps, EitS barrelled forth with a spectacular level of intensity that would be impossible to reenact in any other artificial setting. Such was their belief in the wordless transcendence of the tunes that very little else needed to be communicated beyond such primal passion. Both James and Rayani frequently collapsed to their knees, with Rayani particularly overwhelmed at times to the point of seeming exhaustion, only for him to reenter with a new riff (or, in the case of ‘Yasmin the Light’, a simulated heartbeat). At the peak of the evening, ‘Memorial’ and its Middle Eastern lick soon gave way to a stunning roar of synchronised accents by all three axemen, each one raising their instrument and ramming their fists against it in mystical, spellbinding union.

To many in the audience, there was little wrong that could be done. ‘Your Hand in Mine’ predictably received the loudest cheers, while ‘The Moon Is Down’ found new breath when Rayani dropped his guitar play to a militant beat on a snare to accompany Hrasky. Set closer ‘The Only Moment We’re Alone’ found the band arriving at the apex of all their faculties, culminating in Rayani and James jumping onto their pedals in one abrupt, succinct full stop. The subsequent roar from the crowd was hysterical, and deserving, yet despite pleas from the crowd, the band declined an encore. “We poured our heart and soul into that,” said Rayani, “so if we came out and did it again, it just wouldn’t be the same”. He couldn’t have been more spot on. Very little could be the same anymore.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY LIVE IN KL

Date
19 February 2008

Venue
Ruums Club, KL

Set List

1. First Breath After Coma
2. Welcome, Ghosts
3. With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept
4. A Song For Our Fathers
5. Greet Death
6. Your Hand In Mine
7. Memorial
8. Yasmin the Light
9. Catastrophe and the Cure
10. The Only Moment We Were Alone