>>if only i could play drums
Posted by The Wardrobe Planner on January 31, 2008
My innate love for drums was largely fulfilled yesterday night, when I found myself at London Astoria standing right before the stage, and witnessing the wonders this guy can do with the instrument.
The guy is Chris Hrasky, drummer of American instrumental post-rock band Explosions In The Sky.
Their music is an inspiring mix of narrative guitar melodies and powerful drums, that usually starts off with delicate and evocative airs and escalates into elating crescendos and, ultimately, veritable drum explosions that well reflect the band’s name.
Explosions are renowned for their emotional live performances, and lived up to their fame last night. I was lucky enough to be standing right in front of them, and have full sight of their, at times, well coreographed act – when coreography comes out of three guys blasting in uniform movement on their guitars with amazing intensity, and the drummer at the back adding momentum, until the vibrations of rhythm coming out of the huge speakers would be felt like waves right through your chest. Good job they managed not to blast one of their amplifiers like they did last year.
For those who missed them last night, they are touring around the UK for a short while, and will be back in May for the ATP Festival in Somerset, which they are curating. The lineup for the three-days event is excellent, and luckily I’ve already secured my ticket there.
A special note for yesterday’s supporting act, Eluvium. Although his pieces were not quite as powerful as Explosions’ (we did feel the one thing missing was exactly drums), the melodies were catching like lullabies, and the technique of live-sampling riffs and then looping them via a computer produced slight and slow crescendos that conveyed a soft and peaceful emotional transport. He will be playing at ATP as well, and will be one of many absolutely not to be missed.
