Lithium Magazine

Review and photos by Mike Bax

www.theairbornetoxicevent.com

This was one of those shows: One that sounded like it might be good on paper, and actually over-delivered on all of my expectations.

First off, let me say this: Any chance you get to see a band play in a church, don’t even think twice about it… Just go.  Seeing The Airborne Toxic Event at Trinity St. Paul's Church was something you shouldn'’t even think twice about. Getting to see them perform in a more stripped down fashion with the Calder Quartet (a four-piece string quartet) was an utter no-brainer.

Note: While the Cowboy Junkies have indeed performed at this very same church in the past, Trinity St. Paul's Church is not the infamous Church Of The Holy Trinity that the band recorded & performed their classic Trinity Session album in back in the eighties.

This evening’s performance was to be broken into two sets of forty minutes, separated by a twenty-minute intermission. There was no opening band.

There was a significant line-up of fans outside of Trinity St. Paul's Church 90 minutes before the doors opened as I walked past to the restaurant I was headed to for dinner. The EDGE 102.1 vehicle was parked in front of the band's tour bus, and EDGE interns were actively chatting up the crowd-in-waiting to help pass the time.

After getting into the venue, fans could take their sets on the main floor, or upstairs in the horseshoe-shaped balcony that surrounded the stage and provided for a clean view. The Calder Quartet took the stage at 8:30, and after a few minutes of 'String Quartet: II Assez Vif. Tres Rythme', the five members of The Airborne Toxic Event walked on stage, waving at their cheering fans, and launched immediately into ‘Wishing Well’.

Frontman Mikel Jollett added some anecdotes in between many of the songs throughout the evening. After introducing the Quartet, he chatted about touring with them: “We have to create charts and stuff to pull off these songs with them”. He then admitted that he is not a ‘chart person’ and that the quartet brought a level of credibility to the band, as they are real musicians.  He insinuated that he and his bandmates weren't worthy of their presence.

The third song into the evening was something new entitled ‘The Book Of Love’, a track Jollett said was “about being on tour for two solid years, and what that can do to you”. The song itself was lovely and bodes extremely well for The Airborne Toxic Event’s follow-up album, due out in about four months time.

The band wrapped up their first set of music with ‘Missy’.  Jollett piped up with: “It’s nice to be far away from home right now” just before the song really kicked in. Anna Bulbrook bashed her tambourine as she leaned on Steven Chen (working the keyboards) before she started bouncing around the stage – high heels and all. Halfway through ‘Missy’, the familiar notes of ‘I’m On Fire’ by Springsteen became prominent and filled out the middle portion of the song, with fans singing along in earnest.

For their second set of music, the band played ‘Happiness is Overrated’ and ‘Gasoline’ without the quartet, bringing them back out for the third of their set onwards. The third song of set two was a stellar rendition of William Garvey’s ‘Goodbye Horses’, a track made eerily famous in Silence Of The Lambs during the scene with Buffalo Bill dancing with his weiner tucked between his legs to creepy perfection. Suffice to say, the Airborne Toxic Event managed to deliver the song in a far more savoury fashion.

The second set of music deviated from the band's printed set list with the addition of ‘The Book Of Love’ by the Magnetic Fields mid-set and the encore of (what I think was entitled) ‘Duet’, the title track from their new album. Jollett was quite hushed when he said the title, and I couldn’t quite hear it from upstairs in the balcony.

Over the past two years, The Airborne Toxic Event’s self titled debut has remained in regular rotation on my iPod, growing ever more near and dear to my heart with every play. Seeing them perform in this intimate manner was a real treat indeed. The unique cover versions they played mixed in with b-sides and new material only enhanced the experience for the audience.

The band members were all hanging out by their tour bus posing for photos and signing albums and CDs for fans afterwards – a classy ending to a classy performance.