As Aftermath closed our eyes to take in the moment, Makino's gorgeous voice softly pulled us through the movement with grace and delicacy. The lyrics, often pouring forth phrases and cryptic metaphors similar to beloved poetry, were executed like a soft whisper a lover speaks into your ear.
It's not that her voice is groundbreaking, or that Blonde Redhead's sound is gut-wrenching. It's the way the elements speak to those inner parts of your mind and heart that only certain music and feelings reach. It's the soundscape of unforgotten moments.
Classic tracks such as "In Particular," "Dr.Strangelove" and "Spring and By Summer Fall" that transport you to the time you played those songs at times of daily escapes. These well-loved tracks sprinkled throughout the show mostly came from one of the band's most popular albums, 23 (though "Particular" is from Melody of Certain Damaged Lemons). Both these tracks and the songs from Sparkle translated well live, allowing us to experience the waves of sound in a new way.
As in the lyrics of "Spring and By Summer Fall" that state 'Clashing lies chasing changing minds/ Tell me what you've seen, tell me where you've gone/ Tell me where you've been, tell me what you saw," audience members will be able to recount the times they spun the band's recordings along with how they experienced the sound live.
Even more unusual these days in music, they will probably be able to tell you how they felt. Blonde Redhead's musical offering gave us a deep canyon of sound that we were able to dive into, able to take in all the echoes of their beautiful sounds... and we thank them for that.
Personal Bias: Aftermath treasures shows where the audience actually pays attention to the music, and shows where musically we are taken to a different place.
The Crowd: Ceeplus Bad Knives, and members of several major Houston bands - Peekaboo Theory, Prairie Cadets, The Tontons and Tyagaraja, along with die-hard fans and those hearing the band for the first time because they were told not to miss it.
Overheard in the Crowd: "The bass is so low and so loud I can feel it shaking my heart!"
Random Notebook Dump: Major kudos to the Warehouse Live lighting team. The colors and changes fit the eerie yet captivating mood perfectly.
