Explosions in the Sky @ Orpheum Theatre -- September 23, 2024

Last year, Explosions in the Sky put out their eighth studio album, End (quickly clarifying it was just a thematic name, not the end of the band) and now they’re finally on the Canadian + PNW leg of their tour, as they hit the Orpheum in Vancouver.

Opening the night was Vancouver band Dead Soft, and it’s always fun to see local bands opening for shows like this, especially because I don’t think they were on the rest of the tour. The trio played a solid set of grungy songs like the frantic “Step Out”, and though there wasn’t much banter between songs, they did make sure to mention how honoured they were to be playing the Orpheum for the first time.

Which was a sentiment shared by Explosions in the Sky. As smoke filled the stage and Austin, Texas band came out, Munaf Rayani took the mic for an introduction, in awe at the beautiful theatre they hadn’t played before either, and hoping we didn’t have too much reverence for the place that we wouldn’t cheer and holler.

And those were the last words on mic for nearly an hour and a half, as a familiar heartbeat reverberated around the theatre and the band launched in to “First Breath After Coma”. From there, they wove through their intense post-rock catalogue, as lengthy songs transitioned seamlessly into another, the band barely taking a break between each. Sometimes the only indication of a new song was the shifting in lights, which played a huge part of the atmosphere in the show; the stage was constantly filled with smoke as the minimal lights created an ethereal scene.

Keeping their promise from the top of the set, the crowd cheered at every crescendo and climax, every hushed moment after a clattering of drum and driving guitar, and especially when a favourite came up, like the gorgeous “Your Hand in Mine”. Other highlights included the driving beat of “Loved Ones” and the huge finish to “Magic Hours”. The lights turned a harsh red for the chaotic and chilling “The Fight”, before they ended the set with “The Only Moment We Were Alone” — the bass drum kicking in so hard there were audible gasps, as the ten minute epic built to a massive and cathartic finish.

Rayani thanked everyone profusely for coming, and the band took their leave to a standing ovation. There was no need for an encore, as I can’t imagine anyone in the audience wasn’t emotionally spent.

I’ve seen Explosions in the Sky a few times now, and I am constantly amazed by their live show. Without a single word, and rarely moving above a sway, the band still had the entire theatre absolutely rapt, and evoke more emotion with their instrumental songs than many bands I’ve seen do with lyrics. On more than one occasion, I felt a huge smile involuntarily creep across my face, or a tear in my eye, as they have the uncanny knack of making their songs somehow simultaneously apocalyptic and hopeful. It may be the End, but everything is going to be okay.

setlist
First Breath After Coma
The Birth and Death of the Day
Loved Ones
Yasmin the Light
Peace or Quiet
Magic Hours
Your Hand in Mine
The Fight
The Only Moment We Were Alone

Explosions in the Sky @ Commodore -- 09/04/16

Five years ago (almost exactly five years ago, actually) was the first time I saw Explosions in the Sky live, and to this day I would count it among one of the best shows I have ever seen. So when the band announced a Vancouver show on their current tour, in support of their latest album The Wilderness, I knew there was no way I was going to miss it. They were playing a pair of shows at the Commodore Ballroom, the first of which was sold out.  

Unfortunately I was delayed getting in, so I missed the opener Only Wolf, getting inside the venue as he was leaving the stage. But it wasn't long after that before the Austin, Texas five piece took the stage, Munaf Rayani stepping up to the sole microphone and thanking us for coming, before they launched into the music, not saying another word until the show was over. 
Their set was an hour and a half of a post-rock symphony, with songs seamlessly flowing into one another, the explosive peaks and the simmering lows of each song barely giving the audience time to catch their breaths. They evoked intense emotions without a single lyric sung, and had the sold out room hanging on their every note; no easy feat for an instrumental band.

I also wanted to talk about the lighting, because I feel it played an integral part of the atmosphere to the show. When they began, they were backlit, just silhouetted among the fog, and as the show went on the lights pulsed and faded along with the music, a row of lights surrounded the band, pointing straight up through the ample smoke; just enough to make it moody, not too much you couldn't see. The lights danced around the band, at one point even shimmering like the Aurora Borealis, and combined with the fog catching the lights it created an almost otherworldly feel, a perfect mood to match their music. 

Throughout the set they played mostly from their new album, starting off with the opening track, "Wilderness", and my current favourite "Logic of a Dream" being a highlight part way through the set. Older tunes were peppered in as well, with "The Birth and Death of the Day" and "Greet Death". The hour and a half flew by like nothing before they closed with "The Only Moment We Were Alone" from the album The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place, and as the song fading down to near-death, the band was once more silhouetted in blue smoke, before erupting into an intense wail of guitars and cacophony of drums, somehow managing to top the intensity of the last hour, culminating with an ending that involuntarily made me actually exclaim, out loud, "Holy shit!" as soon as they finished. 

And clearly the rest of the Commodore felt the same, as there was thunderous cheers when Rayani once more stepped up to the microphone, thanked us again for coming, hoping he'd see us again the next night, for their second of two shows, as people chanted for one more song. But to be honest, it was pretty much the perfect ending and I was more than content than they left it there.

setlist
Wilderness
Catastrophe and the Cure
The Ecstatics
Greet Death
Logic of a Dream
The Birth and Death of the Day
With Tired Eyes, Tired Minds, Tired Souls, We Slept
Colors in Space
Your Hand in Mine
Disintegration Anxiety
The Only Moment We Were Alone

Explosions In The Sky @ Vogue -- 09/09/11

I (as I am sure most do) have a list of bands I have not yet seen live, and need to. I had the fortune of seeing one of the top three bands on that list earlier this year when My Morning Jacket came through town, and now I have been able to cross off a second from that top three at the Vogue last night. I had heard tale and seen clips of Explosions In The Sky live, and so when they announced a Vancouver date on their latest tour, I knew there would be no power in the 'verse that could stop me from going.

First though, opening the show was Twin Sister from New York, and the best way to describe them would be if Björk covered the 80s. The entire decade. The lead singer had a very similar voice -- but much less... shrill -- and the songs were loaded with synth, with kind of a chillwave-indie pop sound to them. The songs were quite catchy, though, and the band had a pretty good stage presence and energy, joking about the "smoke machine" in the crowd and bantering with some of the people up front. Their set seemed to drag on a little toward the end, but was ultimately pretty enjoyable.

Then a little after 10, Explosions In The Sky hit the stage with Munaf Rayani taking the sole microphone to thank the crowd profusely for coming, and especially for selling out the Vogue since it was only their second time in Vancouver. They would be the only words spoken until the end of the set when he thanked us again, as the five of them started off with an older song, "Greet Death", which began softly before bursting forth with an intensity completely unparalleled. With the stage dimly lit -- back lighting for most of the set -- they poured through their instrumental post-rock songs nearing ten minutes in length, transitioning from one to the next seamlessly, with only the briefest moments of calm to catch your breath before more cacophonous crescendos of wailing guitars and crashing drums.

It can be hard, sometimes, for an instrumental band to capture an audience, but even though there wasn't a single word said during their performance, they had each person completely hanging off every note. It was astounding, the scope of epic sound that only five members can make, but it probably helps to have three guitar players.

Most of the songs played were from their last two albums, the newest Take Care, Take Care, Take Care and All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone, but there were some older ones, too, and memorable moments throughout the show. During "The Only Moment We Were Alone", Rayani, on his knees, slowly raised his guitar over his head and thumped the strings -- accompanied by all the lights suddenly raising, bathing the theatre in blinding light. It was one of those moments that sounds cheesy to describe, but was breathtaking to see in context, and will be a sight not soon forgotten.

After almost an hour and a half, they wrapped up the set with Take Care's closing track, "Let Me Back In", playing right up until the curfew, without bothering to stop for the tired faux-encore bit. And even though the crowd was clamouring for more, Rayani came back out after a few minutes to say it was a great show for them, and if it was a great show for us, we should just end on a high note.

And I couldn't have agreed more.

setlist

Greet Death; Last Known Surroundings; Welcome, Ghosts; Trembling Hands; The Only Moment We Were Alone; Be Comfortable, Creature; Postcards From 1952; Your Hand In Mine; The Birth and Death of the Day; Let Me Back In.