Atlanta’s rock cognoscente were on hand for this sold out show at the Earl. We bumped into and shared introductions with the proprietor of a local record store, the publisher of a local music mag, and the music and programming directors of a real radio station. We also hung for a bit with the concert promoter and shared a word with the man behind the entire scene at the EARL. Now that we’re done name dropping, let’s take a minute to note that all of seemed impressed by this Portland sextet.
Blitzen Trapper opened with “Sleepytime in the Western World,” the first track off their latest full length, and the crowd was immediately transfixed. We plugged this show early on and even predicted the sell out. (We may not be cognoscente, but maybe we can be prognosticators.) That really wasn’t a tough call though. The above mentioned 2008 full length, Furr, was quite a record and met with much praise by all kinds of tastemakers – here and about. Maybe that’s why we originally met it with a little skepticism.
We entered the show expecting the kind of mid-range performance you can expect from a band who is on the upswing and knows it – a little cautious and just good enough to not disappoint. Instead we were treated to an energetic and engaged performance. They got to the bit hit (can there be such a thing anymore in indie rock?), “Furr” fairly early in the show, keeping the tone mid tempo and well executed.
Things turned after their truly compelling rendition of the spooky (can we say that in October?) “Black River Killer” and the rock came out. Those who didn’t last past the witching hour missed the hardest rocking moments of the show. They left the set with a bang and returned with a encore that rewarded all who weren’t worried about being the first out of Park-It Paul’s lot.
Rumor is that we can expect a new long player from these gents in February. After this show, that seems a bit too far away. In the meantime, we’ll just have to spin our new Black River Killer EP and be patient.
by Gunter Grass. All are welcome.
