"So What's Been Going On? We'll Have o Catch Up One By One After the Show."t

(That's not a photo of the show I went to, though it is Air Traffic. I didn't take any pictures of the show because the power went out at my house the morning of the show, and I couldn't charge my camera battery. BUT, I know that Julio over at Cause=Time took some pics, so he's got some of our boys Air Traffic)

After my awesome little interview with Air Traffic (see below), I went and got some food, and then came back asap because there was no way I was missing their performance. By buddy Becca arrived around 9:15 and we scuttled in to the spot I had staked out before her arrival, just before the lights dimmed and the boys took the cramped stage (their stuff and all of Elbow's stuff was on stage, so that's a lot of stuff). They awkwardly, but confidently addressed the skeptical crowd (I have a feeling a looot of people were there for Elbow). Chris introduced them, and they broke into their first song. 3 songs in, they had gone through the 3 extremes of their sound, and laughed about how they were probably a confusing band. No apologies, mind you, because these cats know their good even if a crowd is unresponsive ... but that's just my assumption, because the Elbow crowd seemed to absolutely love these cats, which makes me very happy, because Air Traffic deserves some respect and adoration. Each song was playfully performed with precision and soul, which really shined through, and, in turn, I think, won them more than a few fans. Chris repeated their name as frequently as possible, which quickly became a running joke for their set, but I have a feeling his repeating their name didn't really matter, because (I hope) people will have made an effort to remember them anyway. Stellar performance.

Now, onto the Elbow part of the show: Its always a strange experience for me when I go to a bigger venue to see a opener, especially when the headliner has such a following as Elbow does. I listened to their new album before the show, but not really enough to judge it or them, so I didn't really know what to expect. It was strange, because I was in a room full of people who were clearly seeing one of their favorite bands, and I was, at the time, fairly indifferent. I had heard Elbow's sound check, and was rather impressed and fairly interested in how their performance was going to go. I can tell you right now that they're certainly not the kind of band that I would normally go out and see. I got the feeling that if you're reading this and love Elbow, that you don't need my endorsement to go see them, because you probably love them. But if you're skeptical or new to Elbow's sound, I honestly have no idea as to whether or not you'd like it. I liked it, but after a while I just lost interest. Maybe it was because I was tired and didn't really feel like staying at the Bluebird until 12, maybe it was because all I'd had to eat was a sandwich, or maybe it just wasn't my type of music. I dunno. Either way, I ended up leaving early, but, from the looks of it, I was one of the few. Also, from looking at how long their set up to that point was, they probably didn't play do many more songs. They certainly have very enthusiastic fans, and they were really nice to the audience.

For me, really, the night was defined by Air Traffic's performance. They freaking rocked. You'll love it, I promise.

Here's my recording of the show (I'm still trying to work out all the kinks of understanding my recording device, so the recording is a little muddy at times, but is pretty good most the time):

Artists: Air Traffic, Elbow
Date: 2008-05-02
Venue: The Bluebird, Denver, CO

Air Traffic - An End To All Our Problems
Air Traffic - Time Goes By
Air Traffic - Get In Line
Air Traffic - Come On
Air Traffic - (Take Your Hands Off Me)
Air Traffic - I Can't Understand
Air Traffic - Never Even Told Me Her Name
Air Traffic - Charlotte
Air Traffic - Shooting Star
Elbow - Starlings
Elbow - The Bones of You
Elbow - Leaders of the Free World
Elbow - Great Expectations
Elbow - Red
Elbow - Grounds For Divorce
Elbow - The Loneliness Of A Tower Crane Driver
Elbow - One Day Like This