st. louis: am taxi, civil twilight, and company of thieves

take another look at that title and let it sink in for a minute. the combination of those three bands last night was one of the most amazing things i've ever had the privilege of witnessing. and it was at cicero's no less. cicero's which has a capacity of under two hundred. those three AMAZING bands, all of them signed, playing at cicero's. i feel like this was one of those shows that, in two or three years, i'll have the rights to brag about. i saw AM TAXI at cicero's. i saw CIVIL TWILIGHT at cicero's. i saw COMPANY OF THIEVES of cicero's. you might be thinking to yourself, "those bands don't seem like they'd go together very well." and you're right. sort of. stylistically, they don't really match up. but company of thieves and civil twilight have wind up records as their factor in common; am taxi and company of thieves have the wonderful city of chicago in common. i'm not exactly sure who invited who onto who's tour... but it somehow worked out beautifully. *sniff*

am taxi played first to an already packed venue. never in my life have i had to fight to keep my spot at cicero's, but this night was one for the history books. fortunately, i was lucky enough to be right up front and had a great view of the stage. i'm not as keen on my punk-rock influences as i am my indie-rock influences, but am taxi reminds me a little bit of rise against. and they did a mean cover of paint it black by the rolling stones if that sheds any light. i was never a big classic rocker, but you can't NOT bob your head to these tunes. and adam krier's voice - as my chicago folk like to call it - sounds like gravel and honey. delicious. i bought both their ep's after the show - for five bucks a piece, it was a steal.

next up was civil twilight. quite a striking difference in style compared to am taxi, but mind-blowing nonetheless. i've had these guys on heavy rotation for a few months now, and with each listen, the album develops itself more and more and hearing them play the songs live was a totally insane experience. i wish i could put into words the feeling of their set. they're a mere trio, but the wall of sound they produce is astounding. they weren't just playing music up there, they were creating a soundscape. it was what i'd expect a sigur ros show to feel and sound like, but with english words. it was ethereal almost. their lyrics are great, but they're nothing too complex. lots of repetitive words and sounds, and it works so well for them. steven, the lead singer [who also plays bass and keyboard] has this perfect falsetto and it almost doesn't seem real. the amount of power and sound that comes out of his body just doesn't match up with how calm and composed he is while on stage. he barelyeven opens his mouth and this absolutely perfect pitch comes flying out at you. that entire explanation probably makes me sound like i was on an acid trip, but it's the best i can do. just go see them live and you'll see what i mean. i had a brief chance after the show to make a fool out of myself and talk to them; they probably thought i was nuts. i blabbered on and on about how great they were and the word vomit just wouldn't stop. but just hearing him respond in that sexy south african accent was enough to keep me blabbering.

and finally. the band that brough the house down. company of thieves. words cannot describe the love affair i've had with this band for the past year or so. it's been intense. and since this was my first time seeing them live in an actual venue [wicker park fest was great don't get me wrong, but it's not exactly intimate.] i was beside myself with fan-girl giddiness. they opened with a new song, and actually played three or four other new ones throughout their hour and fifteen minute set. i was surprised to hear so much new material sounding so good already. but i guess i shouldn't expect anything less from miss genevieve schatz who has the voice of an angel. that girl can SING. she's probably five feet tall and a hundred pounds, but the voice that comes out of her is just insane. and she's the cutest thing, too. she's got these crazy little dance moves that she does and it's all very theatrical. ten bucks says she used to be a dancer [it's the hands, you can always tell a dancer by their hands] or at least involved in high school theater. [is it creepy that i'm making these wild assumptions about her? maybe.] she was just too much precious to handle and i wanted to squeeze her and force her to be my best friend. there was a point at the end of 'pressure' when the entire crowd was belting out the lyrics and when the song was over she exclaimed, "how do you guys know this song?!" she clearly has no idea how good her band is. if she thinks a city just five hours south of chicago wouldn't have her entire record memorized by now, well... i don't even know. but it was great. just great. post show was a little chaotic; it wasn't over until twelve thirty and i still had a two hour drive back to school ahead of me. so i made a bee-line for merch and bought those two am taxi ep's, talked to adam and then some of the guys from civil twilight, and headed out. was i disappointed that i didn't get to talk to anyone from company of thieves? yes. but did i value my sanity and precious four hours of sleep that i was doomed to? very much so. every bit of lost sleep was worth it though. that show was a fantastic start to my week of insanity.

tomorrow - lawrence, kansas for copeland's farewell tour
friday - kansas city for manchester orchestra
saturday - a ridiculous seven hour drive to chicago for we the living
monday - st. louis circa survive and good old war

i love my life.