Autolux @ Sala Rossa

After a set of paint-by-numbers post-rock from openers This Will Destroy You (which it most certainly did not), and a bit of a longer than usual wait between sets, the lights dimmed, and the LA trio walked on stage as guitarist/vocalist Greg Edwards sat behind a keyboard set-up near center stage to start off the show with Transit Trasnit's opening title track.  Over the course of the show, Transit Transit was played in its entirety,  which a good helping of Future Perfect songs peppered in. Unfortunately, no new songs, or older songs that still remain unreleased (like the amazing "23 Watt Apple Juice" or "Reappearing" that I'm still waiting on a release for...come on!), but it gave a good night's worth of songs that people in the crowd were familiar with to enjoy, and the Transit Transit songs have a more raw (and extremely loud) feel live. Even the polarizing, "atypical of Autolux" tracks like "Spots" and "High Chair" had a new breath breathed into them in the live setting, and drummer/vocalist Carla Azar moved to the front of the stage to sing Transit Transit standout "The Bouncing Wall" while a staticy programmed beat backed her.  "Census", oddly enough the most aggressive track on the record, seemed to lack a bit of the sonic wallop it packs on the record during the noise breakdowns.  Latest Transit Transit single "Supertoys" was a complete monster live, as was my current Transit Transit fave, "Kissproof", and Future Perfect favourites like "Blanket" and "Turnstile Blues" were also standouts.

Being the third time I've seen them, I had some pretty lofty expectations following those past two shows which were mindblowingly amazing, so while I can still safely say that this was an all-around great show, it didn't match up to my expectations for a few small reasons. While the band was ridiculously tight on stage, especially drumming phenom Azar, there definitely was a distinct lack of intensity to their performance.  Known for not much small talk, this was a welcome change as Goreshter was engaging with the crowd in a charming sardonic manner to their shouts of "oh my gaaaawd, you guys are sick!" Though they usually lack much movement on stage (one fellow CJLO DJ remarked that Edwards looked like "the most unhappy" he'd "ever seen a person look while playing music"), the band has managed in the past to capture this sense of urgency and intensity with their performances, and tonight it was somewhat lacking. Maybe it was just general tiredness or road-weariness, but it was noticiably absent and in my mind set the performance back a bit. Even so, the band was pretty on, it just seemed they lacked any sort of edge, rarther than any mechanical efficiency.  A small complaint also was the lack of stage lighting; the trio was known for fancy, homemade lighting rigs that added to the stage presence and ambience of the show in general, and though I know they sold off their old lighting set, I was expecting something new to go along with the new record.  Ah well...

By the time the encore came on though, the band was completely on.  Going through "Plantilife" and "Headless Sky", the second-to-last tracks of both their debut and follow-up, it seemed like the band had brought back that intensity I was hoping for and used to seeing of them, playing with a sense of urgency. Or maybe they really wanted to plow through the songs to finally finish the long set, who knows. Whatever the motivation behind it, the encore was fantastic, and if the show was a bit more like this, then we'd really have a winner on our hands.

All in all, it was a solid performance that, while it left a bit to be desired on my part, it seemed to have pleased a crowd that was full of first-time Autolux showgoers.  Afterwards, in passing, Goreshter mentioned to me they were extremely pleased with the reaction and that they'll be on tour pretty much for a full year and will definitely be coming back. So Autolux live-newbies, if their return is going to be like anything I mentioned I was expecting, expect to be floored further.

Also, please, for the love of God play "Sugarless".  I can only dream of how my head would explode if I could hear those feedback squalls live...