Things are looking up for Knoxville's live music addicted, drunken lyric screaming, and overall irresponsible middle-of-the-week concert-going elite. We are the few, the proud, and the perpetually sleep-deprived.
The next few weeks are packed with so many awesome shows, that I'm starting to wonder whether or not my grades will take a hit (not that it's ever happened before...).And, perhaps as a preview of my commitment to academic diligence, last night's rock-neck inducing No Age show at the the Pilot Light was not very conducive to my 9 A.M. aerobic swimming class.
Armed with mediocre expectations and an overwhelming desire for pizza, WUTK's Music Director, Brittney B., and I headed to the Old City at around eleven to find that the first of the three groups on the night's bill hadn't even taken the stage. Not that the Pilot Light is known for their punctuality, but at the time, a 2 A.M. night seemed like some sort of magical quest involving dragons and several cans of Red Bull. A few beers in and two hours later, we headed into the venue just as No Age was warming-up. I should have know that our eerie punctuality was a preview of the night's eardrum-numbing outcome seeing as I am NEVER on-time for anything...ever, but my introduction to the band's live show a few years back really wasn't anything special. One mosh pit, a Black Flag request, and a few ruptured PBR's later the previous show seemed more like a strategically placed warm-up in comparison.
Besides surpassing my expectations and raging through tracks from 2008's Nouns as well as 2010's Everything in Between, the group played nearly every request that was drunkenly tossed their way. And by showcasing their bare-bones punk influenced sound much more prominently then on any of their recordings, the LA club staples managed to build the once stagnant crowd's subtle head-bobbing into a full-out explosion that wavered in-between a fairly tame mosh pit to looks of undiluted (besides the beer) awe within 10 minutes of starting their set. I've seen a handful of bands who's lead singer is stationed behind the drums, but I couldn't look away from No Age's Jeremy Villalobos. The drummer's technical skill, seemingly perfect posture, and ability to articulate the group's lyrics for the entirety of the set, all while rocking the fuck out, won me over after only a few songs. Overall, the show ruled.
Now...if only Smith Western's and Dr. Dog would hurry-up and wreck my already skewed sleep habits...
UPDATE! Here are the photos! No Age @ the Pilot Light, Courtesy of Brittney B
-Carey
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