tim’s thought property

The Attics. Winnipeg’s the Attics; viewable at http://theatticsmusic.com. Did they ever put on a great show! There is something electrifying about live shows and perhaps I’ve been a little starved for shows in the last months. Frequency of concerts notwithstanding, the show was amazing. The lighting itself was as much as a star as the band. From a photographer’s point of view, this show had some of the most camera friendly lights that I’ve come across.

Now, the West End is an old church in the West End of the city. It is quite dark at the best of times, without a band on the stage. Yet once the Attics took the stage, it had already been warmed up by The Morning After and Matt Epp. TMA had some ferocious energy, especially the keyboardist. Boy, that guy was rocking out the hardest, I seriously thought he might have hit his head on the keyboard. At one point he even came down to the crowd to start a clap.

Matt Epp was just solo with his guitar and a harmonica for a couple of songs. His husky voice is like a deeper Bob Dylan, with his folksy sound just echoing nicely off the walls. Think of John Mayer singing with simpler, yet sincere sounding guitar. That is how I’d describe Matt, you know, aside from being really friendly.

When the Attics took the stage, they came on one at a time, to the opening of their single “Once a World“. It started with a single guitar, then the second, then the bass, then the drums and oh it was a great start. The guys decided to go with a linear approach to the set, with playing their songs in the order they are on the album. Clever approach, since people like me have only seen them, you know, once before and my knowledge of their songs were limited.
As they played on, the songs ” ‘68“, “Turn” and “Closing of the Mill” just rang in my ears. They have this method of projecting overheads of the song titles, with clever pictures drawn to show what the song is about. Perhaps it’s a throw-back to the Freeman days, but I think it’s a unique little quirk.
When their set was finished, the crowd screamed for “Ten more songs!” And when they came out again, the Attics played through some of their powerful material not on the album. “The Ocean” and “Rush the Gates” being some really great live songs. Aaron was in his element playing drums on “Rush…“, it was “A drummer’s paradise” as Rob put it.
They decided to end the show with “The People’s Cry“, which was so heartfelt live. The lights were dimmed and two spots were on Rene, and it gave such a deeper feel to the song. The band played to their fullest that night. Chris is probably one of the more active bassists I’ve seen in a while, not afraid to move around on stage. Rob and Rene were singing alternate leads and doing a fine job, if I must say.
I realize that this post is more of a gushing praise than anything, and well, I felt really good on Thursday, so I’m relating that. Besides, I’m no rock critic anyhow. Look elsewhere for objectionable reviews of that show. With 240 pictures that night, and a good chunk of them turning out, I felt all the better.

I shall post some more of the pictures from the show, I’ve had to pick some of the better ones, and it was a little difficult for me, a picture fiend. I hope you enjoy.