Shatter590
04/25/06, 10:44 PM
I found out about this show pretty much at the last second, browsing the band's myspace for new songs. Fully expecting it to be sold out, i was shocked to find I could still purchase tickets some 4 hours before showtime. SO, after clearing all my plans, I set off for Knitting Factory to see my favorite band for the first time since 2003.
They opened with a series of new songs, interspersed with tracks from End is Forever, most notably IOU One Galaxy (second song) and Fast Times at Dropout High (fifth song). From Their new album, they showcased Secret Handshakes, the B-side Cheyenne Line and Whatever Lies Will..., which Kris claimed was the first time they were playing it live as a full set. They also played So Long Astoria, The Hero Dies In This One, San Dimas... (which was very slow and deliberate, something I found both surprising and refreshing from the usual fare) and Unopened Letter To A World. Absent were such central songs as I Wont SPend Another Night Alone, Summer Wind Was Always Our Song and In This Diary, which I have heard at every Ataris show Ive seen since mid-2002.
This was really my first time seeing the new band, and something like my fifth or sixth overall, and I was rather taken back. While it felt a bit cluttered sound-wise, and it was strange to see seven band members instead of four, I found thet Kris was the central grounding point of the band, controlling and directing both the music and the audience (which falls in line with my belief that he is the sole driving force behind the band), and though it was slower and more precise than the older setup, it still had the flavor and flair of an Ataris show, if not the speed and energy.
They opened with a series of new songs, interspersed with tracks from End is Forever, most notably IOU One Galaxy (second song) and Fast Times at Dropout High (fifth song). From Their new album, they showcased Secret Handshakes, the B-side Cheyenne Line and Whatever Lies Will..., which Kris claimed was the first time they were playing it live as a full set. They also played So Long Astoria, The Hero Dies In This One, San Dimas... (which was very slow and deliberate, something I found both surprising and refreshing from the usual fare) and Unopened Letter To A World. Absent were such central songs as I Wont SPend Another Night Alone, Summer Wind Was Always Our Song and In This Diary, which I have heard at every Ataris show Ive seen since mid-2002.
This was really my first time seeing the new band, and something like my fifth or sixth overall, and I was rather taken back. While it felt a bit cluttered sound-wise, and it was strange to see seven band members instead of four, I found thet Kris was the central grounding point of the band, controlling and directing both the music and the audience (which falls in line with my belief that he is the sole driving force behind the band), and though it was slower and more precise than the older setup, it still had the flavor and flair of an Ataris show, if not the speed and energy.