The Wiltern Theater is a great tour stop for most bands. But the classy venue represents a special homecoming for a local band like the Airborne Toxic Event, who were back home in the City of Angels to wrap their fall tour after spending most of the year on the road. The venue marquee hinted at a metaphysical happening, proclaiming “The Mighty Rainbow Unicorn Squad Magically Welcomes The Airborne Toxic Event.”
No unicorns were actually sighted inside, but there was an amped up crowd eager to hear some musical magic from the hometown heroes. The band opened with the acoustic “Cocaine and Abel” from their new album Songs of God and Whiskey, actually one of two albums they released in the spring (along with the more synth-oriented Dope Machines. The latter is a bit of a sonic departure, with the synths playing a heavier role than on the band’s previous work. But the simultaneous release of an acoustic-oriented album showed that The Airborne Toxic Event (TATE) is merely experimenting rather than changing their sound.
The opener established the band’s thematic dichotomy for the evening, with an upbeat musical vibe behind lyrics that often tended toward more dire topics. “We’re just gonna sing songs about drugs and death,” vocalist/guitarist Mikel Jollett said with tongue only half in cheek. TATE struck a universal chord with their eponymous debut album in 2009, with heartfelt rock songs that resonated with the heartbroken and/or spiritually challenged. Their ability to keep mining that cathartic vein while also churning out sonic gems with inspiring sentiments has enabled the band to carve out a relatively unique niche in the modern music scene.
The raucous “Gasoline” from the debut album was an early highlight with Jollett and guitarist Steven Chen riffing over a tune about the classic triumvirate of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll. “Changing” from 2011’s All At Once kept the energy flowing at a high level with the crowd clapping along during the “buckets of rain” section. “Half of Something Else” highlighted Jollet’s ability to dig deep into an emotional well of universal relationship experiences like few other 21st century rockers can. “There were no easy answers to be understood,” Jollett sang before launching into some of his most impassioned vocals of the evening. The band rocked deep with violinist/keyboardist Anna Bulbrook delivering her solo in front of bassist Adrian Rodriguez on the other side of the stage.
“Does This Mean You’re Moving On?” featured more whiskey fueled heartbreak catharsis, with Jollet celebrating how he’s channeled that old heartbreak into an anthem by spraying the crowd with some champagne before sharing it with Bulbrook. “One Time Thing” from Dope Machines continued the theme with Jollet singing of his head being filled with “moonshine and cheapass wine” over an infectious synth groove from Bulbrook. There were certainly no cheap drinks to be had at the Wiltern, which has some of the most expensive beverage prices in all of LA. But such is the nature of attending of the top venues in the second largest city in the USA.
“It’s nice to be home in Los Angeles, where no one understands you and everyone understands you,” Jollett noted as an intro to “California” (a tune that appears on both of the new albums with differing arrangements.) Jollett was tapping into a deeper concept of LA here, with its multi-dimensional nature of being “stuck in the same scene of nightmares and daydreams.” The song’s mixed emotions recalled Axl Rose’s sentiment at the end of Guns ‘N’ Roses summer ‘91 tour at the LA Forum when he said that “LA is a place where all your dreams can come true, but it can also be the loneliest place in the world.”
The two vocalists seem to have tapped into some similar emotional experiences of Los Angeles and while TATE may not rock as hard as GNR, there would seem to be some emotional common ground between songs like TATE’s breakthrough “Sometime After Midnight” and epic GNR power ballads like “November Rain” and “Estranged.” Bulbrook’s violin seems to conjure some of that vibe at times, such as on “Wishing Well” where the violin added a richer layer of emotion to the tune. Jollet even played keys on the song, enabling Bulbrook to focus on the violin parts.
“Wrong” was a highlight from Dope Machines with the synth parts that stick out on the album blending in better in the live setting. The song built in power and emotion with swirling strobe lights providing a climactic energy as Jollet and company rocked out with a reckless abandon that showed the band was letting it all hang out. “Numb” provided another peak with a dynamic tune where Jollett references a restless trouble sleeping at night and just wanting to drink himself to sleep to get a certain girl off his mind. The sentiment is perhaps one of the oldest in rock ‘n’ roll, yet TATE has a real talent for mining it in a fresh way.
The anthemic “Timeless” conjured a sonic grandeur over a different type of loss, that of missing a loved one who has passed away in an untimely fashion. Drummer Daren Taylor helped power the tune with a big beat that suggests some of those ’80s power ballads, but TATE builds the song in a classic rock sort of way that sounds genuine and not trite. The crowd was very much into the show from the start, yet there’s always an extra charge in the air with the opening notes of “Sometime Around Midnight,” Jollet’s instant classic tune about getting completely smashed after seeing your ex at the bar. The band rocked the tune with a little extra jamming before tapping into a similar vibe on “Innocence.” Jollet’s impassioned vocals and Bulbrook’s violin continued to dance with each other for a unique sonic energy, and even more so when the rest of the band kicked in to drive the song to a furious conclusion.
There are some in LA who try to say rock is dead because it’s harder than ever to break big. But bands like The Airborne Toxic Event prove that rock not only never died, it’s alive and well for those who remain dedicated to the craft.