Last week two of my friends, photographer Jen Maihack and artist Mike Maihack, caught The Airborne Toxic Event in concert. Herein we find their recap (words by Mike, photos by Jen):

The Airborne Toxic Event
State Theater
St. Petersburg, FL
10/6/2009

I love bands that prove Pitchfork wrong.

If there were any influences on stage, where The Airborne Toxic Event played to a crowded State Theatre in St Petersburg Fl last night, it was The Drifters, Jim Carroll and The Smiths- all of whom had songs covered by TATE throughout the night—a night that also included new material as well as extended and acoustic versions of songs from their first full length LP. All in all it was just a downright great rock show—certainly a better show than it needed to be—and that was the vibe I got from Mikel Jollett as he belted out his emotional lyrics or as the adorable Anna Bulbrook spun or swayed or flung herself into a wave of accepting hands. Even after a year and a half on the road, this is a band that is ecstatic to be making music for a living and they aren’t going to take that for granted. They certainly proved that last night by engaging their fans with a sound uniquely their own and making no qualms that yes, you agreed to come to a rock concert. We are going to give you a rock concert. And you are going to have FUN. If this is the atmosphere the LA music scene is producing, than please, give me more.

I was hopeful TATE might open with Wishing Well. Instead they saved that for a softer though no less enjoyable acoustic rendition later on in the night. It didn’t matter. Moving On and Something New were a good way to start the show, especially when followed by a cover of This Magic Moment arranged so effortlessly it could have been written by TATE themselves. It was a musical treat listening to the combination of Anna on her Viola and Noah Harmon utilizing his own bow talents on bass during the older though much refined This Losing. Listening to guitarist Steven Chen and drummer Daren Taylor jam on the more recent and upbeat Papillion was equally entertaining. These moments continued into that acoustic set I mentioned, allowing a nice repose before breaking into the song that put TATE on the radio (and from the sound of it, many of the fans in that room). Smack dab in the middle of the set, just like on their debut album, Sometime Around Midnight climbed to Mikel’s near screaming vocals which paved the way for a special bonus of new material that indicates TATE are on track for an even greater sophomore release.

The set ended with the much anticipated Innocence, extended in order to really end the evening with a bang. And I would have been content had they ended the night there but Tox encored with not only the fan favorite Happiness is Overrated but also a fantastic homage to the late Jim Carroll, where Red Cortez and The Henry Clay People were invited back on stage to sing People Who Died along with them (and the crowd). As the final song, Missy, broke into The Smiths’ Ask, I had already decided this was a great show. And I was pleased to see Mikel making every smiling effort to shake the hand of each fan who reached towards the stage on my way out. The man is simply happy to be making music and he couldn’t be more grateful to the people singing along.