In Concert: Maps & Atlases

I briefly mentioned Maps & Atlases in early May, the last time we saw them in concert. I love it when a good concert falls at the right time. My first concert ever was REM. I had just finished my junior year of high school and taken the SATs AND ACTs in one week. One week! And then I went to my first concert and it was amazing.

In May, I had just finished the Winter semester when we saw Maps & Atlases. This time, the Summer semester ended on Wednesday, I finished my grades on Friday afternoon, and the concert was Friday night. Even better, it was a concert for old people! There were two concerts at The Grog Shop that night, and Maps & Atlases was the early one, from 6-10pm. We could go to the concert AND get to bed on time. Best night ever!

Maps & Atlases was, again, completely awesome. I posted the above video because one of the best things about them is the fact that they experiment with how to make music with their instruments. You would think it's a pretty straight-forward proposition, until you watch.

This time was nice because their first full-length album just came out in late June, so this show was the first time we had actually heard most of the songs beforehand. I enjoyed "The Charm" on the album; I was sucked in by the artful pause in lyrics when he sings, "I don't think that there's a sound that I hate more than the sound of your voice ..... when you say that you don't love me, anymore."

But played live, this song was amazing. The overwhelming percussion just blew me away, and now I'm addicted! I've listened to "The Charm" many, many times since Friday night, and when I'm not listening, I'm humming it to myself. This video starts with "Will" and "The Charm" comes in at 1:35. Enjoy!