It wouldn't be a stretch to say that The Airborne Toxic Event have been having a pretty good run over the last couple of years. They've played all over the United States and England. Mikel Jollet took time to mention how crazy things get when you are on tour for so long. The Airborne Toxic Event were in Toronto for a show back in March at the Mod Club for which unfortunately I had to leave just as the encore started, or risk missing a flight so I was glad to be able to stick around this time.
For the Phoenix show they played a much longer set which was comprised of all the songs off their debut album "The Airborne Toxic Event" a couple new ones and a couple of stellar covers. The Airborne Toxic Event are a great band to see for at least a couple of reasons. Their sound for one incorporating strings violin and bass in their act provides a great balance to their guitar and vocals. Another thing I find interesting is that the band members all take a turn playing keys which moves them around the stage a bit which is nice when you are sandwiched in a crowd and can't move around. There was also plenty of crowd interaction as singer Mikel often jumped into the crowd much to the delight of the screaming fans. The Airborne Toxic Event also played an acoustic interlude of three songs when Mikel moved out onto one of the big speakers in front of the Phoenix stage playing a new song "Letter To Georgia", "Wishing Well" and a Springsteen cover "I'm On Fire".
The band finished off the night with an extended version of "Innocence" before coming back for an encore which included "Happiness Is Overrated", "Missy", a short medley of Smiths songs "Ask" and "Panic" and a cover of Jim Carroll's "People Who Died" inviting openers The Henry Clay People to join them for a terrific end to the night.
