Typhoon @ Rock and Roll Hotel

How many more instruments will appear?

Typhoon was arguably my most anticipated show of the fall. I fell in love with Typhoon, the boy I was falling for fell in love with Typhoon and neither of us could listen to anything else. There was a pact or a common idea that if/when the band played in DC, we'd both end up at that show at any cost. When announced in late June, after spending a month heartbroken, I had this grand realization that no one has the ability to ruin music for me.

I have emotional layers built into certain artists. With Typhoon, the surface layer involves a bit of heartbreak. I discovered Summer Home and it was immediately shared over g-chat and adored by the boy. We spent hours streaming it in the background of our conversations, I sourced The Tender Loving Empire NW Pale Ale from Seattle for us to share (we never did), and us finding out about White Lighter is still a day I remember.

However, the surface layer is just that. There's no depth, no actual substance and the layer is easy to flake off and forget about. Typhoon, to me, at the core relates back to the chronic illness angle and how easily I can identify with their music. That will always triumph over someone who was only in my life for a mere four months.

I didn't see the boy at this show. I won't lie and say it wasn't a relief.

Lucky for me, I had fantastic company no matter the outcome. My friend, Katie, had always loved Hunger and Thirst, but disliked A New Kind of House. She was a bit wary of how White Lighter would sound but streamed the album in anticipation for the show. I'm so happy she ended up back on the Typhoon bandwagon. We arrived early and managed to score front row spots. Unfortunately, front row meant right in front of the twin drum sets and I'm pretty sure I permanently lost hearing that evening.

Radiation City opened. I've tried countless times to love and appreciate their music in the past, however, their opening set ended up being the missing piece I needed. They played quite a few songs from their newest album and rocked them all. I found myself highly drawn to their catchy 1960's-retro vibe and it's a style that is not overdone right now. Above all, every member of this band was extraordinarily talented and really attractive to boot. We enjoyed their performance and how it ended up being enough to tide us over in anticipation for the main act.

Shortly later, one by one, we watched as all eleven members of Typhoon crammed themselves on to the relatively small stage at Rock and Roll Hotel. It was quite the sight to see. Kitchen Tile started the set off and I'm glad it did. For such a short song, there's a lot of punch. From here on out though, we'd primarily be hearing White Lighter, in order, in its entirety. I'm still not sure if I particularly enjoyed that aspect, but the album order is there for a reason.

When White Lighter initially came out, I honestly thought it sounded over-produced. I changed my mind hearing the album played live. Every sound, every instrument, every part of every song was organically created by one or more of the members on stage. There's no over production involved - just eleven musicians able to create many but cohesive sounds. The timing was particularly tight as well - I found myself anticipating certain little standout sounds from the tracks and hearing them perfectly executed on the stage.

Artificial Light was as spectacular as anyone would expect it to be. Young Fathers was the first anthem song, where everyone chanted that last portion, "I just called to tell you, I just called to say, learn all your mistakes, passed down through generations". I held onto the "two minutes of morbid bliss" that was Possible Deaths and remembered why it could be my favorite song. Summer Home, my first introduction to Typhoon, was played in the middle of the set somewhere. Unfortunately, I hated how this sounded live - compared to the White Lighter tracks there was energy missing.

During the later half of the set, Dreams of Cannibalism was the anthem song - I'm pretty sure the crowd sang the entirety but especially "unhand me, I am not criminal". Hunger and Thirst was more popular than I was expecting, as was Common Sentiments. This is proof that Typhoon can carry a whole album, as there is no where during White Lighter for anyone's mind to wander off. As I've noted before, Post Script was a gorgeous end to the album and to the live set. For the encore, Caesar kicked off. I didn't particularly miss it during the main act, but I did enjoy hearing the little clip. Rules of the Game, their latest b-side, was the final song of the night.

Through and through, I adored this show and three weeks later, I think I'm still riding the show high. This is the fourth out of five amazing fall concerts that I just can't stop daydreaming about. Someone, please, take me back to that night.