Sep 243 min read

THE HOUSE OF BLUES: THE AIRBORNE TOXIC EVENT

Photos by Joann Gleason

Review by Jean Senat Fluery

No Red Sox game. It was a quiet night around Fenway Park. We stopped by The Boston House of Blues on Thursday Sept. 19, 2024, to hear one of our favorite artists: Tyler Ramsey. An amazing singer/songwriter, Tyler was opening for the Airborne Toxic Event.

Listening to Tyler’s music, the American artist from Asheville, North Carolina, who is best known as the former lead guitarist for the Band of Horses, was just fantastic. He played a combination of acoustic and Indie rock.

Tyler Ramsey has just released his fifth studio album New Lost Ages via Soundly Music. “This is an album of shadows and light”, says the artist. “It is about the calm that follows the storm and it’s about the dark clouds when they roll back in again.”

The album was recorded at the legendary Avast! Recording Co. in Seattle, Washington, by storied producer Phil EK (Fleet Foxes, Father John Misty, The Shins, Built to Spill).

Ramsey’s single “These Ghosts” has found its way into many high-profile stations across the country including Sirius XM, The Spectrum, WFUV in New York, WRLT in Nashville, WYEP in Pittsburg, and Radio Milwaukee.

Following Tyler’s performance, The Airborne Toxic Event took the stage. The American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 2006, consists of Mikel Jollett (vocals, guitar, and keyboards), Steven Chen (guitar, keyboards), Adrian Rodriguez (electric bass, backing vocals), Daren Taylor (drums), and Miriam Peschet “Mimi” (backing vocals, violin).

Formed by novelist Mikel Jollett during a tumultuous period in his life, the Airborne Toxic Event (named after a section in American author Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise), is known for its blend of rock music and orchestral arrangements, having performed frequently with the Calder Quartet, a string quartet based in Los Angeles. The group has also played concerts with the Louisville Orchestra and the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.

The band’s first show as the Airborne Toxic Event took place in fall of 2006, and was followed by a regional rise to stardom, attracting offers from indie labels and accolades from magazines like Rolling Stone.

The Event released their first EP and accompanying single (both titled Does This Mean You’re Moving On) in 2007, which helped to heighten the band’s standing in the indie scene. They signed with Majordomo Records in 2008 and released their self-titled first album, “The Airborne Toxic Event”, later that year. “Sometime Around Midnight” became a Top Ten modern rock hit, prompting Island Records to sign the band in early 2009. In 2011, the Airborne Toxic Event signed to the same label as one of their major influences, U2 - issued their sophomore release, All at Once. A third album, Such Hot Blood, was released in 2013. During 2014, the Event replaced bassist Noah Harmon with Adrian Rodriguez and jumped from Island Records to Epic. Their first album for Epic, Dope Machines, was released in February 2015.

A true Indie band playing some ballads mixed with Rock and Roll, the group was incredibly good, and the fans in Boston loved the connection between the band and the audience. Reviewing the opening of the show to the last song played by the Airborne it was a fantastic night of music.