Rock the Mic

Last weekend, I went to a concert in Baltimore with a few guy friends. The band playing was a group named Anathallo. I have to say, the show made the barrelling car ride through a potential run-in with a real live episode of "The Wire," stuffed in a backseat with two guys (who occasionally forgot there was a female in their midst), while jamming out to Ratatat worth all the effort. (yes, welcome to my life) If you can't imagine this, then you really need to check out Ratatat's Myspace to get the full effect.

After two less than stellar bands, who are not even worth mentioning...Anathallo cruised onto the scene with soft opening voices and light rhythms, only to rock eager listeners' socks off as they slowly crescended into a full-on indie orchestra of diverse sounds and well-thought out melodies. Yes, the show was awesome. And yes, they're worth a listen if you like indie rock.

I discovered Anathallo in college and was blown away by their contemplative, thoughtful, lyrics. Not only does this band ROCK out live, but they also have a great blog, which I just discovered. I recommend it. Whether they're pulling thoughts from Wendell Berry, or contemplating the essence of John Cage, there's some deep substance to this band. If you view the post from 1.11.09, you can see a live performance of the song Italo, which is simply beautiful. Anathallo, to me, captures the vision of living faithfully into a particular calling, and as a fan i've watched them navigate this calling both successfully and humbly since I discovered them years ago.