[photos by Erica Lauren]
“You’re an irreplaceable human soul with your own understanding of what it means to suffer” sings Sean Bonnette in AJJ’s “People II 2: Still Peoplin'”. The band formerly known as Andrew Jackson Jihad has spent its decade-long career writing songs about the myriad of issues involving depression, anxiety and bi-polar disorders. This year AJJ released its sixth full-length album The Bible 2 and the record offers a breakthrough of sorts — not in a traditional music industry sense — but rather a true explication of a path beyond a life dictated by the limitations of mental illness. The linked tracks “No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread” and “Small Red Boy” plot a path to wellness through self-determination. While the message may not work for everyone, the concept that we are in control of our own destinies — even if only a little bit — is inspiring and hopeful. AJJ has often used dark humor to offset the troubles of the characters in their songs, but the protagonist in songs like “People II: The Reckoning” lives in a spiral of “manic depression” that “comes and goes”. The Bible 2 offers a character who swears off doubt, resentment, fear, and fixations, and ultimately controls the inner devil “Red Boy” through power, truth and nurture.
AJJ are currently on tour in support of the new album and arrived in Brooklyn last Sunday for a show at Warsaw. This is the band’s third performance at this venue, after the date last year that we recorded at Knitting Factory. From the outset, the energy was palpable — this is a band with a tremendous relationship with its fans. There was two times during the night when AJJ had to ask the crowd to move back to prevent crushing the people up front. The set was culled from a strong representation of the band’s best material and included most of The Bible 2. In the end, it was clear that this is a band at the top if its game and offering a message that is both welcome and necessary for all of its fans.
I recorded this set by using the hypercardioid Neumanns from the front of the soundboard in this large venue. The excellent board feed was provided by the band’s superb touring FOH Stripes and the mix resulted in a recording of which we are extremely pleased. Enjoy!
Download the Complete Show [MP3] / [FLAC]
Stream the Complete Show:
AJJ
2016-11-06
Warsaw
Brooklyn NY
Digital Master Recording
Soundboard + Audience Matrix
Soundboard [engineer Stripes] + Neumann KM-150s > Sound Devices 744t > 2 x 24bit 48kHz wavs > Soundforge (post-production) > CDWave 1.95 (tracking) > TLH > flac (320 MP3/tagging via Foobar)
Recorded and Produced by nyctaper
Setlist:
[Total Time 1:32:27]
01 [introduction]
02 The Michael Jordan of Drunk Driving
03 Gift of the Magi Two
04 Distance
05 Cody’s Theme
06 [banter – false start]
07 Fucc The Devil
08 Love in the Time of Human Papillomavirus
09 A Song Dedicated to the Memory of Stormy the Rabbit
10 Bad Bad Things
11 Coffin Dance
12 Do Re And Me
13 American Garbage
14 [banter – Erica]
15 Little Prince
16 People II – Still Peoplin
17 Rejoice
18 El Paso Border Patrol
19 My Brain Is A Human Body
20 No More Shame, No More Fear, No More Dread
21 Personal Space Invader
22 Love Will Fuck Us Apart
23 Back Pack
24 Terrifyer
25 [banter – Samsung]
26 Heartilation
27 Kokopelli Face Tattoo
28 Black Dog
29 Goodbye, Oh Goodbye
30 Small Red Boy
31 When I’m A Dead Boy
32 Big Bird
33 [encore break]
34 Brave as a Noun
SUPPORT AJJ: Website | Facebook | Purchase The Bible 2 from SideOneDummy Records [HERE].
Recent Comments