LOS ANGELES, CA-
“…I have loved Godspeed You! Black Emperor for over a decade. “They’re a weird band,” you often hear people say. I suppose I agree, but there are few other bands that invite you to fully lose yourself in the comfortable embrace of their music as it emanates from any stage that they play on. The Godspeed show was the only show that I lost myself in throughout the entire festival. Albeit, only for a minute.
The band’s opioid ephemeral sound grew and crescendoed through each song, ending at the height of emotionality. Scenes of destruction, nature, winter and empty cities moved in and out of each other as they were projected behind them. After two straight days of writing and talking to people, I had forgotten about writing and asking others about their experiences, I had forgotten about everything and I swayed back and forth like a snake in front of a charmer’s flute. I closed my eyes and the music moved through my tired body. It was the one moment in the festival I had let go—and then, almost ironically, someone wanted to talk to me.
The man pantomimed, “Great show! Great music, right?!” I agreed kindly, but the spell over me had been broken and I had been slammed back down to earth. It was hard to hide my disappointment and the man soon got the hint and tried to leave me in peace. I waited for the song to end, enjoying what little remained of the musical spell that had been cast over me, and left the last show a little early. I resolved to catch the Toronto band again someday. I would track them down, come hell or high water.”
We’re having a hard time finding official Godspeed You! Black Emperor social media accounts. If you have any good leads on sites we should link to, drop them in the comments and we’ll add them!
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