Blind Pilot at Lincoln Hall

On Wednesday I went to see Blind Pilot at the new Lincoln Hall. I felt like this was a step up from the solid Lollapalooza set back in August. The great sound quality at Lincoln Hall definitely contributed. The sound was very crisp and clear from a few different locations throughout the venue. Blind Pilot played all of their songs on the first and currently only album 3 Rounds and a Sound. I think they did a nice job of peppering in the more upbeat songs throughout the set. I would suggest anyone to check these guys out next time they're in Chicago, they do not disappoint. I brought my handheld camcorder along to catch some of songs. Below is "One Red Thread." You can see two other live songs "Paint Or Pollen" and "Go on say it" on our YouTube channel youtube.com/claptrapped. If you're in Chicago, I would look at upcoming shows at Lincoln Hall, it's a great venue and one of my new favorites.

No. 75 Blind Pilot

I started listing to Blind Pilot a few months before the lineup was announced for Lollapalooza and was very excited see they made the bill. The reason I checked them out was because NPR rated their CD "3 rounds and a sound" the third best album of 2008.This is currently the only album under their belt. This is a great 2 piece band made up of Isreal Nebeker and drummer Ryan Dobrowski.

First song "oviedo" was described from a reviewer as the soundtrack for when you land in a foreign country, I would agree. This is one of my favorite songs on the album and it describes lead singer Isreal's experience in Oviedo Spain. Some other solid tracks on the album are "the story I heard", "one red thread" and "go on, say it". This whole album is filled with catchy drum beats and clean, crisp acoustic guitar strumming. They also add in a few more elements like the violin in song "go on, say it". If I were to compare them to another band, I would say a bit more upbeat Damien Rice.

A interesting fact about them is they have had two bicycle tours. They literally put all their gear on a small bike trailer and ride bikes touring California. Their first tour ended earlier than expected when their bikes were stolen in San Fransisco. Isreal got his bike back when he saw it listed on Craigs list for $50. Since they have gotten a bit bigger, they tour in a van so they can bring more musicians to the shows to play violins, upright bass, and horns. I would suspect they are not done bicycle touring though. You can here an interview on NPR about the tours.

I would seriously suggest checking them out. This is one band I will not miss at Lolla.

Myspace page
Official page
NPR - Live at South by Southwest