[Outside Lands 2012] Three Mesmerizing Light Shows That We Can't Wait to See

This Friday marks the beginning of this year's Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco, the fifth edition of the cultural highlight. SKOA will be attending the festival this year, and each day leading up to the festival we will be dishing out a feature focused on the bands set to appear at Outside Lands. Today, our spotlight is focused on the top three light shows we can't wait to see during the festival.

Every live performance hinges on the talent of the musicians themselves and their ability to convey their music in a live setting, but that's not the only important aspect; a truly great concert reaches that status through the perfect combination of the music itself in conjunction with an absolutely mesmerizing light show. Nothing compares to being front row at a concert and hearing a beloved song live, only to have every kick of the drum met with entrancing flashes of light, each low moment combined with a dimming atmosphere, and every high met with a grand array of colors and illumination. Most concerts have good light shows, but some seem to stand out above the rest. Take a look at the top three picks for this year's Outside Lands Festival after the jump.

Justice: The French electronic duo has made a name for themselves with their grimy, industrial brand of Paris house, and it translates beautifully to the live setting. Justice clearly put a lot of effort into their light show, with every hard-hitting delivery of the drum kick accompanied by pulsating flashes of light, walls of light drawing the drug-fueled crowds into a trance, and colors so vibrant it's impossible not to look away.

What makes their shows truly unique, though, is their use of the cross imagery. It has appeared on the cover of each of their studio full-lengths (both † and Audio, Video, Disco), and during live performances they prop up a massive, illuminated cross right in the middle of their modular synthesizer prop. It's such iconic imagery, and the duo has very intelligently utilized it. What is there to not get excited about?

Sigur Rós: What is there to say about Sigur Rós gorgeous, unique soundscapes? How could I describe my excitement for seeing them live? The Icelandic quartet has been drowning my eardrums in beautiful, ambient music for nearly a decade, and the odd stylings of their music and their personas is what makes their live performances so unique. Jónsi alone is so strange and out there that the allure is beyond questioning.

The idea of witnessing Sigur Rós' live music backed with a colorful, dream-like light show is the truly alluring aspect, though, and online videos aren't enough to satisfy the desire. What could compare to hearing "Sæglópur" amongst a dazzling display of colors and streams of light? I'll just have to see for myself.

Explosions In The Sky: This Texas post-rock outfit might not be the first band that comes to mind when speaking of mesmerizing light shows, but it's the combination of their music and the live setting that excites me. The band has become known for their sprawling, lengthy musical compositions, with echoing guitar riffs, expansive percussion coming together to form beautifully atmospheric and cohesive songs. It's difficult to form such immersive sounds, but these guys pull it off without a hitch. Place this in a live setting, and something amazing is bound to happen.

Explosive percussion, a distant, distorted guitar juxtaposed by a beautifully rhythmic one, captivating sounds coming from all angles amidst a hypnotizing-yet-subtle shower of lights; slow-rising instrumentation building to an eventual frantic climax met with a well-timed burst of illumination. This is what live performances are all about. This is what I want to see.

[Watch] Explosions In The Sky - "Postcards From 1952" (Official Video)

Feast your eyes on this great looking video from Explosions In The Sky for their track "Postcards From 1952". The track featured on their fifth studio album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care which was released back in April last year. (Wow, the past year has flown by huh?!). The video, directed by Annie Gunn and Peter Simonite uses vintage polaroids from the 1950′s and looks great. Check it at the top.

[News] Explosions in the Sky Announce Spring Tour Dates

Explosions in the Sky have announced a strong of tour dates fro spring in support of their release Take Care, Take Care, Take Care.Set to begin in April it will include stops at Coachella and Sasquatch! April 5th and ends in San Antonio on April 24th. In addition, the band is set to appear at both Coachella, Sasquatch! and Primavera Sound. Peep all the dates below. (Via CoS)

Explosions in the Sky 2012 Tour Dates:
04/05 – Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
04/06 – Grand Junction, CO @ Mesa Theater
04/07 – Salt Lake City, UT @ In The Venue
04/08 – Missoula, MT @ Wilma Theater
04/11 – Eugene, OR @ McDonald Theater
04/12 – Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
04/13 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/16 – San Francisco, CA @ Palace of Fine Arts Theater
04/20 – Indio, CA @ Coachella Music Festival
04/22 – Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
04/24 – San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
05/25 – George, WA @ Sasquatch! Music Festival
06/07-10 – Porto, PT @ Optimus Primavera Sound

[Watch] Explosions In The Sky - "Be Comfortable, Creature" (Official Video)

A nice unusual video for you today from Explosions In The Sky (we'd of posted it earlier but Brightcove videos are the worst things to hit the internet since Rebecca Black). This is the second visual we've had from EITS and follows up their "Last Known Surroundings" video which also features on the bands latest release Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. 

This video depicts the life of a man in a weird orange fluffy monster suit and pairs up alongside the evocative instrumentation well. A light hearted watch but none the less surreal.

Explosions In The Sky are currently in the midst of an expansive tour the dates of which are after the jump.

09/08/11 – Spokane, WA – Bing Crosby Theater
09/09/11 – Vancouver, BC – The Vogue Theatre *
09/10/11 – Portland, OR – Music Fest NW
09/11/11 – Boise, ID – Egyptian Theatre *
09/13/11 – Denver, CO – The Fillmore Auditorium *
09/14/11 – Albuquerque, NM –SunshineTheatre *
09/15/11 – Marfa, TX – Vizcaino Park *
09/16/11 – Dallas, TX – AT&T Performing Arts Center – Strauss Square *
09/21/11 – Urbana, IL – Canopy Club
09/28/11 – New Orleans, LA – Tipitina’s ^
09/29/11 – Atlanta, GA – Tabernacle ^
09/30/11 – Asheville, NC –OrangePeel ^
10/01/11 – Baltimore, MD – Ram’s Head Live +
10/02/11 – Philadelphia, PA – Tower Theater +
10/03/11 – Montclair, NJ – Wellmont Theatre +
10/05/11 – Boston, MA – Orpheum Theatre +
10/06/11 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis Theatre ^
10/07/11 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy ^
10/08/11 – Royal Oak, MI – Royal Oak Music Theatre ^
10/10/11 – Minneapolis, MN – First Avenue ^
10/11/11 – Des Moines, IA – Val Air Ballroom ^
10/12/11 – Kansas City, MO – Uptown Theatre ^
10/13/11 – Oklahoma City, OK – Diamond Ballroom ^
10/15/11 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
11/04/11 – Madrid, SP – Anexa del Pabellon de Vistalegre **
11/05/11 – Zaragoza, SP – Sala Oasis **
11/06/11 – Barcelona, SP – Casino Alianca **
11/08/11 – Switzerland, Lausanne – Les Docks **
11/09/11 – Italy, Milan – Trezzo sull’Adda **
11/10/11 – Germany, Munchen – Theaterfabrik **
11/11/11 – Germany, Stuttgart, KA Longhorn **
11/14/11 – Sweden, Stockholm – Debaser Medis **
11/15/11 – Copenhagen, DK – Vega **
11/16 /11 – Groningen, NLD – Vera **
11/18/11 – Hasselt, BEL – MOD **
11/19/11 – Kortrijk, BEL – De Kreun **
11/20/11 – Bristol, UK – Academy **
12/08/11 – Melbourne, AUS – Forum Theatre
12/09-11/11 – Meredith, Victoria, AUS – Meredith Music Festival
12/11/11 – Sydney, AUS – Metro Theatre
12/13/11 – Brisbane, AUS – The Hi Fi
12/15/11 – Wellington, NZ – SFBH
12/16/11 – Auckland, NZ – King’s Arms
01/22/12 – Belfast – Mandela Hall
01/23/12 – Glasgow – o2 Academy
01/24/12 – Leeds – o2 Academy
01/25/12 – Gateshead – The Sage Gateshead
01/27/12 –London– Brixton Academy
01/30/12 – Paris – Casino de Paris

* Twin Sister supports
^ Wye Oak supports
+ The Antlers support
** The Drift supports

Thanks to our friends at the Audio Perv for the dates and heads up on the none Brightcove video. 

[Watch] Explosions In The Sky - "Postcard From 1952" Live on Letterman

Explosions In The Sky were the musical guests on David Letterman yesterday and they proved that you dont need catchy vocals to grab the attention of the viewers. The huge sounds and cinematic style boed well for them and live their rendition "Postcard From 1952" was a treat for the senses. Check it out at the top via The Audio Perv.

[Watch] Explosions In The Sky - "Last Known Surroundings" (Video)

I was surprised by this, Explosions In The Sky have never released an official videos for one of their tracks, never. Yesterday though that all changed as Wired debuted the bands first EVER official visual treatment for one of their tracks. the track in question was "Last Known Surroundings" which featured on the bands latest release Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. The video was put together by Austin based design studio Ptarmak, but of course they needed illustrators and what not so with the added help of Sissy Emmons and animator David Hobizal we now have an 8 minute opus to wrap our heads around. Accompanied by the bands instrumentals it's an entertaining monring watch. Check it out.

[Listen] Explosions In The Sky - 'Take Care, Take Care, Take Care' Album

In 6 days Explosions In The Sky will release their new album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care. It will be their first studio release since 2007, when they released All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone, which led to a little hiatus from the band, but we know hiatus' from bands nowadays never last too long, or should I say that we like to hope that they won't.

Anyway, until the band releases the album next week they put it up for stream on their website, or you can listen to it on the player below, we like to give you the choice. The band are going to be touring Europe next month. Of the new album they said, "it feels different than anything else we've done before and we're very excited for you to hear it." Make up your own mind up after giving it a listen below.

Take Care, Take Care, Take Care by Constant Artists