Trail of Dead at the Echoplex

Concert Review

Trail of Dead at the Echoplex

I’ve been longing for the Trail of Dead of Source Tags and Codes era to make their rounds again and with their release of Tao of the Dead, they’ve finally come back. The last couple of AYWKUbtToD albums were easily dismissable, with nary a song that really stood out. I hadn’t given up on them, despite of this. They remained on my priority list of bands to see when Matt and I landed ourselves at ATP curated by Explosions in the Sky, simply because I knew how hard they rock live. Their latest LP brings back the fierce guitars riffs layered with sincere bitter-sweet lyrics that made me an instant fan and I was anxious to treat my (earplugged) ears to the new material live.

The exhaustion of a long day combined with a late set time had me dreading the trek out to the Echo Park, but as soon as I snapped my seat belt and turn the car key, I felt a rush of excitement pulse through me. It was like my body knew what it was in store for. The band with the longest name around, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, did not disappoint me, nor the rabid crowd jammed to the front of the Echoplex stage. As I waited for them to go on, I chatted up a couple eager super-fans who swore that I was going to get my eardrums blown out by their absolute favorite band. When Conrad Keely and company hit the stage, they burst into an intense set that sent me reeling in the tiny Echoplex photo pit, as I scurried through the narrow corridor in a pathetic attempt to catch just how hard they rocked.

The photos don’t do it justice, nor will words, so here’s the setlist and I’ll leave the rest to imagination.

Setlist: