Music review: Snow Patrol, 'Eyes Open'

 

There's something incredibly raw in Snow Patrol's "Eyes Open." Having released their fourth album, Snow Patrol is definitely not another new kid on the block. Yet this album has a touch of emotion.

 

The music is distinct from their "Final Straw" days when they could have been confused with Coldplay. With "Eyes Open," Snow Patrol has matured. These European lads also have returned to their Irish roots. Not only did they record much of the album in Dublin, but they also incorporate Celtic instruments into many songs.

 

It's quite difficult to categorize them. When I was searching for this album, I scoured the rock section to no avail. Much to my horror, I found Eyes Open in the pop section right next to Carrie Underwood. Juxtaposing the soft ballads with the lead singer Gary Lightbody's throaty drawl, Snow Patrol transcends stereotypes. Pigeon-holing Snow Patrol would do them no justice. However, their music has more traces of alternative rock than pop.

 

Though much of the lyrics in "Eyes Open" is simplistic, their proselike verses are as effective as Brighteye's beautiful poetic ones. Songs like "It's Beginning to Get to Me" has a fragmented structure leaving the listener with an almost incomplete piece. However, the imperfection only makes the song more appealing and potent. The lyrics are as whimsical as fleeting thoughts: "Lash out first/At all the things we don't like/Or understand/And it's beginning to get to me/ That I know more of the stars and seas."

 

The album isn't entirely without fault.The songs toward the end become more and more lethargic. The catchier songs such as "You're All I Have" and "Hands Open" come earlier on the album. The lack of a repetitive chorus makes "Eyes Open" a bit difficult to sing along to. (For better or worse. If you want catchy radio-friendly music, go pick up Ashlee Simpson instead because Snow Patrol isn't that type of music.)

 

Snow Patrol has made strides in sophistication, though fans may miss quirky song names as ominous "Headlights on Dark Roads" replace titles such as "Spitting Games" and "Glaming Auction." They still have traces of their old music, so rest assured, fans. For those who appreciate the likes of The Postal Service or Belle and Sebastian, you may want to give Snow Patrol a try. If that's not enough incentive, Rufus Wainwright's kid sister, Martha, duets with the lead singer in "Set the Fire to the Third Bar."

 

http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060901/LIFE06/609010320/-1/NEWS01

ISn't it great? I mean I keep seeing "Chasing Cars" on Vh1 all the time and I'm like holy crap I'm seeing them' date=' that FACE, sooon. And it better be up close too. Well it willl be...... I plan for the front too!!![/quote']

chasing cars is song of the year,omg!

Snow Patrol wow fans with acoustic show

In a very special location

 

Snow Patrol played a super-intimate show for fans in the heart of central London last night (September 4).

 

The Gibson Guitar Studios in the West End provided the setting for an acoustic performance for just a handful of Virgin Radio competition winners.

 

Although the rest of the band were in attendance before flying to Canada, just Gary Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly and bass player Paul Wilson took to the stage for a short set of hits from their two most recent albums, 'Final Straw' and current UK chart-topper 'Eyes Open'.

 

They played:

 

'Chocolate'

'Spitting Games'

'How To Be Dead'

'Chasing Cars'

'Run'

'You're All I Have'

 

Highlights from the session can be heard throughout the week on Virgin Radio.

 

http://www.nme.com/news/snow-patrol/24206

 

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In other news, I should hopefully have the photos this evening

3 more days till snow patrol for meeeee. YAY!!!!!!!!! :D :D :D

Pictures have come :D

 

For the meanwhile, when I sort them out, here is a picture of the lads :)

Dodgy Lights Time

 

 

And that isn't a shadow, it's the tv screen showing a live HD feed

Great pictures! You were right up close. Sweeet and the setlist is really good.

 

yayyy for you TLo!

 

Less than 2 weeks for me.:)

Great pictures! You were right up close. Sweeet and the setlist is really good.

 

yayyy for you TLo!

 

Less than 2 weeks for me.:)

 

Front Row :D

 

Although I did get to the gates at 10:00 in the morning for a mid-day opening, and it meant I was stuck watching some dodgy bands (complete stone roses, lily allen) but it had it's rewards (kid harpoon, the young knives), so a very good day :)

Yippee!! Congrats on front row. Glad to hear you had a fun experience!

That live HD feed on the screen in the back is really impressive!

Nice pics

The show is supposed to be aired in full on Virgin tonight I believe (Ben Jones show 7pm). I suppose you already knew that :p

 

Does anyone know how to record it from the Virgin player? I am happy to do it myself if anyone could give me some pointers... (looking at you Dave....)

i get to see them TOMORROW NIGHT!!!! i wonder what time i have to get there to get to the front.. gAaaahhhh

Go about an an hour and a half before the gates open if you want front row! Gary shouldnt have cut his hair :(

the problem is.. i live in nyc.. and its a friday night.. and im pretty sure there are gonna be crazies waiting in line really early. whyyyyyy. i dont know. i might have to join the crazies.

 

i wouldnt mind not being in the front if i wasnt so short.. and if i wasnt old and i get tired too easily haha i need me some railing to lean on.

haha then people wll just point at you and say oh look it's another one of those crazies.... decisions decisions decisions. Well use some miracle growth and you should be nice and tall come tmrw! It worked for me I'm 6ft 4, I used miracle growth and drank milk, so if you havent been drinking milk with the miracle growth then you are fairly screwed!

ok i got there like 2 hours ahead of time.. and got the railing WOOOOO.

 

preview of pictures!

 

 

 

 

 

the rest will appear on my flickr later. i also took a bunch of videos.. which will appear on youtube later. me and my friend went to the afterparty and saw gary tehre.. but he ran upstairs to the private part before we could talk to him. but we DID talk to nathan again! and he totally remembered us from last time. it was awesome. nathan likes leaning into and like putting his arm on people hes talking to . *tee hee* not that im complaining haha.

 

now its time for bed since its like 5am. GAH!

YAY!!! Awesome pics!:):) Can't wait to see them all. So how do you get to an afterparty??? I am so happy that you got to meet them again!

well the real afterparty was invite only.. as opposed to last time when it was just like.. roam around the place as you please. the place where the afterparty was at is just a lounge/bar and the afterparty was upstairs. so ud have to walk thru the regular area to get upstairs .. so me and my friend just ate and drank seeing if they would actually show up hehe. we were on our way out when we saw gary and nathan actaully, so it was a good thing i had to pee again hahah!

 

and the rest of my pics are up! and i shall be uploading videos over the next couple days :D

 

enjoy!

great pics!

Review: Snow Patrol at Roseland Ballroom, New York, Sept. 8, 2006

 

Gary Lightbody, all spider limbs and breathlessly lovely vocals, has had an exhausting year.

 

First was the big come down from an opening stint on U2's Vertigo Tour in the spring of 2005. Then the recording of the new Snow Patrol album, "Eyes Open." After its May release, and success of early singles "Hands Open" and "You're All I Have," ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" utilizes single "Chasing Cars" to galvanizing effect during its heart-wrenching finale. Then there was the little business of polyps forming on Lightbody's vocal cords, threatening to effectively curtail worldwide buzz on the new album and canceling the initial tour in support of it. So he was ordered to pipe down for a month or so to heal that famous voice. Not an easy task for such an energetic, charismatic singer on the cusp of true stardom.

 

Thankfully Lighbody was given the go ahead in late summer to resume touring. As a coincidental reward, Snow Patrol would find "Eyes Open" top charts all over the world, and "Chasing Cars" all over the radio. At press time, "Eyes Open" is sitting pretty at number one on the British and Irish charts.

 

The Sept. 8 show at the cavernous Roseland Ballroom—a venue notorious for inspiring poor and subdued shows from even the most enigmatic bands (such as the Yeah Yeahs Yeahs)—went off without a hitch. Openers Martha Wainwright and San Diego's Augustana surprisingly played to a near-capacity crowd, and performed their daunting duties with style and effortless grace, though at times falling victim to the Roseland curse of muddled sound and indistinguishable vocals.

 

Bounding onto the stage for its first proper New York show in support of "Eyes Open," (the band played a warm-up gig at Bowery Ballroom in March), Snow Patrol roused the crowd from the start with a triple shot of "Final Straw" favorites, "Spitting Games," "Wow" and "Chocolate." The latter song finding a second life thanks to its inclusion on the new Zach Braff-produced soundtrack for "The Last Kiss."

 

The big hit single, "Chasing Cars" turned up several songs later, announced as "a song you've all heard a couple times," but "dedicated to everyone in love and everyone else." With nary a hint of fatigue with the now ubiquitously popular ballad, the audience happily sang along to Lightbody's gorgeous "first true love song."

 

Perhaps it's a testament to both the strength of Snow Patrol's music and its passionate fan base that there are no waning moments in the band's performances, unlike bigger bands such as U2, Aerosmith and even Coldplay to an extent, that attract thousands of concert-goers who just want the hits, the T-shirt, a beer with a pretzel and just to say they were there. A Snow Patrol concert has no bathroom break songs, no weak tunes and no pretension from a band just trying to sell its new album. Lightbody, guitarist Nathan Connolly, bassist Paul Wilson, keyboardist Tom Simpson and drummer Jonny Quinn love what they do, believe in what they do, know where they come from and love their fans. It's not a rare sight to catch Connolly, Wilson and Simpson milling about before shows, happily chatting up adoring fans. They're nice blokes who don't date Oscar-winning actresses. In fact, there wasn't a single celebrity visible hanging around the VIP section, very unlike other bands of Snow Patrol's well-earned stature.

 

Further highlights of the remarkable show included eternal crowd-favorite "How to be Dead" from "Final Straw," a hypnotically epic "Make This Go on Forever," an album cut from "Eyes Open," and a stunningly rare and erotically-charged performance of "Set Fire to the Third Bar" which found angelic-voiced Wainwright reprising her album duet with Lightbody. Typical show-stopper (and the Patrol's first major "Chasing Cars"-level hit) "Run" followed with all house lights, arms and cell phones up. Lead single from "Eyes Open," "You're All I Have," followed, inciting a wave of unfettered joy from both the audience and the jovial, tireless Lightbody. Honestly, you'd never know that this was a man whom just a few months back had stared down the barrel of never singing again; his astonishing vocals never wavered, never cracked, and his lithe frame never stopped moving, just like the insatiable crowd on this warm September night.

 

If you weren't able to catch Friday's show, or any of its current North American leg, don't fear, Snow Patrol will return in February for another run.

 

http://www.interference.com/stories/id164870.html

That déjÀ-vu thing hits with Snow Patrol

 

The Scotland-based (via Ireland) quintet Snow Patrol suffers the fate of being an accomplished alt-rock commodity whose fusion of power, atmospherics and melody sounds like something very familiar. Check that - some things very familiar.

 

So descriptions are often a clumsy run of English and Irish rock institutions separated by hyphens. Something like U2-meets-the-Verve-meets-Radiohead.

 

The band's tight and brisk 75-minute set at the sold-out Electric Factory on Saturday proved that summation isn't far off the mark.

 

Yet while watching the band glide from propulsive-yet-airy rockers to slower love songs that hinged upon cascading guitar figures and singer-guitarist Gary Lightbody's puddle-deep observations of the heart (like "There is a darkness deep in you/A frightening magic I can cling to"), a more succinct comparison sprung to mind.

 

Snow Patrol is Coldplay with cojones.

 

That's not meant to be a dig at the veteran band; Snow Patrol has actually been making records longer than Coldplay. As people like to say these days, it just is what it is.

 

Coldplay's placid grandeur was evident in ballads like the whispery "Run" and in the piano twinkles and whooshes of guitar that filled out halting pauses in the cleverly arranged "How to Be Dead."

 

While Coldplay does grandeur, windswept melodrama and not much else, Snow Patrol also does grit, and quite convincingly.

 

"Shut Your Eyes" was as basic as it got. A repetitive two-chord rocker, Lightbody kept the words to a minimum as the band again punctuated the spaces effectively, this time with call-and-response harmonies in the chorus.

 

On "Ways and Means," the distorted bass buzz and guitar squeals driving the plodding song nodded to noisier Anglo roots like My Bloody Valentine.

 

Yes, it's another influence openly echoed by Snow Patrol, but at least the band has good taste.

 

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/magazine/daily/15488782.htm

Omg I have been away for way to long!!!!!! How is everyone?!?! Was everyone able to make thei rescheduled dates?!?! Mine is on thursday and i am so excited!!!!!!!!

 

Marisa are you going to the show?!?!?!

 

TLo Awesome Im glad you got to go and get nice and close! I hope and pray I get up to the front as well!

Me too! I seriously can't believe it's already here! TLo made it to hers, and got some great pics.

Oh yea! Im so glad that u are able to go! Oy now to figure out what to wear! Yea, I will see you there!!!

videos from my concert:

 

make this go on forever:

 

open your eyes:

 

set the fire to the third bar:

 

chasing cars:

 

how to be dead:

 

grazed knees:

 

chocolate: