Godspeed You! Black Emperor bring Liberation to The Palace Theatre in Calgary, AB
Photo credit: Daman Singh - Godspeed! You Black Emperor in Calgary, AB
On a cloudy day, the dark and gloomy space of the Palace Theatre was filled with nothing but a few lights, 16mm projections and a sonic euphoria. For almost two hours, the audience was taken away by the magic that is the sound of the Canadian ensemble of Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
The night started with opening act Mat Ball taking the stage: I had never heard of the Montreal musician before and, oh boy, it was a wonderful introduction. Shining under the spotlight, Ball walked on the stage with just his guitar and the drone of his sound took over the audience in a trance. His set was the best opening act you could have had for an act like Godspeed. It was transcending and set the mood for what was about to follow.
Photo credit: Daman Singh - Mat Ball Emperor in Calgary, AB
Godspeed You! Black Emperor took the stage shortly after. Where Ball’s simplicity was striking, it was a wild contrast to Godspeed. The band slowly walked on stage one after the other playing “Hope Drone”— a live exclusive improvisation track that set the mood for the main pieces to follow. In the background, the projector took on the shape of “Hope”, repeating over and over, over the gloomy drone of their sound. The band slowly filled out the stage and the arrangement of their stage presence felt like a comfortable and intimate jam session with the group as they followed into “SUN IS A HOLE SUN IS VAPORS”.
The major opening tracks were from their last release NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28, 340 (2024). The sound of Godspeed You! Black Emperor is peaceful, glorious and the songs seem to blend into one big theatrical experience; “BABYS IN A THUNDERCLOUD” was a peaceful buildup into the cinematic chaos of “RAINDROPS CAST IN LEAD”. The latter is arguably one of the strongest tracks on the album, the 8 minute build up into the stimulating catharsis of the song, which was even more powerful live.
Photo credit: Daman Singh - Godspeed! You Black Emperor in Calgary, AB
Godspeed wasn’t a show you would enjoy at the barricade. I found myself running upstairs to the gallery to bask in the glory of the stage. The somber ambient lighting paired with the film projections on a screen behind the band also made the show as visually pleasing as it was sonically. The purely instrumental act of Godspeed didn’t stop them from making stark political commentary, the projections behind them felt like a showreel of everything that has gone wrong with the modern world. The projections were a critique of our society and made their music an act of rebellion, and somehow with no words uttered, united the audience in the trance.
Taking a break from tracks off the new record— “Fire at Static Valley” was a peaceful release. The eerie crescendos were a prelude to a theatrical performance of war through the sounds of “PALE SPECTATOR TAKES PHOTOGRAPHS”, the atmosphere was no different than that of screeching in a war film. The emotional gut-wrenching melodies of the track brought harsh realities of the political landscape to the stage with them.
Godspeed You! Black Emperor has been, and always will be rebellion in music. It’s what they stand for. It’s what art is for. NO TITLE (2024) is a direct reference to the number of Palestinian casualties between October 2023 and February 2024.
More often than not we end up in discussions around politicization of art and Godspeed is evidence that art is political, even without being overt about it.
Photo credit: Daman Singh - Godspeed! You Black Emperor in Calgary, AB