It amazes me when I go into a show, not exactly knowing what I’m getting myself into and having the payoff way beyond my comprehension. This was the case with Friday night’s Maps and Atlases show in the Parish room at the House of Blues. Going into the show my knowledge of the Chicago based trio was little at best. The group formed in 2004 and has put out several Eps and a few albums. This year’s Lightlessness Is Nothing New came out earlier this month and was the primary focus of the set. It mixes well with the bands other material, all be it textured quite differently the early stuff. It shows off the bands understanding of the simple, but allows for deeper interpretation.
As I finished up my shots, I walked around the room and found a place to sit on the wall. Funny enough, that’s where my true appreciation of the set came to be. When you are up front, you tend to get the music from one direction, but I was far enough away that it seemed to encapsulate me. I don’t know if this was on purpose or a mere happy accident, but either way it filled out the evening perfectly.
