The The • October 30, 2024 • Eccles Theater
Reviewed and Photographed by Austin Dayton
This last week, alternative indie band The The, led by the ever-enigmatic Matt Johnson, made their way to Salt Lake City Utah, playing their “Ensouled” world tour at the Eccles Theater. The much-anticipated return of The The to the music scene was prefaced with “Ensoulment”, a new album released by the band earlier this year. The Utah-based audience that had crowded into the theater was treated to a near-perfect night of music across a vast musical landscape that included everything from new wave, alt-rock, post-punk and so much more. For many it had been 20-plus years since they had seen the band live, truly marking the performance as one to bring back old memories whilst cementing new ones!
The The started their show with an unusual request. As the lights dimmed, a voice echoed through the theater asking all in attendance to put away their phones, informing the crowd that all photography and video of the show was prohibited. Though initially met with some sadness this lack of distraction proved to be vital for creating a deeply intimate concert. Phones tucked away, the audience cheered The The into existence as they almost immediately took the stage to the music of “Cognitive Dissident,” from their “Ensoulment” album. Though the album was only released earlier this year, the audience was already dancing and singing along.
As the first song came to an end, Lead singer and original band member Matt Johnson took to the mic to explain the structure of the show. The first set would be what Johnson called a listening set. In this set, they would play their new album, front to back and it would be a listening experience for the audience. The band would then break for an intermission, blaming his “old” bandmates for needing a water break, then The The would come back to the stage for their second set called “Retro,” which would be a time travel to their hits from the ’80s and ’90s.
Listening Set
The unique dynamic explained, the band started right back into their new album. As promised The The went song to song through their latest album, only pausing occasionally to preface a song with a description or to toss a jest at the crowd. With not a phone in sight, the audience was able to focus on the band and music as if it were a personal concert for one. As one would expect from The The, each song was incredibly entrancing and almost thought-provoking, seemingly transcending traditional music trends while almost dipping into the essence of the spoken word. No topic was off limits as the album touched on everything from love, loss, death, politics, and overall, quintessential human experiences. All the while, artistic renditions of those very experiences graced the backdrop of the stage.
The extremely smooth voice of Johnson became further luring as he sang not only through a traditional mic but also two harmonica mics that were set up in a stereo fashion to either side of his main mic. This setup, mixed with the supporting band’s mastery of their instruments, proved to provide a night that felt free of musical mistakes. With James Eller on Base, D.C Collard on the keyboard, Barrie Cadogan on lead guitar, Chris Whitten on Drums, and of course Matt Johnson on lead vocals and guitar the band worked as a team, Johnson their captain. While Johnson is the only founding member remaining, many currently in the band had had stints off and on with The The.
Often during the night, Johnson would raise a hand or point towards a band member almost as if he were a conductor of an orchestra. The The is Johnson’s musical experiment and the listening set was proof of that. Notable songs from the listening set included “Some Days I Drink My Coffee By The Grave of William Blake” and “Kissing The Ring of POTUS,” both of which were followed with loud cheers and claps from around the theater. As the listening set came to an end The The made their way off stage and the crowd mingled through the intermission, many excitedly discussing the new wave music experience they had just heard.
Retro
With a five-minute warning broadcasted in the voice of Johnson, the audience reconvened. Before starting their Retro set, permission was granted by the band to get up to dance and sing. The introspective listening was over, it was time to party. Leading with “Infected” from their 1986 album sharing the same name, the atmosphere took a 180 turn as the audience had their hand in the air, cheering and hollering. Fan favorites also made their way into the retro set as “The Whisperers” and “This is the Day” had the crowd singing and swaying.
Looking across the theater most of the audience was made up of those who would have been teenagers in the 80s and 90s, surprisingly though there was a large number of current teenagers who had made their way to Eccles on a Wednesday night, further proving the band’s ability to create timeless songs and sounds.
Having played twenty-five songs and almost performing for 2 ½ hours, The The brought the Retro set to a close, making their way off stage. Youthful cheers from those lifelong fans echoed off the walls as it became clear that there was a demand for more. Those cheers only intensified in volume as The The was nowhere to be seen. Finally caving to the pressure and giving the crowd exactly what they wanted, James Eller led the band back onto the stage. The band finished off the night with “Uncertain Smile” which included one of the most passionate and amazing keyboard solos that I had ever heard. Then finished the night with “GIANT” which Matt informed the crowd this song was always supposed to be the last song on the Soul Mining album but the label had “added a chapter to a finished book” by placing “Perfect” after it.
Overall, The The brought an art-music experience to Salt Lake. The mix of the listening set with the retro set mixed with the artistic depictions of the human experience playing on the backdrop truly provided all in attendance with two uniquely different yet soulfully the same concerts. If you have the chance to experience The The, do it.