AM Taxi show was held at one of my SF favorite venues; Slim’s. AM TAXI was one of the opening bands for the Spill Canvas. Additional opening bands were New Politics and Tyler Hilton.
I was very excited to see AM TAXI since for the past few weeks I have been listening to a couple of their songs through their myspace page and really liked what I heard so far.
AM TAXI hails from Chicago and is made of 5 very energetic and talented guys. Adam Krier-vocals and guitar, Jason Schultejann-bass, Chris Smith-drums and backups, John Schmitt-guitar and backups, Luke Schmitt-keyboard and backups. Their set list is as follows:
Dead Street
Paper Covers Rock
Fed UP
Charissa
Woodpecker
Shake, Rattle and Stall
Paint It Black
Mistake
Prior to starting it seemed that not many people were familiar with their music and were just waiting for the Spill Canvas to go onstage. Most of the audience was just mulling around the long L-shaped bar and mingling. As soon as AM TAXI peformed the first song; it was apparent that they were well received. People began to go to the stage and it was soon deep with people and all their attention was on AM TAXI. It was as if they knew they were watching a band that was soon going to be very well known and they didn’t want to miss any of it. Their energy was infectious and the crowd was soon moving around to their eclectic songs. By the time they played “Fed Up” it seemed everyone was glued to them. Adam’s intense vocals with a rough edge, alongside with his fellow bandmates backups was a gift in itself. It was so nice to see a new band come along and just kick it out of the ballpark and not sound like every other band these days. At times reminiscent of “The Outfield” with a touch of “The Clash” and even some “Material Issue”; an incredible winning combination!
Their second to last song was their cover of “Paint it Black” by Rolling Stones and they did the song justice. Chris Smith on drums and John Schmitt’s guitar presence was awesome to watch. Adam delivered on this song and the energy from Luke and Jason was the icing on the cake! Great Job Guys!
They finished the set with “Mistake” which I am sure will be the chart rising single from their upcoming New CD “We Don’t Stand a Chance” from Virgin. The vocals are incredible on this song and the timing of John Schmitt and Adam Krier’s was impeccable and a gift to watch LIVE!
Several of these guys were hanging out prior and after performing at their merchandise booth to watch the other bands. After talking to a few of them and getting our drum head signed it was apparent that they really love performing and just want to have fun.
This is definitely a band you are going to be hearing about. They currently have a release date of June 8, 2010 for their CD and I truly can’t wait! So mark your calendars and make sure you get one or two or three!!! For now, you can always head over to Itunes and purchase their singles or if you are lucky to go to one of their shows be sure to pick up one of their CDs of their original name, AMerican TAXI. Enjoy!
I will post later some videos and photos from this incredible show!
~ Marisol
Music Junkie Press
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