Summerfest 2009: The Constellations rock the park

The next band to step up to the plate was nine-member Atlanta band, The Constellations. I've never seen so many band members onstage at one time, and I was particularly amused by the group of backup singers and dancers they called the clap squad. However, my amusement turned to awe when they began to play. I can honestly say I've never heard anything like this band before in my life! Like many of my favorite bands, their music can't really be placed into any genre. On their myspace, they describe their style as psychedelic ghettotech showtunes, and I could add gothic alternative rock and rap to their list of adjectives as well. It was a veritable explosion of insanity, but such an explosion never sounded so good!

Lead singer Elijah Jones impressed everyone in the audience with his energy and personality as well. He used the whole stage as his playground and danced around it wildly while playing several instruments and singing. Then he pulled off his shirt to reveal his quite spectacular array of tattoos. Between songs, he entertained the crowd with some hilarious comments ranging from warnings about his various family members in the audience to some suggestive thoughts about the members of his band. Then he topped the show off by rocking on the guitar while on his back which left him with a great big gash from some of the onstage equipment. Like a true rockstar, though, he just got up and enthusiastically continued to create musical magic for everyone there. All in all, I blown away by this band's style! What an opening act for Manchester Orchestra!