Properties of Glass

Those in attendance who had been paying close attention to the order of performers begin to realize that Infinite is next. This was one of the more unpredictable bands, especially when it came to concerts. They have been widely regarded as one of the greatest live acts in recent history, but recent events have subtly changed the public’s view of the band. Eric Quillington, while always an extremely entertaining and charismatic frontman, had somewhat ruined Infinite’s last festival performance. After overestimating his tolerance of alcohol, he stumbled his way through three songs before drummer Greg Oldson pulled him offstage early in an attempt to prevent the singer from embarrassing himself further. While the brief performance was very memorable, with Quillington’s slurred rendition of Passion Pit’s ‘Sleepyhead’ seen as one of the festival’s standout moments, it causes one to raise a wary eye to Infinite’s next festival slot. Despite these mixed feelings regarding the band, a loud cheer still ripples from the crowd as a voice blast’s through the stadium’s speakers. The voice is Johnny Depp’s, and comes from the move ‘Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas’;

“A drug person can learn to come with things like seeing their dead grandmother crawling up their leg with a knife in her teeth, but nobody should be asked to handle this trip. This circus is what the whole hep world would be doing every Saturday night if the Nazis had won the war. This was the Sixth Reich.”

A chorus of 300,000 voices shouts in unison as the lights quickly dim, but are somehow drowned out by the sound of percussion several seconds later. One lone spotlight shines on Greg Oldson, pounding away on the drums as if his life depends on it. Bassist Matt Roberts joins in after another brief moment; always the exact opposite of the theatrical Eric Quillington, he merely stands at the side of the stage, completely unfazed by the massive crowd before him. As the instrumental opening continues, Eric Quillington skips onstage with a barely contained sense of glee, while a stream of fireworks erupt behind him. It is the version of Quillington that everyone was hoping for; fully sober and aware, but still maintaining an eccentric and enigmatic aura. After a brief span of time away from the spotlight, in order to record a trio of albums yet to be released, the legendary frontman has finally returned to the stage.

After a brief, flamboyant bow to the audience, Quillington straps on his guitar. The notes on the instrument are played with a ferocious intensity, creating a musical texture much closer to heavy metal than Infinite’s version of alternative rock. While it’s a trait that stands in direct contrast to his personality as a whole, Eric Quillington has always been a guitarist typically known for subtly in his playing. Because of this, it comes as a shock to see him playing in this style. Barely thirty seconds in, Infinite seems to have reached a frenzied, out of control climax.

As the instrumental opening reaches a fever pitch, it is brought down slightly, surprisingly enough, by Quillington’s singing. While, previously, his voice had been the carrying factor in the band’s music, it is now but a falsetto whisper.

“Words echo through my mind, words spoken through another mouth
Time and time they’ve been heard before, so my variations hold no captivating interest
All I can think of are the endless clichés
Should I speak my thoughts to you all anyways?
Or perhaps the truth is better hidden beneath bells and whistles”

Breaking Circles/Grinning like a Jackal/Fanning the Ember/Family Friendly Fun

“Thank you, thank you” Eric says amongst the cheers from the audience, “I’m all cut up about not being the headliner tonight. Not because of the ego-trip it’d give me, although I would enjoy it, but because I won’t have an extra hour to perform. I’ve spent so much time recently being a celebrity, that I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be an actual musician. I’m not complaining or anything; fame and fortune is pretty nice, but nothing beats the act of singing my heart out to you lovely folks, even if it is for a brief sixty minutes.”

The next four songs all blend together perfectly, with no accompanying speech from Quillington. They all tell the same story, one of a bitter man refusing to acknowledge his own flaws in an attempt to seem unique and perfect. While the songs are initially the same style of guitar-driven rock as ‘Properties of Glass’, they slowly morph into a much more reflective and reserved atmosphere. The lyrics undergo a similar process, until it finally reaches an apex with the chorus to ‘Family Friendly Fun’. This part of the song was written as Quillington’s response to the regret he felt after realizing he had hardly contributed to the search for his close friend Jason Smith. In just four lines, he reveals more about himself than he has in any other full-length song before it;

“If, for a while, we pretend the noise and clutter isn’t worth the time of day
Then, for once, the distraction will be nothing in comparison to the main event
Live the life of an enigma, and the world falls to your knees
Live the life of an enigma, and the enigma outlives you”

How to Destroy Your Boyfriend (Glamazon Cover)

“I’m actually really terrible when it comes to remembering dates, which is why girls tend to break up with me. But, if I’m correct, it’s coming up to three or four months since Glamazon and I started dating.” Eric happily explains to the audience, causing a massive roar of approval, specifically from the romance-minded teenage females. After bowing and thanking them, he continues; “So, I’d like to take the moment to celebrate, if nobody objects. Oddly enough, I’m not totally sure if Glamazon is in attendance tonight. It’s the first sign of a strong relationship; good communication between the lovers.”

In an obviously illegal move, Eric spray-paints the side of the stage with a large, bright pink heart while singing the excerpt from one of Glamazon’s more recent songs. As Quillington and the crowd sing the verse a cappella, the screen behind Infinite shows images of flowers and other symbols typically associated with romance and valentines. There is a slight difference between the screen and lyrics, of course; Quillington once called the song and title ‘pants-shittingly terrifying’.

“I know how to break a man’s heart
It’s not like I was the one who fell in love so easily
So I won’t be the one crying the tears
I’ll just watch them fall from your eyes
Watch me lick my crimson red lips
And I’ll watch you suck it up like a bitch
A man’s tears are so attractive, a man’s tears are so attractive”

“I’ll just leave that there for GirlSpice to deal with,” Eric says, looking at the obnoxiously large heart with a satisfied smile on his face.

Tracing the Familiar Patterns

As Quillington makes his way to the piano, he takes off his eye-catching sunglasses and red jacket. Stripped of his more flamboyant clothing choices, he seems far more serious than usual. Although he has repeatedly tried to hide it, there is a soft, almost feminine side to his voice that is well-suited to slower, balladic tunes. Only very rarely, on occasions such as ‘Shades of Grey’, has he revealed this side of himself. Through most of his life, Quillington has had a fear of revealing himself through vocals and lyrics, instead preferring to look outward for lyrical themes. Recently, he has become particularly well-known for quirky acts and behaviors, and yet, a more melancholy and serious side of him resides beneath the surface. It’s one he almost never acknowledges, even in private, but is exposed in full during these two verses;

"And your personality is a song; it ends and begins whenever the cycle dictates
Conversations of feelings and depth will always remain one-sided
The unspeakable words are the ones that come far too easily to you
You and I, together, are living in a graying world

And my personality is like a march, always monotonous in its consistency
I’m far too afraid to speak of sadness and fear, because the phobias have all been expressed before
The only thing that makes one unique is being the first to make a new step
I’m living in a graying world, you’re living in a perfect world"

Tales of Lunar Exploration

“I don’t know how well I’ll sing this next song,” Eric says to the crowd, “Because I did the vocal to the studio recording while coked out on a dangerous combination of narcotics. And now I’m sober, against my better wishes. Y’see, last time I was at one of these festivals, I was a little bit tipsy. It wasn’t too bad or anything, I didn’t even think it was noticeable. But, it was, so now my manager forces me to get drug tested before every live gig. Wouldn’t really make much of a difference, though; I mean, if I was already flying high, it’s not like a breathalyzer is going to make me sober. So it’s a rather pointless exercise that really-“

His rant is cut off by a rapid drum-snare by an irritated Greg Oldson, who seems anxious to get to the next song. Unlike Eric, he seems to realize the importance of time-restraints on their setlist. After flashing a sly grin to his annoyed drummer, Quillington cracks his knuckles and begins playing a new song on the keyboard. It’s a marked difference from the bare-bones tone of the previous song. While most of the earlier songs were very guitar-centric, this one enunciates the slow, yet subtle, change Infinite’s setlist has gone. The sonic territory is now much more ambient and relaxed, and displays none of the unease typically found in Infinite’s more relaxed songs. The instruments help create a very hazy and dreamlike atmosphere, which the reverb-soaked keyboards only add to. This lightweight feel serves as a striking contrast to the heavy lyrical themes.

Eric’s vocals during this song are quite a departure from his usual work. While his voice and lyrics can often be somewhat indecipherable due to his singing style, the exact opposite is now apparent. The words are pronounced and stretched almost to a breaking degree; as a consequence, his British accent is much more noticeable than usual. The result is a fairly seductive vocal from a man who typically shies away from such things.

“Pick apart the echoes in this room, and listen to the lone voice disguised as many
Once it’s possible to differentiate each pulse, it can be noted that they all come from the same source
Realize you’re talking to yourself, and you’ll see there’s no shame in the chorus of reverb”

“The days of blissful, unaware ramblings have long since been left in the past
Now that I can hear silence, my thoughts finally come pouring through”

A New Circle

“Once again; thank you so much. Or, no, wait, I haven’t actually said thank you yet. So, okay, then; thank you, thank you, thank you for sitting through our set. The call of beer can be fairly alluring, I know, so it means quite a bit that a fair few of you didn’t go for a quick buzz while we were up here. I had an amazing time being back in the saddle, so I hope you all felt similar feelings of joy watching me. A man can hope, right? Still, I know this a one-way goodbye, as I know you all will be watching GirlSpice’s performance while I get arrested for vandalism. Let me tell you, though; it was all worth it.

Anyways, if it’s alright with you all, I have one more favor to ask. I know none of you have heard this song, as it’ll be the first time we’ve ever played it before an audience, but I’d like it if you could sing the final line for me. It’s a fairly optimistic one, so I think a chorus of 300,000 voices singing it would be quite a surreal experience. I’ll help you out first, if you’d like.”

Eric sings the line several times, before prompting the audience to do the same. Once properly satisfied that the crowd will remember it, the band begins their final song of the evening. This one is very similar to ‘Tracing a Familiar Circle’, as it should be; this is meant to be the second part, the climax to the entire album called DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE. It’s piano-driven, with quiet accompaniments from Matt and Greg, but the dominant feature are the lyrics, as it is with most of the upcoming album;

“And our personalities are like a melody, one overlapping note over the other
The conflict of dominance merely creates an uneasy harmony
The future stretches outward, and there will be plenty of time to iron the wrinkles”

The band reaches an instrumental conclusion, after which Eric throws his hands up in the air, as a cue for the crowd to sing their line. It’s an ending that is both intimate and optimistic, with none of the grand gestures that Infinite are typically known for. And, yet, it seems like the only logical conclusion to a show that has become so personal;

“We’re living in a perfect world”