My photos from the first day of the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival are in a new gallery, including pictures of Sharon Van Etten, El-P, Liars, Robyn, Broken Social Scene and Modest Mouse.
My photos are also on Flickr.
Photos: Thermals, Hum, Caribou and more
Here are some photos I’ve taken at concerts over the past couple of weeks.
THE THERMALS with DISAPPEARS July 5 at Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park
See more photos from the concert.
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HUM and LONELY TRAILER July 10 at the Champaign 150 street festival
See more photos from the concert.
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CARIBOU and BUDOS BAND July 12 at Pritzker Pavilion, Millennium Park
See more photos from the concert.
And coming soon — photos and reports from the Pitchfork Music Festival.
Black Mountain at Lincoln Hall
Vancouver rockers Black Mountain have a new album on the way — Wilderness Heart comes out Sept. 14 in North America — and the band gave Chicago a preview of the new tunes Thursday (July 1) at Lincoln Hall.
Judging from the new songs Black Mountain played (about half of the set), Wilderness Heart is going to be a fine follow-up to the band’s excellent earlier records, the self-titled debut from 2005 and In the Future from 2008. Continuing in the vein of those recordings, Black Mountain is making epic riffs, drawing on the hard rock, art rock and psychedelic music of the early ’70s.
Some of the band’s songs are quite long, to the point where it seems natural to call them “jams.” But Black Mountain doesn’t fill up all that time with endless solos or improvisation. Sometimes, guitarist/front man Stephen McBean and his band mates simply revel in the joy of playing a great melodic hook over and over. Other times, the songs are more like carefully constructed suites, each part leading into another part that seems like the only logical place the music could go.
McBean’s face remained hidden much of the time, buried under his long hair, as he played guitar or sang. The other thing that makes Black Mountain’s music so appealing is the combination of McBean’s vocals with those of Amber Webber. The new songs sounded strong, but of course, it was even more exciting to hear the ones we’re already familiar with, including “Don’t Run Our Hearts Around” and “Druganaut” from the first album, and “Evil Ways” from In the Future.
Watch a video of the new Black Mountain song “Old Fangs.” Or download a free mp3 of the song here.
The evening started off with an opening set by David Vandervelde, who had at least one different musician in his band compared with the recent show he did at the Empty Bottle. (Or were both different? I’m not sure.) Vandervelde’s Crazy Horse-style guitar soloing on a couple of songs sounded great. The highlights were the last two songs of his set, both drawn from his debut CD, “Murder in Michigan” and “Never No.”
See my photos of Black Mountain and David Vandervelde at Lincoln Hall.
Recent concert round-up
I’ve fallen behind on reports from recent concerts, so here’s a quick round-up of some shows I caught last week.
JUNE 21: THE GREAT SOCIETY MIND DESTROYERS headlined an evening of psychedelic and experimental music at the Viaduct Theater. I’ve been digging the dark-psych sounds of this Chicago band on myspace (www.myspace.com/thegsmd) and was glad to see a live performance after missing several other recent gigs. I heard some outlandish jams. Only problem was the gig could have gone on for another song or two and I would have been even happier. Catch them July 10 at Schubas.
The Viaduct show also featured noisy rock by The N.E.C. and Leavitt/Ours, as well as a friend of mine, Cinchel, who started off the evening with guitar and laptop sounds that slowly built on one another, like a mountain range of tones.
See my photos of the Great Society Mind Destroyers, the N.E.C., Leavitt/Ours and Cinchel.
JUNE 22: DM STITH has been entrancing me with his music since I belatedly discovered his 2009 album Heavy Ghost. He played an intimate and engaging solo acoustic gig June 22 at the Andrew Rafacz Gallery on Washington Avenue. This was a nice little space for this sort of quiet show, which was booked by the folks from the Empty Bottle. Stith sang several songs from Heavy Ghost, as well as at least one new song and a Sparklehorse cover — a touching tribute to the late Mark Linkous. Stith kept his eyes closed almost the entire time he sang, as if squeezing out the emotion in his falsetto vocals. One of the opening bands, Inlets, played with him for a couple of songs. I wish there had been a piano in the room, since some of Stith’s best songs feature piano juxtaposed with layers of his haunting vocals. http://asthmatickitty.com/dm-stith
The evening also featured a hushed set of Scandinavian folk-rock by Silje Nes, including some very creative and subtle percussion.
See my photos of DM Stith, Inlets and Silje Nes.
JUNE 24: OMAR SULEYMAN, a Syrian singer, made his first Chicago appearance ever with a free concert at the SummerDance program in Grant Park — yet another fine example of the wonderful music you can see in Chicago for free. Accompanied by just his keyboard player, who made some delightful beats and snaky synth melodies, Suleyman confidentally strode the stage, clapping his bands to encourage dancing. (The audience didn’t actually need that much encouraging.) Suleyman’s nimble vocals were enchanting.
JUNE 24: QUINTRON & MISS PUSSYCAT were playing that same night at the Empty Bottle, but truth be told, I mostly went to see the two opening acts. Chicago’s Cave has an excellent new EP, Pure Moods of cool Krautrock-style jams. Cave sounded great live, too. The second band was Eddy Current Suppression Ring, a rambunctious garage/punk band from Down Under, who got the crowd bouncing. Then came an absurd puppet show to start off the set by Quintron, involving cats and pizza. It’s hard to say what exactly the point was, but it was certainly amusing. As for the music that followed — well, I’m not that familiar with Quintron, and I have to say I didn’t really “get” it. The mosh pit loved it, though.
More photos coming soon…
Superchunk Jumps Back to Life
Until Sunday’s show at the Taste of Randolph Street, it had been a long time since I’d seen Superchunk. I’d seen the band only once before — on Nov. 8, 1991, when the still-young group from Chapel Hill, N.C., opened for the Mekons at Cabaret Metro in Chicago. Don’t ask me for details about that show. I remember barely anything about that performance by Superchunk other than the fact that I liked it. Ah, if only I had been blogging then — maybe I would have jotted down at least a few thoughts about it.
In the 19 years since that show, Superchunk built a loyal if small following of fans with its fuzz-drenched guitar and bright pop melodies. Lead singer and guitarist Mac McCaughan also formed the band Portastatic — and he started a record label that would become one of the most successful in the indie-rock world, Merge. Superchunk has apparently been on hiatus at times, but the group’s back, with a new album, Majesty Shredding, scheduled to come out in September.
On Sunday (June 20), Superchunk came to play in Chicago for the first time in some years, headlining at the Taste of Randolph Street Festival. The band played with the spirit and energy of musicians half their age. McCaughan was especially exuberant, bouncing up and down almost all night long. Mac likes to jump as he plays guitar, and he never seemed to tire from the gymnastics. Bassist Laura Ballance shook her hair and bounced a fair amount, too, and everyone — including drummer Jon Wurster and guitarist Jim Wilbur — was smiling.
It was the sort of music that made you feel like smiling and/or jumping. In addition to a few songs from the new record such as “Learned to Surf,” Superchunk played most of the “hits” that longtime fans probably wanted to hear: “Slack Motherfucker,” “Hyper Enough,” “Hello Hawk,” “Skip Steps One and Three, ” Art Class,” “Like a Fool,” “Low Branches,” “Iron On,” “Water Wings,” “Driveway to Driveway” and “The First Part.” (If anyone has a complete set list, feel free to post it in comments.) It all sounded quite glorious.
www.superchunk.com
www.myspace.com/superchunkmusic
See a video of Superchunk working on the new album.
See a video of Superchunk in concert at the 2009 Merge 20th anniversary celebration.
Also on Sunday at Taste of Randolph, I saw a similarly buoyant performance by another band on the Merge label, The Love Language. Can’t wait to hear their new album, which comes out in July. www.myspace.com/thelovelanguage … And Chicago’s Califone played as well — without nearly as much jumping. Of course, that’s not what Califone is all about, and the band delivered a strong set of the gritty, atmospheric folk rock that it’s known for. www.myspace.com/califonemusic
See my photos of Superchunk, the Love Language and Califone at the Taste of Randolph Street.
A new song by the Books
I wasn’t at the show tonight by the Books at Millennium Park, but judging from the tweets I’ve read, it sounds like it was a grand time. So in honor of all that, here’s an mp3 of a new song, which will be on their album The Way Out, coming out in July.
Tony Allen brings Afro-Beat to Chicago
When Tony Allen performed Monday (June 14) at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park, one of the members of his band wore a T-shirt that read, “Afro-Beat: Created by Tony Allen.” Some may ask: Wasn’t Fela Kuti the Nigerian musician who created this style of music? Yes, but drummer and band leader Tony Allen was present at the creation, too, working with Fela for many years. Allen has recorded some great Afro-Beat records under his own name since the 1970s, and Monday’s show was a rare opportunity to see him performing here in Chicago.
Despite Allen’s renown on the drums (Brian Eno called him “perhaps the greatest drummer who has ever lived”), he was not especially flashy during this performance. Instead of playing big drum solos, he ticked out subtle rhythms. But they were the driving force behind the funky grooves that the band played, including wah-wah guitar chords punctuated by horn blasts. Allen sang on some of the songs, delivering the words in a half-spoken spiel reminiscent of Fela’s own incantations.
This was classic Afro-Beat, played by one of the guys who invented the music, and the crowd loved the extended jams. Some fans formed lines, snaking down the Pritzker Pavilion’s aisles like a bunch of giddy folks at a wedding reception.
www.myspace.com/tonyallenafrobeat
Tony Allen’s opening act was Great Lake Swimmers, a folk-rock band from Toronto. I love both Tony Allen and Great Lake Swimmers, so I was among the audience members who were pleased to see both. It was an odd pairing, though. Led by Tony Dekker, Great Lake Swimmers played soft-spoken, lullingly pretty songs.
www.greatlakeswimmers.com
www.myspace.com/greatlakeswimmers
Junip at Lincoln Hall
José Gonzalez, a Swedish singer-songwriter of Argentine heritage, has gained a following with his gentle singing and soft classical guitar plucking on the solo records Veneer (2005) and In Our Nature (2007). But Gonzalez was actually in a band before he made those records — Junip.
And now he’s back playing with his old bandmates from the 1990s (Tobias Winterkorn and Elias Araya) in Junip once again. Junip doesn’t yet have a proper album to call its own, but the group is giving away free copies of its EP, Rope and Summit, and touring America, including a stop Sunday (June 13) at Lincoln Hall in Chicago.
The sound of Junip is not radically different from those José Gonzalez solo records. Junip is dominated by his mellow sound, a blend of Latin American folk and Nick Drake. The other musicians in Junip flesh out the arrangements, but in subtle ways. The touring lineup includes regular drums as well as congas, plus guitar and synth. As during his solo shows, Gonzalez played sitting down, closing his eyes much of the time as she sang in a breathy tone.
The show, which also featured an opening set by Chicago band Sonoi, was far from being sold out — maybe because people didn’t realize this was a band starring Gonzalez? When the Junip album comes out later this year, I expect the band’s following will increase.
www.junip.net
Matmos and So Percussion at the MCA
The electronic duo Matmos and the classical ensemble So Percussion have teamed up on a new CD called Treasure, which truly blends the two groups together into one. The same was true of the concert Matmos and So Percussion performed Saturday night at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago.
While So Percussion played a couple of pieces on its own (as the two guys in Matmos watched, along with the rest of us), for most of the show, both groups were fully engaged in collaborating on the music. Before the concert began, I’m sure a lot of people in the audience were wondering why a small cactus was sitting on a wooden stool at the front of the stage. When the musicians entered, they went straight for that cactus, standing around it and plucking its needles. The amplified cactus sounded like a drum kit as shifting rhythmic patterns emerged from it.
The members of So Percussion moved off to the side a while later and played a Steve Reich composition for mallets hitting blocks of wood. As simple as that sounds, it was an impressively complex piece, performed with stunning precision. Two of the percussionists played continuously, while the other two would periodically and stop and then begin again, entering gradually into the beat.
At other points during the concert, the members of Matmos and So Percussion played around with cans of beer (chugging their contents first before ripping them apart) and buckets of water, among other objects. It created an intriguing mix of actual concrete sounds emanating from things right there on the stage with electronically treated sounds emerging out of the laptops. Some of the collaborations between Matmos and So Percussion off the new CD sound almost tropical or loungey, with a bit of an Esquivel zing.
In one of the stranger and more humorous moments of the night, a member of Matmos performed a monologue with no musical accompaniment into two microphones, one of which had a vocoder effect. An infant in the audience laughed, apparently at the sound of the vocoder, which prompted others to laugh, too. How odd.
www.brainwashed.com/matmos
www.sopercussion.com
The evening began with an opening set by the Chicago avant-garde jazz trio Tiger Hatchery. It was pretty much a wall of noise, for better or worse. It was probably too much for that infant to take, as well as for some more mature members of the audience, but you had to respect Tiger Hatchey for launching such a full-on assault upon our ears.
Yakuza at the Beat Kitchen
Yakuza is a little unusual for a heavy-metal band — if that’s what you can call it. Lead singer Bruce Lamont also plays sax, an instrument you don’t hear often in metal. It works because Lamont is playing some pretty avant-garde, noisy stuff on that sax. On Saturday night, Yakuza played a show at the Beat Kitchen to celebrate the release of its new CD, Of Seismic Consequence.
If that saxophone wasn’t enough to convince you that this music is maybe a little more prog than your typical metal, there was also the presence of guest cellist Alison Chesley (a.k.a. Helen Money) on several songs, while Kelly Lamont sang harmony vocals. But Bruce Lamont and some of his bandmates (Matt McClelland and Ivan Cruz) also flung their hair around, with all of the abandon of real headbangers. The one exception was drummer James Staffell, who simply doesn’t have the long locks to fling.
Lamont (who also plays the part of Robert Plant in the tribute band Led Zeppelin II and tends bar at the Empty Bottle) seemed to be possessed at moments, staring intently at his microphone as he sang in a range of styles stretching beyond standard “Cookie Monster” growls. He never let up on the intensity, however. It was an epic performance by Yakuza.
See my photos of Yakuza in concert.
Here’s a promotional video trailer for the new Yakuza album, which comes out June 22 on Profound Lore Records, featuring the band members talking about the album.
Do-Division Street Fest
This past weekend, Chicago’s season of street festivals got into full swing, with Do-Division. All summer long, neighborhoods around Chicago host these fests with all of the stuff you’d expect — restaurant booths, vendors selling crafts and, of course, live music. The caliber of music booked at these festivals is pretty good and sometimes great, so it pays to check out the schedules. You can see some really cool bands playing a wide variety of music for that suggested festival admission, usually .
Do-Division had two stages, one booked by the Empty Bottle and one by Subterranean, so you knew there was going to be a heavy emphasis on indie rock. I caught a few sets on Saturday and Sunday, in between the occasional downpours and technical difficulties. (The generator went out for a while on the Damen Avenue stage Saturday.)
For me, the highlight was Warpaint, an all-female rock band from Los Angeles that played Sunday afternoon. The group’s 2009 CD Exquisite Corpse is pretty good (at least, that’s my judgment after having heard it a couple of times), but Warpaint really came alive onstage, with some very percussive riffing. Reminded me a bit of another all-female West Coast band I saw recently, Explode Into Colors.
/www.myspace.com/worldwartour
I also highly enjoyed the lively Saturday-afternoon set by local garage rockers CoCoComa. But what’s the deal with starting your set 10 minutes early, guys? Good thing I got there just in the nick of time.
www.myspace.com/cococoma
On Saturday evening, I ducked out of the fest for a while when the power wasn’t working — seemingly fritzed out by the overpoweringly abrasive humor of standup comic Neil Hamburger. While I was gone, Headlights finally began playing their delayed set. I returned just as they were finishing, unfortunately. But I did catch what came next, which was Pelican playing its heavy instrumental rock. Pelican’s fans raised their hands in the air to the head-banging beat. But you know, after a while, all of those Pelican songs start sounding the same to me.
www.myspace.com/pelican
Over the weekend, I also caught parts of the shows by Vacations and Soft Speaker, though not enough to form much of an opinion on either band. It was nice to see Jeanine O’Toole of the 1900s doing some guest vocals with Vacations.
She and Him at Millennium Park
It’s no surprise that the Millennium Park concert on Monday evening (June 7) by She and Him would be crowded. But the throngs that packed into the Pritzker Pavilion and the lawn surpassed expectations. When I arrived at 5 p.m. for the 6:30 concert, the lawn was already close to full and a long line snaked around the park, filled with people waiting for the gates to open for the 4,000-seat pavilion. By the time the music started, the area in front of the stage and much of the aisle space were jam-packed with fans.
The big turnout was probably due to several things: 1. Many of these people, especially the people up near the front who were singing along to the music, are She and Him fans. Duh. 2. Zooey Deschanel is oh, so cute. She isn’t a huge movie star, but she is a star and she’s pretty, so of course, a lot of people would turn out just to see her. 3. Beautiful weather. 4. Beautiful park. 5. Free admission. I mean, given all of those factors, why not go to Millennium Park for the She and Him show — even if it was on a Monday night, not exactly the top night for entertainment?
I count myself among the She and Him fans. Deschanel is definitely more than a pretty face. Over the two records she’s made with the masterful M. Ward as her guitar-playing and occasionally singing partner, she’s proven that she knows how to write a great song. Volume One and the recent Volume Two are filled with catchy tunes in the classic pop style, the sort of stuff that would have been radio hits in the 1960s or early ’70s. Both of these records have really stuck with me.
And in concert, She and Him pretty much deliver what they do on record. Deschanel was having a great deal more fun than she did the first time I saw She and Him, at a SXSW party in 2008, when her stage presence was rather shy and stiff. This time, she danced more often, even jumping up and down a bit. The show especially came alive on upbeat songs like the great “This Is Not a Test.”
Ward, meanwhile, stayed in Deschanel’s shadow for most of the evening, playing some nice if understated (or undermixed?) licks on the guitar. I get the feeling Ward enjoys letting Deschanel be the focus of attention in this project. Together with the backup band, Ward really makes Deschanel’s songs and the covers in their repertoire (such as NRBQ’s “Riding in My Car”) sound like vintage pop. She and Him did play one of Ward’s solo songs, “Magic Trick,” and he took over the lead vocals for a rousing version of Chuck Berry’s “Roll Over Beethoven” during the first encore.
The concert seemed to be over at that point, when the P.A. system started playing the Beach Boys’ “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” But then Ward and Deschanel came back out and played one more song, Screaming Jay Hawkins’ “You Put a Spell On Me.” It was the one time all night Deschanel really belted out some notes (not that there was anything wrong with the cool, controlled style she displayed the rest of the evening). And then, with Ward’s final solo playing on a repeating loop, She and Him exited, after 90 minutes of winsome music.
www.sheandhim.com
www.myspace.com/sheandhim
Chicago girl group Hollows opened the concert, playing in front of a vast crowd that must have been considerably larger than any audience they’ve ever entertained. With their retro sound, they won over at least the fans in the pavilion, who gave Hollows rapturous applause after their set.
www.myspace.com/hollowschicago
Andre Williams and Dirty Diamonds
The current issue of the Chicago Reader (the June 4, 2010, edition) has my photos of Andre Williams and Dirty Diamonds playing May 29 at Schubas on the Photo Pit page.
I’ve posted additional pictures from the concert here on my blog
It was a fun show, with Williams in good form, singing his raunchy blues-soul songs. My only complaint was that I wish he’d played more music off his new CD, the Bloodshot release That’s All I Need.
www.bloodshotrecords.com/artist/andre-williams
Local group the Dirty Diamond got the show off to a good start, with a fun mash-up of Girl Group vocals, a bit of soul and dance, laptop percussion and electric guitars. The group was missing one of its three regular singers, but the performance still came off well. www.myspace.com/pumpthedirtydiamonds
Hum at Millennium Park
Champaign rock band Hum, who came close to stardom in the 1990s with the song “Stars,” and then seemed to fade out, have reunited recently for a few gigs — including an unlikely appearance Monday night (May 31) at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. It was unlikely just because you wouldn’t expect an old indie-rock band with a cult following to surface at the most prestigious park venue in downtown Chicago. But then again, as I’ve mentioned here before, Millennium Park has some surprisingly interesting concerts.
Hum is definitely a band that sounds like its era. There’s some similarity to Nirvana, the Smashing Pumpkins and other bands of the ’90s. Hum doesn’t vary its sound a whole lot, sticking with the same formula and playing the songs without a lot of showmanship. But it was clear that Hum’s fans were ecstatic to hear those songs being performed in strong live versions. For many of the fans, it was the first chance they’d ever had to see a Hum performance — or the first chance in quite a while. The band offered few hints as to whether or when it will play again.
Some cool upcoming shows at Millennium Park: The Very Best and Antibalas play in the venue’s “Music Without Borders” series this Thursday (June 3). And She & Him play with opening act Hollows next Monday (June 7). Both shows are at 6:30 p.m.
Saki Opens With Live Music
Chicago has new record stores! What a nice development to happen in 2010, just when it seemed like everyone was predicting the demise of the record store. It seems to me that Chicago has enough music fans to support at least a niche market of these shops, and it’s nice to see some new ones on the scene.
Saki opened Memorial Day weekend at 3716 W. Fullerton in Logan Square, run by the same folks who own Carrot Top Distribution. Saki has received a good amount of press coverage, including a short report I did for the Crain’s Chicago Business blog, another piece in Crain’s, Miles Raymer’s column in the Chicago Reader and an interview with Alison Cuddy on WBEZ’s Eight Forty-Eight show, among other stuff.
I stopped by Saki Saturday and took a look around. It surprisingly lacked the usual record-store sense of clutter. (Maybe that will come later.) The choice of CDs and LPs seemed to be pretty good on first glance. It looks like they’re aiming to offer an interesting selection rather than attempt a comprehensive inventory. My one purchase for the day was a pretty cool find: A self-published book of sheet music by the Handsome Family, which looks like a hymnal.
Saki had an impressive schedule of live music and DJs over the weekend, and it could turn out to be a great space for that sort of event. Steve Krakow a.k.a. Plastic Crimewave Sound was DJ’ing when I walked in, and the store also happened to have a bunch of his art for sale. Then I caught a live set by Chicago rock duo Love of Everything, who were charming if a little ramshackle. Is the disconnected quality of the guitar and drums an affectation and style, or is the band still learning? In any case, it was fairly fun.
Saki’s events continue this coming weekend, with Astronomer playing at 6 p.m. Saturday, June 5, and Jonboy Langford playing at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 6.
And this Friday, another Logan Square record store is scheduled to open, as Miles Raymer reported: Bucket o’ Blood Books and Records, 2307 N. Milwaukee.
The Tallest Man on Earth at Lincoln Hall
The stage at Lincoln Hall looked unusually bare Friday night (May 28) just before the Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson, who calls himself the Tallest Man on Earth, came out to perform. Clearly, this was going to be a solo show. Most of the usual amps and drum kits and equipment were absent, leaving a wide open space for Matsson to roam around during his set. A few guitars off to one side. An amp with some effects pedals on the other side of the stage. Microphone in the middle. A chair sitting at the far back part of the stage, many feet away from the microphone.
And sure enough, when Matsson performed, he did roam the stage. For a guy who performs Dylanesque folk music with an acoustic guitar, the Tallest Man on Earth is an oddly energetic, almost hyper guy, moving around a lot whenever he isn’t singing into the mike. He strutted around and crouched down as he plucked some intricate patterns on his guitar strings. Sometimes he went back to that chair and sat down for a minute. He often walked out toward the audience, leaning toward his fans. And they loved it.
Matsson’s songs sound a lot like Bob Dylan’s early acoustic music, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The Tallest Man on Earth might not be breaking any new ground as far as developing an original musical style, but that classic style of Dylanesque folk music is still a great template, with endless possibilities for new words, melodies and arrangements, so why not continue exploring it?
The latest album by the Tallest Man on Earth, The Wild Hunt, is a strong collection of songs from beginning to end, and Matsson played most of them on Friday, along with a selection from his earlier records — and, no surprise, some Dylan covers in the encore, including a nice a cappella version of “The Man in Me” with opening act Nathaniel Rateliff and his band joining in.
The Tallest Man on Earth was wrapping up his U.S. tour last week, getting ready for a time home to Sweden. His next local appearance will be at the Pitchfork Music Festival. Matsson, who seemed genuinely appreciative of the warm reception he got from the Chicago crowd, said he plans to rest up before his return visit to Chicago. “I’m going to sleep until I get to Pitchfork,” he said.
www.myspace.com/thetallestmanonearth
Thee Silver Mt. Zion at Schubas
Epic. That’s the word I keep coming back to whenever I describe the music of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra. It’s not simply that this Montréal band’s songs tend to be 10 or 15 minutes long. And it’s not simply that the band uses its violins, upright bass and guitar to make dramatic sounds resembling an orchestra at full blast. There’s also the heightened emotion and sense of impending apocalypse in the vocals of Efrim Menuck. And his lyrics, which sprawl on for page after page, with so many memorable turns of phrase. Everything about it is epic.
Does that mean it’s pretentious, too? I suppose it can be taken that way, but there’s always been a fine line between beautifully epic music and pretentiously overwrought music, and of course, different fans draw that line in different places. As much as I enjoy songwriters who keep things simple and subtle, I also love a band that’s bold and ambitious, and Thee Silver Mt. Zion certainly qualifies for those adjectives.
The group came to Chicago last week for two nights of music. I did not see the first night at Lincoln Hall, but I went to the May 27 show at Schubas. The last time Thee Silver Mt. Zion played in Chicago, a couple of years ago at Logan Square Auditorium, some inebriated folks at the back of the room repeatedly disturbed the concert by yelling out inane comments. That might be what Menuck was referring to last week when he said, “We’ve had an antagonistic relationship to your city in the past.” In any case, Menuck said he was appreciative of the warmer reception his band got this time. (And, hey, that was just one group of idiots shouting last time, not the whole city.)
What made this show rather unusual was the sheer quantity of talking in between the songs. Menuck has been taking audience questions on this tour, and he repeatedly asked the crowd what they wanted to know. The questions ranged from absurd jokes to serious inquiries about the group’s creative process, and Menuck’s replies ranged from his fashion advice (“I don’t think you should be allowed to wear a baseball cap after the age of 22 years”) to a rant about BP’s oil spill. These back-and-forth chats with the crowd were interesting and entertaining at first, but after a while, they got old, stretching out the pauses in between songs to the point of tedium.
The music, on the other hand, was magnificent and enthralling throughout the set. Thee Silver Mt. Zion played a bit of its older music, but the focus was on its two most recent albums. 13 Blues for Thirteen Moons was my favorite record of 2008, and the band’s new record, Kollaps Tradixionales, is shaping up as one of 2010’s best. The group has had a larger lineup in the past, but the five-piece version touring now still makes a big sound, with two violins up at the front of the stage, while guitar, drums and bass are arrayed behind the string players. While most rock bands using strings go for a light orchestral-pop sound, Thee Silver Mt. Zion uses the tools of classical music to make songs that resemble the sharper-edged tones of orchestral thunder.
www.tra-la-la-band.com
www.myspace.com/asilvermtzion
And now… I eagerly wait to find out the details of the upcoming tour by the older band featuring Menuck and some members of Thee Silver Mt. Zion, the legendary God Speed! You Black Emperor. That band’s web site, http://www.1119732.net (with a URL that I suspect is a reference to the 1914 U.S. Patent number for Nikola Tesla’s Apparatus for Transmitting Electrical Energy), says GSYBE will be playing in “9 American towns.” I’m hoping one will be Chicago, or at least a town nearby.
The May 27 show at Schubas featured Chicago’s Sadhu Sadhu as opening act. This was the first time I’d heard Sadhu Sadhu, and I was pretty darn impressed. The group plays long, jammy, dark, psychedelic rock with hypnotic bass lines and lots of guitar solos.
www.myspace.com/sadhusadhu
Besnard Lakes and Ponys open Millennium season
A lot of great music is on the calendar for Chicago this summer, including many street fairs as well as the big rock fests, Pitchfork and Lollapalooza. Best of all, the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park has a ton of free concerts, including rock, classical, jazz and world music. And as in the last few years, the city of Chicago’s Department of Cultural Affairs has done an exceptional job in booking some really interesting and noteworthy acts at this beautiful venue.
The summer concert season officially began Monday night (May 24) with the first of the “Downtown Sound” shows — a series that focuses mostly on rock, with a surprising amount of critically praised indie rock.
The double bill last night started with the Ponys, a Chicago band that’s been on hiatus for the past few years. It’s good to hear them playing again, with sharp guitar hooks and reverb-laden vocals by lead singer Jered Gummere echoing in architect Frank Gehry’s pavilion. The place wasn’t exactly packed — there were plenty of empty seats, which wasn’t surprising considering how big the place is — but when a small crowd of fans began dancing near the stage, it felt festive. The Millennium Park security seemed to be more casual than usual about letting people dance up in that area near the stage, which is a smart idea.
www.theponys.com
www.myspace.com/theponys
The headliners were the Besnard Lakes from Montréal, who make music with a sweeping sense of drama and high-flying melodies. Singer-guitarist-keyboardist Jace Lasek hit some impressive falsetto notes with something close to perfection. (I laughed when a member of Chicago band the 1900s tweeted last night that they were expecting Lasek to bust into that Conan O’Brien comic tune “In the Year 2000” at any minute.) Bassist Olga Goreas also sings some of the lead vocals, and that mix of male and female voices was beautiful. Deftly moving from delicate passages of music into louder rock, the Besnard Lakes played many songs from their new album, The Besnard Lakes Are the Roaring Night, as well as some tracks from their first two records. Lasek shook his hair and grimaced like a classic-rock rocker.
www.thebesnardlakes.com
www.myspace.com/thebesnardlakes
Check out the schedule of upcoming Pritzker Pavilion concerts at www.millenniumpark.org.
Mono and the Twilight Sad
Two bands from different sides of the planet played Saturday (May 22) at Lincoln Hall, both making some beautiful noise. Up first, the Twilight Sad, from Glasgow, Scotland, sounded even more shoe-gaze-y than they have in the previous shows I’ve seen, with loud guitar feedback churning above, besides and underneath James Graham’s impassioned, Scottish-accented vocals. Graham circled around as he sang, his head tilted back, looking toward the ceiling — he always seems to have a lot of pent-up energy.
Mono, from Japan, then took the stage and proceeded to play two hours of soaring, powerful instrumental rock. Many of the songs began in calm understatement, with guitarists Takaakira Goto and Yoda sitting down, their faces shrouded in long hair, while bassist Tamaki Kunishi stood in between them in a black dress. But each song built in intensity, finally breaking at a moment when all of that hair started flying around. Mono’s music felt majestic, almost orchestral.
Patrick Watson at Schubas
Montréal singer-songwriter Patrick Watson has been making records for several years now, including the wonderful 2009 album Wooden Arms, but he hadn’t played in Chicago until Monday night (May 17), when he finally visited our city with a gig at Schubas.
His talent on the piano was evident even before the show started, when Watson came onto the stage for a brief sound check and ran his fingers quickly up the keys of an upright piano with a virtuosic flourish. Watson spent most of the show sitting at the piano, occasionally moving to the standup microphone at the middle of the stage.
The lighting cast dark shadows as Watson and his backup band, the Wooden Arms, played a delightful set of songs with the sort of complexity and subtlety that you also hear in the compositions of Andrew Bird or Radiohead. His voice was often up in tenor range, and Watson showed a sophisticated appreciation for old-fashioned songwriting craft. But there were also several moments when the music rocked, complete with loud guitar solos.
For the encore, Watson donned a special megaphone suit — looking more like something from the movie Brazil than anything James Bond would be caught dead wearing — which allowed him to sing out in the middle of the nightclub floor without using the P.A. system. (I was not able to get a photo of this, but here’s a picture by another Chicago music blogger, Baby Stew.) And then, setting aside the suit, Watson pulled off a rather remarkable song that began with him singing unamplified out in the audience and leading the crowd in one of the best concert sing-alongs I’ve ever experienced. Was everyone in particularly good voice, or was the music simply inspiring? Then came some drumming from the stage. Watson and the rest of his musicians made their way back onto the stage as the song continued, transforming from campfire sing-along into exquisitely orchestrated art-pop.
What an excellent show. Now, Mr. Watson, please don’t take so long before you make a return visit to Chicago.
www.myspace.com/patrickwatson
www.wooden-arms.com
Seemy photos of Patrick Watson and opening act McKensie Toma.
Condo Dream Day at Hideout
Eleventh Dream Day’s residency at the Hideout continued Sunday night (May 16) with the month’s most notable opening act, Condo Fucks — which is actually an alias or alter ego of indie-rock legends Yo La Tengo. As the Matador Records website explains: “Many years ago, in a town called New London, in Connecticut, one band reigned supreme. Condo Fucks. … Georgia Condo. Kid Condo. James McNew.” Well, that’s not really much of an explanation, but this essentially seems to be an outlet for the three members of Yo La Tengo to play some loud, crunchy guitar chords as they cover a bunch of their favorite songs.
Condo Fucks released an album in March called Fuckbook (a nod to Yo La Tengo’s covers collection Fakebook). No tour has been announced, but the band did a special one-off gig opening for their old pals in Eleventh Dream Day. The press release on the Matador page is headlined: “Condo Fucks in Rare Chicago Appearance Shocker.”
This gig was Yo La Tengo in loud, garage-rock mode for the duration, with Ira Kaplan hunched over his guitar much of the night. Ira switched off on vocals with McNew (who was playing a baritone guitar as if it were a bass) and Georgia Kaplan. I have the complete set list, though I’m not sure about the origins of all these tunes. Help, anyone? [UPDATED 5/18/2010: Thanks to those who commented with info on the original artists. Still not sure about “Get Down.”]
“2120 South Michigan Avenue” (The Rolling Stones)
“Come On Up” (The Rascals)
“With a Girl Like You” (The Troggs)
“Accident” (The Electric Eels)
“Last Time Around” (The Del-Vettes)
“The Kid With the Replaceable Head” (Richard Hell)
“I’m Your Man” (Richard Hell)
“This Is Where I Belong” (The Kinks)
“What’cha Gonna Do About It” (The Small Faces)
“Frenzy” (The Fugs)
“Get Down”
“Dog Meat” (Flamin Groovies)
“Tiger In Your Tank” (Muddy Waters)
“Liz Beth” (Eleventh Dream Day)
Eleventh Dream Day took the stage next, playing a lot of its new songs again, but with more ferocious guitar solos from Rick Rizzo than two weeks ago. The band also played “The Arsonist” (digging all the way back to its 1987 self-titled debut for that one), one of its best-known songs, “Testify” (from the 1989 album Beet) and one of the standout tracks from its most recent record, “Lately I’ve Been Thinking” (from 2006’s Zeroes and Ones).
Ira Kaplan of Condo Fucks/Yo La Tengo came back onstage at the end of the night, joining Eleventh Dream Day for a cover of the Dream Syndicate’s “Halloween.” And then for the encore, the two bands merged together for an epic version of the Velvet Underground’s “Ocean,” extending the last part of the song into a long jam with the chorus, “Here comes the waves!” echoing through the noise.
Tutu and Da at the Empty Bottle
The documentary film You Weren’t There is a fascinating and entertaining look at Chicago’s early punk-rock scene — a scene that most people barely even noticed or knew about in the late ’70s. Two of those neglected Chicago punk bands have new records out, collecting old recordings that barely came out in the first place.
Tutu & the Pirates and Da reunited for a show celebrating those records May 8 at the Empty Bottle. Tutu is one group that definitely doesn’t look like what you’d expect from punk stereotypes. These guys dressed up in goofy costumes, including a big Indian chief headdress, a police uniform and a hard hat. They dressed up like back in the ’70s, and they did it again on Saturday. The effect was something like seeing a jokey Village People act cranking through fast punk songs. A little odd, to say the least. The group was a little too heavy on the shtick for my tastes, but the songs still sounded pretty solid with shout-along choruses (if you actually knew the words to shout along with). The show dragged a bit, thanks to all the in-between-song joking around, but you had to cut these guys some slack. They haven’t played much lately other than a few reunion gigs. The set featured all three of the various drummers who played with Tutu & the Pirates, culminating with Tutu himself, the original drummer who hadn’t played with the band in ages. Wearing a war helmet emblazoned with his stage name, Tutu was grinning from ear to ear as he came onto the stage, and his section of the show seemed more propulsive than everything else.
The female-fronted post-punk band Da finished the show, playing its first gig since 1981. Like Tutu, this band sounded a bit rusty at times — not everything clicked quite the way it probably did when the band was playing in its heyday — but the power of the songs came through, making a good case for the idea that Da deserved a lot more attention when they were originally together.
The two old punk bands had a young garage-punk band as their opening act. Chicago’s Mickey started off the evening with a lively set, including a mid-song wrestling match between singer and guitarist. Mickey is upholding the punk tradition in fine fashion.
See my photos of Tutu & the Pirates, Da and Mickey.
For more about the bands, here’s Miles Raymer’s article in the Chicago Reader previewing the concert.
And to buy the DVD and LPs, here’s the website of Regressive Films, the producer of You Weren’t There.
Eleventh Dream Day at the Hideout
One of Chicago’s great rock bands, the seemingly everlasting Eleventh Dream Day, is playing every Sunday in May (except last week) at the Hideout. The band’s getting ready to record a new album, and the May 2 show was filled with one new song after another. The new material sounded pretty strong, and it’ll be interesting to see how it shapes up or evolves as the group plays more gigs this month and then finally heads into the studio. Eleventh Dream Day also dug way back into its catalogue, playing music from its first album, Prairie School Freakout, as well as a cover tune the band used to play in its earliest days — Bachman-Turner Overdrive’s “You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet.”
This Sunday’s show by Eleventh Dream Day is sold out, thanks to the fact that the opening band is Condo Fucks, an alter ego of Yo La Tengo. I’ll be there. You can still buy tickets for the shows on May 23 and 30. See www.hideoutchicago.com for details.
See my photos from the May 2 show by Eleventh Dream Day and opening act The Eternals.
Daytrotter Barnstormer in Monticello
On April 30, I headed downstate to Monticello, where I caught one of the Daytrotter Barnstormer concerts. My story and photo essay about the concert are in the May 13 Chicago Reader, which is the newspaper’s annual “In These Parts” issue.
I’ve also posted some additional photos of the bands that played April 30 in a gallery here, including Ra Ra Riot, Delta Spirit, Free Energy, Nathaniel Rateliff and Pearly Gate Music.
Jónsi at the Vic
Hiatus over. I’m catching up now with photos from some concerts I’ve seen recently. Jónsi, best known as the lead singer of Icelandic band Sigur Ros, performed a magnificent and hauntingly beautiful set of his solo music from the excellent new record Go on April 28 at the Vic Theatre. The concert built from a hushed quiet in the early songs to a cathartic burst in the encore, with Jónsi singing in a falsetto that was often angelic and occasionally demonic. The set itself was a masterpiece, with a shifting series of projected images making the stage feel like a cabinet of wonders.
The Chicago Reader published my pictures from the Jónsi concert on its Photo Pit page.
And I’ve posted some additional pictures. Here’s a gallery.
Antlers and Phantogram at Lincoln Hall
The Antlers put out one of my favorite records of 2009, a cathartic song cycle about, well, death, called Hospice. There’s no new Antlers record, but the band was back in Chicago again last night (April 22), stretching out those Hospice songs into art-rock epics. Peter Silberman, who started Antlers as a solo project, kept his voice floating up in high falsetto territory most of the night, with confident backing from Michael Lerner on drums and Darby Cicci on keyboards and bass pedals. The guitars and keyboards often melded together into amorphous washes, making it hard to tell who what playing exactly what. The band played one new song — and I have a photo of the set list, taken from a weird angle, where the title is hard to make out. “TEGNB6KK”? Sorry, that’s all I got for you on that.
www.myspace.com/theantlers
The opening act was New York electronic-and-guitar duo Phantogram, who played an entertaining set of melodic songs, sounding like a real live band rather than the preprogrammed stuff you get at concerts by some electronic acts. Films of random street scenes and geometric patterns played on the screen behind Phantogram.
www.myspace.com/phantogram
David Vandervelde at the Empty Bottle
Free concerts on many Monday nights are of the great things about the Empty Bottle. This week (April 19), the headliner was David Vandervelde. I first met Vandervelde a few years ago when I was interviewing the late Jay Bennett at his Chicago studios. Vandervelde hadn’t released any records yet, but he was hanging out with Bennett, collaborating and messing around on a variety of instruments. Bennett told me how talented (and multitalented) Vandervelde was.
When Vandervelde’s strong solo debut, The Moon Station House Band, came out in 2007 on the Secretly Canadian label, the Bennett influence was obvious. Both musicians clearly had a lot of love for catchy late ’60s and early ’70s rock and pop music. Vandervelde’s 2008 CD Waiting for the Sunrise is mellower, but it still harkens back to that era.
As a live performer, Vandervelde is louder and looser than he is in the studio, and so it was on Monday night. Vandervelde often sings with a soft edge to his voice, making it ideal for carrying a sweet pop melody, but he also solos on electric guitar with the sort of ragged, jagged lines Neil Young does with Crazy Horse. He paid tribute to Bennett (who died last year) by playing a song they wrote together, “California Breezes,” and then he finished off the show with one of the best tracks on that first album, “Nothing No,” another track co-written by Bennett.
Vandervelde (who was backed by a couple of musicians from one of the opening acts, Ghostfinger) told me afterward that he plans to record a new album this summer.
www.myspace.com/davidvandervelde
See my photos of David Vandervelde at the Empty Bottle… which are, admittedly, rather dark and grainy. Hey, it was dim in there.
Record Store Day
As far as I’m concerned, every day should be Record Store Day, but as promotional gimmicks go, this is a good one. For three years now, independent record stores around the United States have celebrated the fact that they’re still in existence with a day featuring special records you can buy only on Record Store Day, in-store concerts and whatever festivities the local folks can think up. More than 20 shops in Chicago participated yesterday. Some of these stores had people lined up outside before business opened — fans hoping to snag a copy of something like, say, the clear-vinyl Neko Case LP.
I spent some time shopping, listening to live music and hanging out at Laurie’s Planet of Sound and Permanent Records, also making a brief stop at the Reckless Records in Wicker Park. All three stores were packed with record collectors and music fans for much of the day. Like most people, I buy music online these days, but I still love the experience of shopping in a brick-and-mortar store. While it’s true that the Internet has created new kinds of musical communities, there’s still something cool about chatting with a knowledgeable record-store clerk or hearing something interesting on the record-store turntable.
As far as the special collectible stuff on sale yesterday, I limited myself to just one locally produced 7-inch record — the Trouble in Mind label’s single featuring songs by four bands: Ty Segall, CoCoComa, White Wires and Charlie & the Moonhearts. Some good garage-rock on white vinyl. And like a lot of the vinyl releases that indie-rock bands are putting out lately, it came with a code to download mp3 versions of the songs for free. That’s one of the trends now — vinyl releases plus mp3s, without any CD.
At Laurie’s I, um, “caught” Vee Dee. The trio was playing songs off its new double LP, Public Mental Health System. The volume wasn’t quite as high as it usually is during a Vee Dee gig, but the music still rocked with a sort of early-’70s proto-punk sound. Think of the Stooges and bands like that. Earlier, Laurie’s also featured subdued, introspective songs from the singer who calls himself Algebro (a.k.a. Thom Cathcart).
Later in the afternoon, I saw White Mystery perform a rambunctious set of its garage-rock songs at Permanent Records. I know, I know — you’re probably thinking: Hasn’t this guy seen White Mystery three times in the past month or so. Yes, that’s true. I didn’t really plan to see them that many times, but it was still exciting to see them doing their thing, once again.
And it was exciting to see at least a few record stores are still thriving. See my photos of Algebro, Vee Dee and White Mystery playing on Record Store Day.
Atoms for Peace at the Aragon
It’s hard to figure out exactly what Radiohead is up to these days: Working on a new album? Giving up on the idea of albums altogether? Just doing whatever they bloody well feel like? And what about the most famous member of the band, Thom Yorke? He’s touring now to do what — support a solo record he released four years ago? Or maybe he just felt like getting out onto the road again and playing with a different cast of musicians than usual.
Whatever his motivation, it was fabulous to see Yorke performing live again — and to hear the tunes from his somewhat overlooked solo CD The Eraser transformed into lively, spastic electronic rock by the side-project band Yorke is calling Atoms for Peace.
Atoms for Peace just played two shows at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom. I caught the second night’s performance, on Sunday (April 11). And sorry, I have no photos to post here. Didn’t get a photo pass for this one.
The entire first part of the concert, all the way up until the encore, was a track-by-track performance of The Eraser, beginning with Yorke sitting down at a piano and playing the chords that open the record on the title track. As much as I love the record, it does have a dry sound, feeling very much like something created on a computer. In concert, the music came completely alive, thanks not only to Yorke’s terrific tenor and his twitchy dancing, but also the accompaniment from Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich, drummer Joey Waronker, percussionist Mauro Refosco and the second-biggest star on the stage, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea.
With his short hair dyed blue-green, Flea spazzed out as he thumped away on the bass, bringing out the funky side of Yorke’s compositions. Even if you aren’t a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers (and I’m not), you have to admit this guy’s a talented, energetic bassist, and his presence made things even more interesting.
Yorke has danced around a fair amount in the last two Radiohead concerts I’ve seen, but never as much as he did on Sunday night. At moments, I had to laugh at how Yorke resembled the old SCTV character played by Martin Short, Ed Grimley, doing his odd little dance. All Yorke needed was Grimley’s triangle. (I see that the Chicago Tribune’s Greg Kot compared Yorke’s moves to those of Bez, from the Happy Mondays.) Wherever Yorke gets those strange moves, they’re fun to watch. He looks like someone who never took a dance lesson but who feels the rhythms of the music in every part of his body, moving around like he’s possessed.
The encore began with Yorke playing three songs all alone. The first is a new song apparently titled “Lotus Flower.” Introducing it, Yorke said, “This is one you don’t know. Or maybe you do. I’d be very impressed if you sing along, especially since I don’t know the words myself.”
He followed that with a piano performance of the Radiohead song “Like Spinning Plates,” and then he played a brilliant acoustic-guitar rendition of the classic song “Airbag,” from OK Computer. On record, the song has so many layers of instrumentation that you might wonder how well it would work with just an acoustic guitar and voice, but as Yorke showed in this performance, it’s a strong composition that sounds almost as good when it’s small as when it’s big.
After that, Yorke announced, “Back to the present!” Atoms for Peace returned to the stage, and the band played “Paperbag Writer,” “Judge. Jury. Executioner,” “Hollow Earth” and “Feeling Pulled Apart by Horses” — the last two being songs that Yorke released as a single last year. At the end of the night, I wondered what would be next for Yorke, Atoms for Peace and Radiohead. I imagine we’ll be seeing Yorke playing with Radiohead on some future tour. Will the Atoms for Peace experience change what Radiohead does? Who knows? In any case, it was very cool to see Yorke playing live again.
Here are a couple of fan videos of Yorke playing “Airbag” Sunday:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8J6YgaalnHM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UKdsvIu9F0
And here are some photos on flickr from the show by “Lost in Print.”
Owen Pallett at Lincoln Hall
I saw two concerts on Saturday night (April 10) — both of them by singer-songwriters who used to call themselves by a stage name. After seeing the early show at the Hideout by the artist formerly known as Smog (Bill Callahan), I headed up to Lincoln Hall for the artist formerly known as Final Fantasy (Owen Pallett).
I had always thought the Final Fantasy name was rather silly — bringing to mind the computer game of the same name. A few months ago, Pallett announced he was dropping the name to “definitively distinguish my music from Square/Enix’s games.” Good idea. And so, his latest album arrived as mp3 files with “Final Fantasy” listed as the artist’s name, but by the time it actually came out, his publicist was saying that it was an Owen Pallett album, not a Final Fantasy album.
Either way, Heartland is filled with some alluringly beautiful orchestral pop music. I haven’t studied the lyrics enough to follow the narrative that apparently runs through the songs, but Pallett has said: “The songs themselves form a narrative concerning a farmer named Lewis and the fictional world of Spectrum. The songs are one-sided dialogues with Lewis, a young, ultra-violent farmer, speaking to his creator.”
In concert, Pallett performs in a style very much reminiscent of Andrew Bird, using looping pedals to build chords and counterpoint with his violin and keyboard playing. He was assisted at Lincoln Hall by guitarist and drummer Thomas Gill, but it was very much Pallett’s show. Pallett apologized for his voice, which was apparently a bit rougher than usual, but any difference was barely noticeable.
Pallett played one brand-new song, “Don’t Stop the Party on My Account,” and he finished off his encore with a cover of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” — a joking reference, perhaps, to Pallett’s old stage name? Before playing the song, Pallett jokes, “If I got to a show and don’t see any humiliation, I feel like I want my money back. So here you go.” It wasn’t humiliating, but it was rather odd to see an indie-rock artist at Lincoln Hall doing a Mariah Carey song.
www.myspace.com/owenpallettmusic
www.owenpalletteternal.com
Like Pallett, the opening act was from Canada, and they had the antlers to prove it. It was a cool band called Snowblink, playing songs with fairly minimal arrangements (and a set of antlers on one of the guitars). Judging from the somewhat confusing information posted on the band’s myspace page, there’s a revolving lineup of several musicians, with Daniela Gesundheit being the main singer. On Saturday, it was just her on vocals and guitar plus one other guy. Interesting stuff.
http://snowblink.org
Bill Callahan at the Hideout
Singer-songwriter Bill Callahan, who used to call himself Smog, played two solo shows Saturday night (April 10) at the Hideout in Chicago, with proceeds going to the Chicago Children’s Advocacy Center, a group that helps sexually abused children. Once again, the Hideout deserves praise for hosting interesting and entertaining events that also help out a good cause.
Callahan has a low-key personality onstage, matching the understated quality of his half-spoken baritone vocals. He did not speak much in between his songs, but there was no need — these songs beautifully spoke for themselves. He had a way of wincing a bit as he sang or played guitar that seemed to reveal glimpses of the emotions that went into writing them, even as he maintained a calm expression. As New York Times critic Ben Ratliff pointed out last week in a review of Callahan’s new live CD Rough Travel for a Rare Thing, Callahan’s singing has been great lately, relaxed and subtle.
He played songs that he recorded under the old Smog moniker as well as tracks from his recent Bill Callahan albums, including “Too Many Birds,” “Say Valley Maker,” “Sycamore” and “Rock Bottom Riser.” The crowd was exceptionally quiet throughout the performance, paying close attention to Callahan’s performance, but then the applause was quite loud and enthusiastic calling out Callahan for an encore, which he obligingly provided, playing “Let Me See the Colts.”
www.myspace.com/toomuchtolove
The opening act was Chicago artist Axis:Sova (a.k.a. Brett Sova, who also plays in the band Mass Shivers). He played solo electric guitar, including some hard-rock-style soloing and a few songs with vocals, which were more intriguing when they sounded less like hard rock.
Fanfarlo and Lawrence Arabia
I’m not sure why I hesitated before deciding to see U.K. indie-rock band Fanfarlo again, since I’ve liked them so much in the past and love their 2009 record Reservoir. I finally got off the fence and decided to see Fanfarlo Wednesday (April 7) at Lincoln Hall, thanks in part to one of the opening acts, a New Zealander named James Milne, who goes by the stage name Lawrence Arabia. (There’s no “of” in there.)
Lawrence Arabia won me over in concert with a sunny, slightly psychedelic sound with some touches of the Beatles and Beach Boys and his fellow Kiwi act the Ruby Suns. Not surprisingly, Milne has been a member of the Brunettes and the Ruby Suns (and also a touring member of Okkervil River). On his myspace page, he calls his songs “new old fashioned pop music,” which is an apt label. Lawrence Arabia looks like an act to watch. He has a new CD called Chant Darling out on Bella Union.
Alas, the other opening act on Wednesday, Robert Francis, gave me more of an allergic reaction. Way too power-ballad-y for my tastes.
But of course, it was well worth seeing Fanfarlo again no matter who the opening acts were. This was the best of the five performances I’ve seen by the band since 2008 (including three SXSW sets, a couple of which were marred by technical problems).
On Wednesday, Fanfarlo was completely in control of its music, playing the songs in a way that revealed the interplay between the voices and instruments. We heard the full band playing all of its parts, but also little moments when some of the sounds dropped out, becoming more like intimate duets. In one exceptionally beautiful passage, lead singer Simon Balthazar and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas harmonized with wordless a cappella notes, stretching out at the end of a song.
The set included the key tracks from Reservoir — including one of my favorites, “Fire Escape,” which I’d never heard Fanfarlo play until now — and a couple of new songs.
See my photos of Fanfarlo and Lawrence Arabia.
As part of National Record Store Day (that’s next week — Saturday, April 17), Fanfarlo is releasing an exclusive 7” vinyl of the song “You Are One” with Fleetwood Mac cover “What Makes You Think You’re the One” on the B side. See recordstoreday.com for details on where you can buy this record and other Record Store Day exclusive.
Fanfarlo is also giving away a new EP to anyone who signs up for their mailing list at www.fanfarlo.com
Love Is All at the Empty Bottle
Tuesday (April 6) was one of those nights when I wanted to be in at least two places at once — and I almost accomplished it. As soon as the Low Anthem finished their set at Lincoln Hall, I hopped into my car and headed over the the Empty Bottle, where Swedish band Love Is All. I got there just as Love Is All was finishing up its first song.
As I walked in this five-piece band from Gothenburg was playing lively, spiky rock that made you feel like bopping up and down. I’ve been enjoying the third and latest Love Is All record, Two Thousand and Ten Injuries — the only 2010 album I know of that has the number 2010 in the title. It’s Love Is All’s first record for the Champaign-based label Polyvinul, and it’s so much fun that the band should be getting more American fans soon.
Lead singer/keyboardist Josephine Olausson was clearly having fun as she moved around the stage, leaning over the audience at times. Her comments between songs were disarmingly funny in their modesty — as when she half-apologized for a song by saying that it would be “interesting.” “You like interesting, right?” she asked. Yes. Yes, we do.
www.myspace.com/loveisall8 The band played a few of its gritter, growly songs, but the evening was dominated by the quieter moments, with lovely falsetto vocals carrying the strong melodies. At a couple of points, all of the musicians gathered around a single old-fashioned microphone at the front of the stage, harmonizing the way bluegrass groups do. It sounds like the Low Anthem’s next album (due sometime this fall) is going to be a good one. If you haven’t heard the Low Anthem yet, check out the video for the song “Charlie Darwin” on the band’s Web site, www.lowanthem.com. The opening act, Nathaniel Rateliff, was a pleasant surprise. I’d never heard anything about this Denver singer-songwriter or a note of music, but he sang some compelling folk-rock songs, quickly winning me over. It seemed pretty straightforward and traditional, but also very solid. See my photos of the Low Anthem and Nathaniel Rateliff. April is shaping up as a busy month for concert going, with lots of cool indie-rock shows crowding onto the calendar. Here are a few of the promising concerts coming up in the next week that I recommend seeing. WEDNESDAY, APRIL 7 THURSDAY, APRIL 8 FRIDAY, APRIL 9 SATURDAY, APRIL 10 SUNDAY, APRIL 11 MONDAY, APRIL 12 TUESDAY, APRIL 13 Fulks isn’t playing next Monday at the Hideout, but he’ll be back on April 19 and 26. The shows are at 7 p.m. with no opening act, finishing up before 9, with a “suggested donation” of $10. Last night, a bucket was passed for bucks halfway through the show. It was well worth $10. And Fulks says he hopes to continue playing lots of these Monday-night gigs through the rest of the year. Watch www.hideoutchicago.com and robbiefulks.com/for details. Sigfússon also plays under the name Sin Fang Bous, recording a more psychedelic or experimental version of the stuff he does with Seabear, and last year he played a Chicago gig under that name (opening for Múm). But last Friday (April 2) was the first time Seabear had ever played in Chicago, coming at the end of the Icelandic band’s first U.S. tour. I wasn’t sure what to expect for turnout. I wondered how many people have actually heard of Seabear. A fair amount, as it turns out. Schubas was not sold out in advance, but the room was full by the time Seabear took the stage. And the band delivered a strong set. With seven musicians on stage, Seabear was an authentic band, not just a solo project by Sigfússon (which is apparently how the group started out). Sigfússon’s soft vocals sounded lovely, and the band brought the songs to life with subtle musical touches. When Sigfússon’s bandmates joined in on harmony vocals, the show took on the feeling of friends gathering together to sing favorite songs (much like a Múm gig). Seabear has a nice new record out called We Built the Fire. www.myspace.com/seabear The band was also featured recently on NPR’s Song of the Day. In between Sóley and Seabear, Chicago artist Via Tania (a.k.a. Tania Bowers + band) played songs from her new album Moon Sweet Moon, with earthy singing and a rootsy, moody brand of folk rock. www.viatania.com It was the last night that Nikolaisen’s sister, the tall and very Nordic-looking bassist-singer Hilma, played with the band on this tour before heading back to Norway to take care of her children. Lucky for us that we got to see Serena Maneesh with Hilma in the lineup! With a sound that resembles the churning yet melodic noise of My Bloody Valentine, Serena Maneesh has some songs that seem more like pop than psychedelic hard rock, especially when Hilma takes over on lead vocals. In concert, though, the band was all about the loud jams on Wednesday night. Emil drapes some sort of fringed shawl over himself and occasionally sets aside his guitar just so that he can cavort and twirl to the waves of noise. No actual “shoe-gazing” for this Norwegian rocker! It makes for an exciting spectacle, both for the ears and for the eyes, and Serena Maneesh delivered a strong set. But no encore? What’s up with that? The crowd clearly wanted more, but from what I hear, Serena Maneesh did not do encores at its recent New York shows, either. Four bands played Wednesday, and the opening acts included Canyon playing instrumental hard rock reminiscent of Pelican. And sandwiched between all these bands was yet another bunch of noise-makers, Apteka, which played with impressive energy. See my photos of Serena Maneesh, the Depreciation Guild, Apteka and Canyon. Monáe is known for singing with OutKast, but her performance Monday was more soul and pop than hip-hop. She wowed me with her strong voice and her sense of drama. I also noticed some interesting almost orchestral flourishes in the song arrangements. She and her backing musicians came out onto the stage in druid robes for a Spinal Tap-esque entrance, with a fog machine going, and the whole show had an air of spectacle about it, despite being at little ol’ Schubas. (Opening act The 54 also delivered a lively set of hard-rocking music.) So who or what is Nobunny? He’s a musician (actual name: Justin Champlin) who wears a mangy-looking vaguely garage/punk rock. On Saturday, he was playing at a new Chicago venue, Crown Liquors, on Milwaukee Avenue in Logan Square. This place is a bit like Cal’s or Ronny’s: an old bar or liquor store with a place for rock music tacked on. I don’t know if the venue was prepared for the mayhem that would result when Nobunny played. Some people in the crowd threw bottles at the stage, which prompted one of the employees to threaten an end to the show. The crowd calmed down a bit, and the music went on. (Nobunny’s backup musicians for this show included members of Yolks plus Brian Costello on drums.) Once I’d escaped the mosh pit, I tried getting some photographs from farther away, which wasn’t easy. This isn’t my best work: grainy, blurry. But hey, it’s the best I could manage. This experience made me realize how I need to prepare better for using flash during dark concerts. Nobunny’s set was the climax of a four-band lineup, chock full of noisy garage music. Yolks, Mickey and White Mystery played earlier, making for a lively night. Classic David Thomas. It’s hard to tell how much of his cantankerous stage banter, his confrontations with both the audience and his backing musicians, are just an act. I don’t doubt that’s his real personality, but surely he’s exaggerating it a bit as part of the entertainment? Whatever the case is, he was in fine form during this show, one of just a couple that Pere Ubu did on this abbreviated “tour.” Billed as “The First and the Last,” the show began with Pere Ubu playing its most recent record, Long Live Pere Ubu, a sort of dramatization of the absurdist play that gives the band its name, Alfred Jarry’s Ubu Roi. And as a concert, it did indeed seem like absurdist performance art, complete with a chicken mask and lots of goofy voices. In between songs, Thomas lashed out at music critics and berated his band for not playing segue music. “What’s with the fucking silence?” he shouted. After an intermission, Pere Ubu returned to the stage and played its very first album, The Modern Dance, which sounded as original and strange as it did more than three decades ago. Thomas apologized about his singing voice, but it didn’t sound off to me. At one point, he knelt down and yelled a little, in an effort to exorcise whatever it was that was bothering his voice. “A week ago,” he said, “I felt something snap in my body. I could die. I’d be happy.” Thomas, however, looked as if he’s lost quite a bit of weight since the last time he played in Chicago a year and a half ago. He was no longer using a cane for support, and he seemed in better health. Still drinking and smoking, though. And still scowling and snarling. The encore ended abruptly, in the middle of a song, as Thomas once again apologized for whatever he thought he was doing wrong. As fans in the crowd called out, “We love you,” Thomas said, “I’m so fucking sorry,” and walked off-stage. Alex White has been rocking on Chicago stages for several years, playing with outfits including Miss Alex White and the Red Orchestra. That band was never really an orchestra, of course, and its music was anything but orchestral pop. White’s always been a garage/punk rocker. Her latest band is called White Mystery, and this time it’s just two people: Alex on guitar and vocals and her brother, Francis, on drums and vocals. White Mystery’s been banging out feedback-drenched three-chord stompers for the past year or so, playing a lot of gigs around Chicago, but I hadn’t caught them live until Saturday (March 20), when they played a CD release party at the Hideout. The guitar-and-drums format is a perfect way for the White siblings to express their rambunctious energy, and it was a treat to see these two redheads tossing around their hair as they cranked out one cool tune after another. The first act of the night was a Chicago group called Other Minds, which played some lively, catchy “Nuggets”-style ’60s rock, with lots of 12-string guitar riffs, Farfisa chords and tambourine. The middle act was Charlie Slick, who played electronic dance music with a retro New Wave sound and sprinkled glitter onto the audience. My photos of White Mystery, Other Minds and Charlie Slick on flickr. It’s a great spot for a little meditation. You’ll think that you’ve seen and heard everything there is to experience in this room after about 90 seconds, but linger for a while and let the sound wash over you. That’s also the best attitude to take when experiencing a live performance of drone music. At various times during the month, White/Light’s Matt Clark and Jeremy Lemos and guest musicians have been performing in this space, improvising off the room’s droning vibe. The most famous of the guest musicians, Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley, played with the duo Saturday afternoon (March 20). Shelley’s thumping mallets added throbbing rhythms to the abstract guitar and keyboard sounds, giving the music a bit of the same feeling as Pink Floyd’s “Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun.” The music built from a quiet intro into loud thump — loud enough that I saw one parent exiting the room with a young boy who was grimacing with his hands over his year. Ear plugs, folks — wear ear plugs! www.myspace.com/whitelightdrone Big Star’s entire recorded output in the 1970s was like that. Barely anyone heard this band while it was still together. It never had a hit record. Its albums sold a few thousand copies and went out of print. Listening now to a recording of a 1973 Big Star concert on the recent box set Keep An Eye on the Sky, what’s remarkable is how little attention anyone in the audience is paying to the musical performance. Looking back on Big Star, they were clearly one of the best bands of their time, but they were playing a gig in front of almost nobody, getting a smattering of claps. If the story had ended there, it would have been another sad tale about the woes of musicians. But then, the music of Big Star took on a life of its own. Other musicians starting playing Big Star songs or talking about how much they liked those Big Star records. The group suddenly had a cult following. One of its songs even ended up as the theme of a television show. Some people dream of becoming rock stars. But for me, Big Star represents another sort of dream — the idea that your songs might live on even if your band breaks up, even if you never get onto the charts. The idea that a good song will win out in the end. You may not get rich and famous, but maybe your records will end up in the hands of someone who loves your music. It might take years or decades to happen, but a good song just won’t die. Thanks for the music, Alex. Big Star was one of those bands you heard other music fans talking about: “You’ve got to hear this… The LPs are rare, but I’ve got a copy on cassette.” And this was one of those cases when the band lived up to the mystique. All those songs on No. 1 Record and Radio City should have been hits, and then there was that strange, fractured, haunting dream of an album, Third/Sister Lovers. I was lucky enough to see a few solo shows by Alex Chilton. He didn’t seem very interested in reliving his days in Big Star. He was doing his own, distinctly different solo music by this point, though he would play a few Big Star songs in concert, like “Holocaust” or “In the Street.” And what about his even earlier musical incarnation, the Box Tops, when he had a No. 1 hit, “The Letter,” when he was just a teen? Forget it. Chilton wasn’t going to play that. (He did a few shows now and then under the Box Tops name, but I never caught any of those performances.) Chilton just did what he wanted to. The clamor for a Big Star reunion grew loud enough that Chilton and original drummer Jody Stephens teamed up with Posies members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer to form a new lineup of the band in 1993. I saw their show at Metro in Chicago, which was pretty cool. It didn’t feel completely authentic (more like half reunion, half tribute band), but it was wonderful to hear Chilton singing those songs again, with Stephens’ perfect drum beats behind him. Big Star recorded a new album a couple of years ago, In Space, which was a colossal disappointment for me. It’s hard for me to consider it a true part of the band’s canon. But all of those 1970s Big Star songs still get me, every time. Few other bands have ever crystallized so well the power of a well-written rock song: A riff that grabs you, lyrics that seem simple at first but reveal odd idiosyncrasies the more you listen, and the honest emotion of those vocals. Those first two albums are also masterpieces of sequencing. The songs follow one another in an order that feels like a great mix tape. (As for Third, the proper sequence is a matter of some mystery and debate, but the album still works beautifully in its various versions, a weirdly baroque and deeply personal drama.) Big Star was scheduled to play this Saturday at South By Southwest. I’m not attending SXSW this year, and I was feeling sorry that I was going to miss this chance at seeing Big Star again. Tonight came the sad news that Chilton had died, apparently of a heart attack. So I’m playing some Big Star songs tonight and mourning the death of yet another great musician (coming so soon after Vic Chesnutt, Lhasa De Sela, Jay Reatard and Mark Linkous). (Photo: Alex Chilton poses outside his home in New Orleans on Aug. 20, 1993. AP Photo/Dave Steuber, posted on the Memphis Commercial-Appeal Web site.) Big Star’s entire recorded output in the 1970s was like that. Barely anyone heard this band while it was still together. It never had a hit record. Its albums sold a few thousand copies and went out of print. Listening now to a recording of a 1973 Big Star concert on the recent box set Keep An Eye on the Sky, what’s remarkable is how little attention anyone in the audience is paying to the musical performance. Looking back on Big Star, they were clearly one of the best bands of their time, but they were playing a gig in front of almost nobody, getting a smattering of claps. If the story had ended there, it would have been another sad tale about the woes of musicians. But then, the music of Big Star took on a life of its own. Other musicians starting playing Big Star songs or talking about how much they liked those Big Star records. The group suddenly had a cult following. One of its songs even ended up as the theme of a television show. Some people dream of becoming rock stars. But for me, Big Star represents another sort of dream — the idea that your songs might live on even if your band breaks up, even if you never get onto the charts. The idea that a good song will win out in the end. You may not get rich and famous, but maybe your records will end up in the hands of someone who loves your music. It might take years or decades to happen, but a good song just won’t die. Thanks for the music, Alex. Big Star was one of those bands you heard other music fans talking about: “You’ve got to hear this… The LPs are rare, but I’ve got a copy on cassette.” And this was one of those cases when the band lived up to the mystique. All those songs on No. 1 Record and Radio City should have been hits, and then there was that strange, fractured, haunting dream of an album, Third/Sister Lovers. I was lucky enough to see a few solo shows by Alex Chilton. He didn’t seem very interested in reliving his days in Big Star. He was doing his own, distinctly different solo music by this point, though he would play a few Big Star songs in concert, like “Holocaust” or “In the Street.” And what about his even earlier musical incarnation, the Box Tops, when he had a No. 1 hit, “The Letter,” when he was just a teen? Forget it. Chilton wasn’t going to play that. (He did a few shows now and then under the Box Tops name, but I never caught any of those performances.) Chilton just did what he wanted to. The clamor for a Big Star reunion grew loud enough that Chilton and original drummer Jody Stephens teamed up with Posies members Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer to form a new lineup of the band in 1993. I saw their show at Metro in Chicago, which was pretty cool. It didn’t feel completely authentic (more like half reunion, half tribute band), but it was wonderful to hear Chilton singing those songs again, with Stephens’ perfect drum beats behind him. Big Star recorded a new album a couple of years ago, In Space, which was a colossal disappointment for me. It’s hard for me to consider it a true part of the band’s canon. But all of those 1970s Big Star songs still get me, every time. Few other bands have ever crystallized so well the power of a well-written rock song: A riff that grabs you, lyrics that seem simple at first but reveal odd idiosyncrasies the more you listen, and the honest emotion of those vocals. Those first two albums are also masterpieces of sequencing. The songs follow one another in an order that feels like a great mix tape. (As for Third, the proper sequence is a matter of some mystery and debate, but the album still works beautifully in its various versions, a weirdly baroque and deeply personal drama.) Big Star was scheduled to play this Saturday at South By Southwest. I’m not attending SXSW this year, and I was feeling sorry that I was going to miss this chance at seeing Big Star again. Tonight came the sad news that Chilton had died, apparently of a heart attack. So I’m playing some Big Star songs tonight and mourning the death of yet another great musician (coming so soon after Vic Chesnutt, Lhasa De Sela, Jay Reatard and Mark Linkous). (Photo: Alex Chilton poses outside his home in New Orleans on Aug. 20, 1993. AP Photo/Dave Steuber, posted on the Memphis Commercial-Appeal Web site.) As in past Woods performances I’ve seen, vocalist/guitarist Jeremy Earl sang in a creaky falsetto reminiscent of Neil Young or maybe Canned Heat, while letting loose some wonderfully shambling electric guitar solos. Meanwhile, G. Lucas Crane is kneeling as he plays old cassette tapes, twiddling knobs, doing who knows what with the sounds coming out of the tapes, and singing into what looks like a set of headphones. When Woods stretched out its tunes, it rocked in a way that felt spontaneous and unpracticed. Despite sustained applause at the end of the concert, Woods did not come out for an encore. I was glad to hear some songs from that record Wednesday night. The songs from Vetiver’s 2009’s record Tight Knit sounded a bit more conventional, but still pretty enjoyable. I wonder if something rubbed off on Vetiver when the band played as ex-Jayhawks singer Gary Louris’ backing group? www.vetiverse.com The show started off with an opening act all the way from the Czech Republic, Please the Trees, who played a cool, rocking set. Looking up the band on myspace, I see that it describes its influences as “sound, noise, silence, wood, river, sea, sky, light, love,” while the sound is described as “Something in between Abba and Helmet.” www.myspace.com/pleasethetrees The second band was Chicago’s Robbie Hamilton & Soft Drugs, who played rock with an early ’70s country-rock tinge, including a shout-out to Gram Parsons. Some good songs, though the set got a little sloppy at the end. www.myspace.com/robbiehamiltonmusic It was a frustrating night for taking photos, especially during the headlining set by Vetiver. The band’s singer and songwriter, Andy Cabic, was under dim red lighting for the entirety of the show, so if you don’t see many pictures of Cabic in my gallery, that’s why. Photos of Vetiver, Please the Trees and Robbie Hamilton & Soft Drugs. I’m catching up today on a backlog of concert photos from the past week. Here you go…
The Low Anthem at Lincoln Hall
The Low Anthem put out a wonderful folk-rock record last year called Oh My God, Charlie Darwin, and the Rhode Island group was back in Chicago this Tuesday (April 6), playing some new songs as well as covers of old-time folk songs. The concert at Lincoln Hall showed that this is a group with deep roots in American music, and deep talent, too. Expanded from a trio to a four-person lineup (with a fifth musician occasionally joining in on drums), the Low Anthem was in constant motion in between songs. It seemed like everyone on the stage played every instrument at some point.
I should be seeing Nathaniel Rateliff again later this month when the Daytrotter Barnstormer 3 tour comes through the Midwest, with concerts in actual barns in small towns featuring Rateliff along with Delta Spirit, Ra Ra Riot, Pearly Gate Music and Free Energy. I’m planning to head downstate for the April 30 show in Monticello, Illinois.What to See This Week
FANFARLO with LAWRENCE ARABIA and ROBERT FRANCIS at Lincoln Hall. The British band Fanfarlo put out one of my favorite records last year, Reservoir, and the group’s live performance in 2009 at Schubas was a joyous, celebratory show. They should be great at Lincoln Hall — especially if they stretch out and play a bit longer. The New Zealand act Lawrence Arabia is also intriguing, with some sunny psychedelic folk-rock, and I believe this is the first chance to see him (a.k.a. James Milne) in Chicago. There’s good word of mouth about opener Robert Francis. Also tonight, TITUS ANDRONICUS is at the Bottom Lounge. I saw Titus Andronicus put on a riveting in-store show last month at Reckless Records, and it’ll be even better in a room where people can actually dance and move around. An intense band that plays songs with a deep sense of history.
THE XX are doing two shows at Lincoln Hall. Both are sold out. Good luck getting in if you don’t already have a ticket. WIll this cool, minimalist Brit band live up to the hype? Also on Thursday, THE SINGLEMAN AFFAIR plays at the Hideout. Great psychedelic folk-rock artist from Chicago, always worth seeing.
Lots of possibilities on this night: THE DRIVE-BY TRUCKERS and LANGHORNE SLIM at the Vic. FRED EAGLESMITH at FitzGerald’s. THE SOFT PACK at the Empty Bottle. MI AMI at the Hideout. JAPANDROIDS at Lincoln Hall. Take your pick. Any one of these could be a great show.
Another jam-packed night: BILL CALLAHAN (the guy formerly known as Smog) does two shows at the Hideout. MISSION OF BURMA is at the Double Door. Radiohead singer Thom Yorke’s solo project ATOMS FOR PEACE plays the first of two nights at the Aragon. And OWEN PALLETT, the multi-track-looping violinist and singer formerly known as Final Fantasy, plays at Lincoln Hall. His new record, Heartland, is a rich collection of beautiful songs which should sound terrific in concert. And oh, yeah, one of Chicago’s most excellent young garage bands, THE SMITH WESTERNS, are playing at Schubas. And THE BLANK DOGS are playing the Empty Bottle. I’ve never followed that band too closely, but they have a good reputation — and 17 records! So much to do and so little time!
If you were busy with one of the other shows on Saturday, this might be the night to catch ATOMS FOR PEACE. I hope Yorke’s music survives the notorious acoustics at the Aragon.
Maybe a night to rest? Nah. How about catching Robbie Fulks at the Hideout. (I said yesterday that he isn’t playing next Monday, but Fulks himself left a comment on my blog reporting that he is indeed going to perform. Check the Hideout calendar for confirmation.
Instead of seeing a concert, how about some poetry? (Or catch some live poetry before you head out to a late show. Poetry slam champion Roger Bonair-Agard, a native of Trinidad who now lives in Chicago, will perform during a poetry reading sponsored by the Society of Midland Authors at the Cliff Dwellers Club, 200 S. Michigan Ave. Admission is free. A social hour with free appetizers and a cash bar begins at 6 p.m., followed by the poetry at 7. (I am president of the Society of Midland Authors’ board.)Robbie Fulks is back at the Hideout
As I reported here earlier, Robbie Fulks played every Monday night in February at the Hideout, serving up a completely different kind of show each week. He’s back at the same club this month, and he played a highly entertaining gig last night (April 5) with the Hoyle Brothers. The theme this time was ’70s country music… which meant lots of songs about adultery, by the likes of Barbara Mandrell, Glen Campbell, George Jones and a whole slew of lesser-known singers. As always, Fulks showed a sharp sense of humor while playing guitar with a complete sense of ease. The Hoyle Brothers (www.hoylebrothers.com, myspace.com/thehoylebrothers) were a good match with Fulks, and the band’s singer, Trevor, handled the lead vocals on about half of the tunes.Seabear at Schubas
I discovered Seabear a couple of years ago through an almost random search. I’ve liked other musical acts from Iceland, so I searched around online for some new Icelandic bands, hitting upon Seabear. I downloaded Seabear’s first album from emusic and loved the breathy vocals of lead singer Sindri Már Sigfússon and the mellow folk-rock-pop vibe.
As a bonus, the show started out with a beautiful set of chamber-style folk-pop by Sóley , who is the keyboard player and a backup singer in Seabear. I wish she’d played for more than 20 minutes, but I look forward to hearing more from her in the future. www.myspace.com/ssoolleeyy
www.myspace.com/viataniaSerena Maneesh and Depreciation Guild
Serena Maneesh, a Norwegian band that plays the deliciously loud rock music known as “shoe gaze,” hasn’t toured the U.S. for a few years, but the group was back this week. The tour brought Serena Maneesh on Wednesday (March 31) to Chicago’s Bottom Lounge. It was an event worthy of a big turnout, but alas, attendance looked a little sparse. Despite that, the group’s front man, Emil Nikolaisen, made a gracious (and, I think, heartfelt) statement from the stage about how special it felt for him to play again in Chicago.
www.myspace.com/serenamaneesh
www.serena-maneesh.comJanelle Monáe at Schubas
Singer Janelle Monáe’s been getting some buzz for a while now, but she still doesn’t have a proper album out. That will change soon (when her debut CD, ArchAndroid, comes out in May), and she was in Chicago this week for two shows at Schubas. I was there on the first night, Monday (March 29), and after seeing Monáe’s dynamic, dazzling performance, I think it’s safe to say she’s going to be playing at much bigger venues in the future.Nobunny at Crown Liquors
A little advice to my fellow concert photographers: If you plan on taking pictures at a show by Nobunny, please consider wearing a protective helmet and kneepads. I’m willing to brave the pushing and shoving of a mosh pit once in a while to capture some action, but I really wondered if I might get bruised or rupture some organs when I was standing Saturday night (March 27) in front of the “stage” (i.e. makeshift platform) at Crown Liquors in Chicago. I lasted about one song in the mosh pit, getting zero photos since it was impossible to focus or do anything with my camera other than try to protect it from all of the beer droplets flying through the air.Pere Ubu at Lincoln Hall
As I walked into Lincoln Hall on Wednesday night (March 24) right at 8 p.m., when Pere Ubu was scheduled to start playing, the band was already onstage. The brains and voice of the band, David Thomas, seemed to be giving a speech… or some sort of spoken introduction to the concert that was about to happen. I believe the words he was saying as I entered the room were: “I despise you. Each and every one of you.”White Mystery at the Hideout
Alex may be the star of this project, but Francis adds a lot of character, too, and their alternating voices were one of the best things about Saturday’s show. There’s something delightfully primitive about what they’re doing — but primitive doesn’t mean unintelligent. I hear some echoes of ’50s rock on White Mystery’s self-titled debut (engineered by the great local musician Devin Davis), like something you might have heard in a roadhouse somewhere, where the musicians had taken control of the soundboard and turned everything way up. (I’m picturing this as a scene directed by David Lynch.)
www.whitemysteryband.com
www.myspace.com/whitemysterybandWhite/Light and Shelley at MCA
A museum gallery is an apt place for some drone music. As I’ve mentioned before, Chicago has a pretty active scene for drone music, which is a catch-all term for music with sustained notes or chords. The Chicago duo White/Light has an installation all this month at the Museum of Contemporary Art: a dark room filled with cabinet speakers and a couple of old tape machines. The tapes spin around, creating humming sounds that come out through the various speakers. If you spend a little time in the room, listening closely, you’ll notice different noises coming out of the various amps.
Upcoming performances: March 23, 7 p.m.: Lucky Dragons. March 27, 3 p.m.: Félicia Atkinson: Saturday. March 28, 3 p.m.: White/Light.
www.mcachicago.org/exhibitions/exh_detail.php?id=242The dream of Big Star
So many songs are recorded every year. Thousands of them are forgettable, but there are always some good, even great songs. Some of those great songs are heard by only a few people. For whatever reason, they don’t reach listeners. Sometimes record labels are to blame. Sometimes radio is the bad guy. Sometimes it just seems like fate. Some music gets noticed, some doesn’t. And unfortunately, good songs seem to disappear before you even get a chance to hear them.R.I.P. Alex Chilton
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Alex Chilton, the great singer and songwriter who made three of my all-time favorite albums in the 1970s with Memphis power-pop band Big Star, died today. I discovered Big Star via cassette copies of those records back around 1987, when I was in college. It was around the time the Replacements recorded their tribute song, “Alex Chilton,” and the Bangles recorded their version of Big Star’s classic track “September Gurls” (one of the most perfect rock songs ever).The dream of Big Star
So many songs are recorded every year. Thousands of them are forgettable, but there are always some good, even great songs. Some of those great songs are heard by only a few people. For whatever reason, they don’t reach listeners. Sometimes record labels are to blame. Sometimes radio is the bad guy. Sometimes it just seems like fate. Some music gets noticed, some doesn’t. And unfortunately, good songs seem to disappear before you even get a chance to hear them.R.I.P. Alex Chilton
Alex Chilton, the great singer and songwriter who made three of my all-time favorite albums in the 1970s with Memphis power-pop band Big Star, died today. I discovered Big Star via cassette copies of those records back around 1987, when I was in college. It was around the time the Replacements recorded their tribute song, “Alex Chilton,” and the Bangles recorded their version of Big Star’s classic track “September Gurls” (one of the most perfect rock songs ever).Woods, Real Estate & Netherfriends
The New York band known as Woods was back in Chicago last night (Monday) for another fine jam session. After playing last year at the Empty Bottle, Woods and opening act Real Estate nearly filled a bigger venue this time, Lincoln Hall.
www.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband
The middle band on Monday’s bill, Real Estate, has been getting some buzz with its recent self-titled debut. The music’s very unassuming: nicely constructed little guitar pop songs, with just a touch of 1960s chamber pop or psychedelia. It all came across well in concert, although the laid-back Real Estate guys could stand to show a little more energy and enthusiasm.
www.myspace.com/realestate
Chicago trio Netherfriends started out the evening, playing songs from its debut EP. At times, Netherfriends sounded like White Rabbits (when keyboards were the dominant instrument), but more often the band went for an Animal Collective sort of vibe, with heavy rhythms and overlapping musical motifs. If anything, the percussion was a bit too aggressive in this live performance, but this band has some potential.
www.myspace.com/netherfriendsVetiver at the Empty Bottle
Despite the fact that Vetiver’s been together for six years, I somehow missed seeing the band until last night (March 10) at the Empty Bottle. The group’s been called “freak folk,” not one of my favorite genre labels, but Vetiver certainly has a folk-rock feeling. I’m particularly fond of Vetiver’s second full-length record, the 2006 release To Find Me Gone, which has strong melodies as well as a somewhat spooky mood.New concert photos
A couple of extra photos of A SUNNY DAY IN GLASGOW March 3 at Schubas are on flickr here and here
MUCCA PAZZA March 6 at St. Paul’s Cultural Center. (Some of the photos are also posted on flickr.
Also on flickr: Close-up shots of the pipe organ at St. Paul’s.
THE MAGNETIC FIELDS March 7 at the Harris Theater. (A couple of shots are on flickr, too.)
EFTERKLANG March 8 at Lincoln Hall. (Some photos are also posted on flickr.)VETIVER with PLEASE THE TREES and ROBBIE HAMILTON & SOFT DRUGS March 10 at the Empty Bottle. (Some photos are posted on flickr, too.)