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Category Archives: Music

Jeff Tweedy @ The Vic…Sorta

Super personal so skip it if you’re like me and can’t deal with feelings.

Requisite shot of the Marquee

Last week was a total asskicker.  It was one of those weeks that completely drains and exhausts and I couldn’t reach for a white flag to wave in defeat fast enough.  It was a week where I was ready to just quit.  The bright spot was seeing the following entry in my calendar for Friday: “Jeff Tweedy @ Vic – 7.30pm – The Naughty Librarian”.  This kept me going through one of the most trying weeks I’ve ever had and through the exhaustion and the “leave-me-the-fuck-alone” of it all.

This.

My love affair with all things Jeff Tweedy began post-high school in the early to mid-aughts when I was just another stupid kid trying to move out of my parents’ house, dating a guy I had absolutely no business dating and just sorting my way through the world and finding my place in it.  I felt a strong attraction to Wilco’s music but especially to the introspective lyrics of a man who, like me, suffered from debilitating migraines, depression and anxiety.  Here was a man living with an awful pain that often went misunderstood and many people didn’t believe he even had.  He was my kind.

So when I tell you that what happened Friday night was nothing short of magical I hope you believe I’m not just giving in to my predilection for hyperbole.

Tweedy was playing two nights at The Vic with proceeds of ticket sales benefiting The Chicago Lighthouse, a charity he told the audience had done great things for his father-in-law who is blind (these concerts were organized by his wife Susie.)  Had The Naughty Librarian and I known that the first 30 people waiting outside in line would be asked for requests we would have dropped everything and camped out all day in the rain because we are at that level of hardcore bitch when it comes to boys with guitars who make us swoon.

It was a gorgeous show with Tweedy center stage flanked by about half a dozen guitars.  Simple and perfect.  And! And it was damn fun and funny.  He playfully poked fun at some of the requests and we were close enough to catch all sorts of facial expressions we wouldn’t have caught sitting further back or upstairs.  Such a charmer…that one – had you been at The Vic you would have seen my heart explode out of my chest with love and gratitude.

I meant to write a proper review of the show and talk about the set list and mention my disappointment that no one requested Muzzle of Bees because I would have asked for it because I remember the first time I heard it and the chills I felt but that’s not really the kind of mood I’m in.  I just wanted to write and say that Friday night with Jeff Tweedy was exactly what I needed.  How do you thank someone you’ve never met for helping you through many a teary-eyed night alone?  How do you thank someone you’ve never met (and will probably never read this) for being so open about struggles with anxiety and depression because just knowing that someone else out there experiences similar waves in mood has made your own experience a little less lonely and isolating?  And trust, I’m not the type to put celebrities on a pedestal or claim them to be role models of any kind.  Friday night was exactly what I needed because it reminded me of why after a long and full week at work I still muster up the energy to leave my comfortable couch and daughter and husband and spend money and time with an artist or band.  Because of the way it makes me feel.  Because it makes me feel.  Because for a couple hours you can leave all the bullshit of your crappy week behind and lose yourself in music and it’s ok.  Everything is going to be ok.  Friday night was exactly what I needed and it took Jeff Tweedy on a stage flanked by half a dozen or so guitars to make it ok.

Magic Kids & Cults @ Empty Bottle

Magic Kids

This is super late but what can you do, right?

Umm...

Last Thursday the Empty Bottle had a damn fine line up with Superhumanoids (a band I forgot to photograph and record but were delightful – brain fart!), Magic Kids (who were a ton of fun) and Cults (who debuted new songs that were phenom).  I’m uploading video of Magic Kids and Cults.

 

CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights

The 9th Annual CHIRP Record Fair & Other Delights is this weekend Sat. 04/09 and Sun. 04/10 from 10a-5p (both days) at Chicago Journeymen Plumbers (1340 W. Washington). Admission to the fair is $7 but if you print out the flyer (which you can get from their site HERE) admission is $5. There is a special pre-admission on Saturday, April 9, 2011 from 8am-10am and gets you reentry all weekend for $25. Below is performance schedule. Our pal Julie Meckler takes the stage Sunday at 2pm.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9
8am – 10am DJ set: CHIRP DJs
10am – 11am Dealer DJ set
11am – 12pm Darling
12pm – 1pm Village
1pm – 2pm Soul Summit DJs
2pm – 3pm Leafbird
3pm – 4pm Ami Saraiya & the Outcome
4pm – 5pm Numero Ebirac Salsa DJ set

SUNDAY, APRIL 10
10am – 11am Dealer DJ set
11am – 12pm Dealer DJ set
12pm – 1pm DJ set: Pyschedalex & Constantine
1pm – 1:30pm Blue Ribbon Glee Club
1:30pm – 2pm DJ set: Matt Holland (Vacations, Love of Everything)
2pm – 2:45pm Julie Meckler
2:45pm – 3:15pm Daniel Knox
3:15pm – 4pm Black Bear Combo
4pm – 5pm Mary Nisi’s “Picks from the Fair”

Review: Smith Westerns @ Empty Bottle

Smith Westerns released their eponymous debut album in 2009 while still in high school and garnered attention not for the great debut but for the promise and potential of a group of kids who served up an album full of rambunctious energy that followed the 3 minute garage rock formula. The release of their sophomore effort, Dye It Blonde, found the band following the same lo-fi fuzzy garage format but this time the music felt more mature, carrying more weight thanks in part to the addition of strings and an organ. The songs and sound are more developed and well thought out and since its release the accolades have only grown for these Chicago kids.

Cullen Omori

The reminder that they are still just kids is what I found so startling at last Saturday’s sold out show at Empty Bottle. There was little interaction amongst the band and they lacked the charisma and charm so brilliantly displayed in their albums yet in spite of this the music roared through an excited crowd. They took the stage at exactly 12:15a.m. and ripped through the roughly 45 minute set. Bassist Cameron Omori spent the length of the set in a corner of the stage hiding behind bangs and guitarist Max Kakacek seemed stiff until a couple of welcome guitar solos breathed life into him. At one point, singer/guitarist Cullen Omori mentioned the band thought about playing two shows but scrapped the idea in an effort to keep things “intimate” and reminded the audience that buying tickets early was a good move. Save for quick and awkward introductions to a few of the songs, the only other real comment came from Omori when he quipped: “For all the snakes and shit talkers out there you’re not gonna run us out of town. Thanks. We love you, Chicago!” Still, there is promise and Smith Westerns are quite polished given their age. If only they can get comfortable and let loose on stage they’ll be unstoppable.

Meet: Pinto and the Bean

Let’s talk about Pinto & The Bean.  Paul Taneja and Ivan Sosa are veterans of the music community.  Taneja’s songs have been featured on television shows like L.A. Ink, The Real World and Road Rules; Sosa was once part of a successful touring band and prior to forming Pinto & The Bean were part of Chicago outfit Incredible Shrinking Boy.  In January of 2010 the pair took their talents and experience and formed Pinto & The Bean, the name – according to Sosa – was reached in quite a democratic manner: friends voted on a series of names with P&TB earning an obvious win.   Their sound is pure rock ‘n roll.  I saw them live at Double Door last week where they impressed with a full sound and contagious energy.  Check out some of their music below.  They’ll be at Quennect 4 (1000 N. Milwaukee Ave, 3rd Floor) on Friday, March 18 at 8pm.

Show Pick: Hemmingbirds

Hemmingbirds can be described in three words: Rock – Pop – Indie.  The thing is, that’s too simple, too easy; to leave it at those three labels is to deny their rich and sweetly inventive music.

Hemmingbirds originally started in 2009 as the solo project of singer/songwriter Yoo Soo Kim who with the help of drummer Zach Benkowski took to Kim’s basement and began recording what would become their debut album, Death Wave (released May 2010) before recruiting the rest of the band.

What struck me most about Death Wave is just how damn fun the songs are.  I’ll save the full review of Death Wave for tomorrow after I see them live.  They’re my show pick for tonight at Double Door on a bill that includes Pinto & The Bean, Tiny Bones and JET W LEE.

A couple tracks off Death Wave:

5 With…Julie Meckler

Profiling people that are working/living/breathing music in Chicago, we’re chatting with Julie Meckler, a singer/songwriter/actress who comes to Chicago via New York via Paris.  Today we’re showing Chicago some much needed love.


* You’re from Paris, moved to New York in June of 2008 before settling in Chicago over a year ago. What was it about Chicago that made you feel like this could be home?

Chicago has everything that I like about America – good music, good people, and people who wanted me to be a part of their life. And it’s affordable to live here! And believe me you can get tired of Paris really easily.

* You survived your first blizzard! Still sure you made the right
choice by picking Chicago?

I did survive! During the winters in Chicago, when it’s not snowing, it’s blue blue blue – I love the light in Chicago, especially in the winter. I took a bunch of great pictures today.

* How has the city influenced your sound/music/lyrics?

The people who I’ve met here have influenced my sound a lot, especially the bands that I’m friends with – Musikanto, Curtis Evans, Jonny Rumble, etc – and obviously the people in my band – Brett Bakshis, Will Phalen and Shawn Rios. As far as my lyrics, being in exile, being far away (whatever that means), by myself in a foreign country, speaking a foreign language, it’s a big part of the new person I’ve become in Chicago. I think that whole feeling creeps into my lyrics.

* What’s up for 2011?

Finishing our first album and first of all trying to figure out what exactly I want it to be. Then we’ll release it and start promoting, hopefully touring. Brett Bakshis is our new manager, and I hope he’s going to book us a lot of summer festivals!

* And finally, the most important question: deep dish or thin crust?

Thin crust. Oh yeah. I need to find a good tomato sauce. That’s my big problem with pizza in the U.S. is the tomato sauce.

Julie Meckler will take the stage at Subterranean tomorrow night (Feb. 11) as part of Chicago’s own Grape Juice Records’ first installment in its 2011 Showcase Series.  The series kicks off with a stacked line-up that includes: Rachele Eve, Jon Drake & the Shakes, and Chaperone.  9pm, $8, 21+

Houses

Houses

The first time I saw them live, the lush orchestrations, ambient tones and ethereal vocals of their debut, All Night, filled a sold out Lincoln Hall on a brutally cold January night and warmed the room.

The story of Houses, made up of Dexter Tortoriello and Megan Messina, is a curious one.  After losing his job, she gave notice and they were off to Hawaii.  Tortoriello explains, “We decided to get out of Chicago for the winter, and me not having a passport limits us to the US. Hawaii was the most intriguing place we thought of, especially the Big Island. It rains more where we were staying than anywhere in the United States, and is technically a rainforest. We found a woman online who had a tiny cabin for us to stay in and agreed to put us up in exchange for a few hours of work each day.”

They lived in a remote area outside of Hilo with no plumbing, electricity or gas.  Part of the work they did in exchange for a place to stay included cultivating indigenous microorganisms and learning the ropes of sustainable living.  Rainwater collected was used for cooking, bathing and drinking and lit candles to conserve solar power to run Tortoriello’s computer.

When asked how much of an influence their surroundings played Dexter told me, “It played a huge part. Coming from Chicago, I was surrounded by noise all the time – my home is especially noisy. It was amazing to have only the sounds of nature around out there. I found out that it was really tough to record anything without the wind and birds seeping onto the recordings. Definitely not what I was used to.”

After returning to Chicago, Houses released a few songs online and were then signed to Lefse Records.  Their debut, All Night, was released last October.

Last month, Houses played the opening night of Tomorrow Never Knows Festival.  On the experience of playing to a sold out Lincoln Hall, “Oh man, the TNK Festival was amazing. It was our first hometown show, and to have it sell out at a place like Lincoln Hall was unreal. We were both pretty nervous about how our live show would sit with the audience, as it’s so simple and very different from everyone else playing, but the audience was really receptive and we got a great response. It was an unreal experience.”

Last week Houses announced they were joining the Baths/Braids tour but Tortoriello will hit the road without Messina, except for the final show in Chicago.  Tortoriello explains how it all came together and how Messina’s absence for the bulk of the tour will affect their sound. “I was asked to do the tour from the start, but had a few complications and could only commit to a small part of it then. Apparently Darren (Star Slinger) got denied entry into the US for some reason and they asked me to hop on last minute. Going on tour solo is going to be tough, as I won’t be free to do as much without having Megan there, but I will manage. It’s going to be really strange though – she’s played every show so far and now for some of the biggest dates, she won’t be there. It’s definitely a bummer, she has a way of keeping me sane like nobody else does.”

There will be plenty of time to catch them live this year.  Talking about what’s in store for 2011 Dexter says, “For the rest of the year, we’ll be doing small tours around the US and working on a new album. We’ll really be taking our time and trying out new things for the next one, it’s going to be a blast.”

I can’t wait to hear what’s next

Houses will be on tour with Baths and Braids in February, all tour dates are listed HERE.  They’ll return to Chicago to play Subterranean on February 26.

Video: Endless Spring

 

Monday Morning Business

Calm Palm Vapor have been busy these days.  They’re in the studio laying down tracks for their follow up album and are gearing up for a free show at Empty Bottle on Feb. 17 with Secret Colours, Panda Riot and Young Circles.  Their debut album, Morning Pacific, is currently available on their bandcamp page as a “name your price” so…get it.  Here’s their video for “Run The Tables”.

 

[Vimeo vimeo.com/17549812]

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Jim DeRogatis continues doing the Lord’s work on behalf of this city’s music community. Today he tackles the questionable relationship between the current front runner for mayor, Rahm Emanuel and asshole conglomerate Ticketmaster / Live Nation.

Read it HERE.

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And finally, NPR’s First Listen Series is currently streaming Adele’s sophomore record, 21, until the album’s release on February 22.

You Spent Two Hours Digging Out Your Car – Now What?

You hop in your car and head on over to Hideout for Jonny Rumble and The Kickback and The Winter Sounds.   Previously featured on this site, Jonny Rumble have settled into Chicago’s rock community.  Their brand of jam band cuts with a shiny pop polish is the perfect cure for the post-blizzard blues.  Don’t forget to leave your junk in your spot so you have somewhere to park when you get home!

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