The Hourly Radio @ Darkroom - 10/29/06

On Sunday, October 29th, The Hourly Radio played a half-hour set at Chicago’s Darkroom. I hadn’t heard of the venue before the show, since it is more of a club then a live music hot spot. The stage was situated in a rear corner, while a rectangular bar glowed red in the center of the room. The first thing I noticed was the low attendance. To the band’s dismay, the crowd never grew past 15 or 20 people. It’s easy to empathize with performers who tour the country playing shows that no one comes to. But a band has to spread its name somehow, and good old fashioned word-of-mouth by touring never hurt anyone. Luckily the band seems on the right track in the touring department. They recently shared some shows with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and opened for a stretch of stellastarr*’s tour. It doesn’t look like anyone is pointing fingers for leeching off of buzz bands as of yet.

Aaron Closson announced a few songs in that the group is from Dallas, TX, which almost made me wish that he had a marked southern accent. Closson was on stage with Ryan Short (guitar), Adam Vanderkolk (drums), and Tim Jansen (bass). The band wore all black clothing with white lights shining on their faces. This made them look almost too serious, but then again they didn’t have much to work with as far as stage production goes. Closson has an extremely distinguishable voice that sounds exactly the same live as on CD – a noteworthy fact considering the over-produced sound of the album. However, few people still want to hear those high-pitched wavering vocals reminiscent of the emo explosion around five years ago.

It is regrettable that the band chose not to play “Travelsigns,” the opening track from History Will Never Hold Me (released on Kirtland Records on September 5^th). That track’s floating guitars, washed-out synths, and crashing drums would have been a welcome change during the somewhat mundane show. “Crime Does Pay” is one of the bands tagged singles and was saved for the last portion of the show. The band’s embarrassing lyrics (“Get off / get free / get off ‘cause I miss you too”) were kept afloat by the bouncy rhythm. Granted most pop music is relatively meaningless, but some complete, intelligible phrases would not be unwelcome. On “Deaf Ears,” the band’s other single, Closson screamed “suffer to know your cold heart is to blame” without a shred of pain in his voice, like he had only witnessed heartbreak in movies.

The band emphasized their beats and vocals throughout the entire show, but failed to provide any build and release. They avoid chord changes or even the slightest bit of exploration. Instead, they prefer to keep arrangements tight, which would be beneficial if the songs were catchier. It’s much more interesting when a band can pump new elements into familiar formulas, or at least give of themselves entirely in the process. But the band sounded like they have been playing these songs for years, only to be slightly tweaked by a record label (albeit an indie one). Don’t get me wrong. Watching the band was not a completely unpleasant venture. The most enjoyable moments of the show came when the band combined power pop with a retro shimmer, like Jimmy Eat World crossed with Tears for Fears. But the band’s naïve lyrics and sleep-inducing sounds set them way back when it comes to indie credibility.

Watching the group play, I couldn’t help but think that someone had sold them a big fat lie about becoming famous on MTV. I kept asking myself questions: What is their target audience, and what are they trying to accomplish artistically and professionally? They seem to be emulating a sound and image popularized by FM radio bands like Franz Ferdinand and the Killers, but the most obvious connection is to U2 (hey, why not try to replicate the world’s most successful rock band?). Maybe the band will find a place in the frat party scene and subsequent bar star crowd. According to the band’s website, they were recently featuring in Rolling Stone’s Hot List of editor’s Top 5 Picks. But the fact that the magazine draws a comparison to My Bloody Valentine is completely unfounded and utterly offensive, regardless of whether you think Loveless is one of the best albums ever created.

As the band’s set came to a close, not much had been accomplished. The group did, however, manage to capture the attention of some Darkroom visitors dressed as our country’s founding fathers. Those fellows probably didn’t come to see The Hourly Radio (or any band), which is a testament to the group’s accessibility. The band needs to pump some passion into their craft and find new angles to approaching their influences. Then, maybe, they would create something – on album or on stage – that is a little bit more memorable.

MySpace link:

The Hourly Radio

Evangelicals and Say Hi To Your Mom @ Schubas - 10/13/06

It's an interesting outing when a live music addict gets to see not one, but two, much talked about bands on one bill. Say Hi To Your Mom's album Impeccable Blahs was released this summer on the band's own Euphobia records. A little pre-show research unveiled that the Brooklyn-based group has released three other albums, although only the new one has people saying their name repeatedly. That name may or may not have been inspired by Keanu Reeves' line in Bill And Ted's Excellent Adventure referring to Kim Basinger. The name could also have been a reflection of the American Pie term "milf." According to their website, they are named after "Midwestern dairy queen civility." Bottom line - it's catchy.

Walking into Schubas Tavern is always exciting. The wooden arches over the stage are welcoming, and the finger-smeared plaster on the ceiling is a sort of testament to the number of dedicated musicians and fans that populate the venue on a daily basis. What's more exciting is walking into the music room when it's filled to the brim. The funny thing about Chicago is that local opening bands tend to draw a bigger crowd than many headliners.

Eric Elbogen started the show with the introduction, "We're Say Hi To Your Mom," even though he was the only player on stage. With less people and equipment present, the room felt more open. "These Fangs" was among the first songs played from the new album. Elbogen smirked as he sang, "And I don't mind if you want to hide your fangs too." Those who hadn't read up on the band might not have known that their new album is about vampires (how suiting for a Friday the 13th). Most peoples' first response is to say that's cool, or unique. But is it just a gimmick to get our attention, or is it a more profound statement about human nature and the vampire-like propensities within all of us? Either way, this is the stuff of dreams for college radio stations. There is a shed of Blink 182 in the chord arrangement and general sense of playfulness, but new wave also comes to mind (think of The Knack's "My Sharona").

"Blah Blah Blah" was presented with a fresh quality reminiscent of the Postal Service, as Elbogen vowed to drink our blood over lo-fi electronica beats. "Sad, But Endearlingly So" was the closest the band came to sounding like a typical New York indie rock act. Fortunately, the shadow once cast by the Strokes has now dissipated, making room for many different sounds. One stand-out song not on the new album was "Let's Talk About Spaceships," which appeared on the 2003 album Numbers & Mumbles. The song seemed anchored in the emo craze from earlier this decade, with a fragile manner and lack of confidence that is largely missing on Impeccable Blahs.

Halfway through the show, Elbogen apologized for forgetting the words in a song. He said he usually has other people on stage, and gets a bit nervous alone. It's that endearing quality which draws people to music like this. Elbogen is not a rock star. He's just a guy with a guitar, vocal chords, and a vintage synthesizer. Unfortunately, I couldn't help but think that SHTYM would be more interesting with the backing band. That could be why the crowd slowly dwindled throughout the set.


How sad it was, because Evangelicals were about to drop a bomb of incredible sound on Schubas. The three members led by singer Josh Jones came prepared with decorations and stage props - leafy green vines, red and green flood lights shining up from the floor, and a smoke machine. Stage preparedness should be a given for folks who grew up in Norman, Oklahoma, where the "local band" was the Flaming Lips.

The band played most of the songs from their debut So Gone, which Misra released in June. On "Another Day (And You're Still Knocked Out)," the group switched between high-speed chord changes and drawn-out arpeggios, sometimes taking a silent moment to switch effects pedals. With the red light shining up from below, casting huge shadows on the walls, they resembled elves dancing around a mystical fire. For an unknown reason, Jones wore no shoe or sock on his right foot only.

Songs like "Here Comes Trouble" made obvious that they would benefit from having a fourth member to man the keyboard and synth, instead of putting bassist Kyle Davis on double duty. "Goin Down" had Davis bouncing quickly around his fretboard as Austin Stevens whipped up a storm on the drums. After only 20 minutes of playing, Jones announced that they had two more songs and almost killed the mood. It seems that they have little experience as a headline band up to this point.

Before playing "What An Actress Does Best," Jones told a story about meeting an attractive girl, only to discover too late that she's a transvestite. He claimed the point of the story was to bash dishonesty, not trannies. But for a band who might prefer to be talked about without a mention of the Flaming Lips, there are many inescapable similarities. For one, Jones has a spacey, disjointed method of speech that is a close match to Wayne Coyne's on-stage story-telling. Plus, Evangelicals' free-wheeling, psychedelic rock with country underpinnings is not far off from some of the Lips' work.

The unpredictability of their live show was established early on, but manifested wholly during "Actress." Jones broke a guitar string about 30 seconds in and stopped the band so he could grab a new guitar. That artistic choice prevented the sound from faltering, but it also inspired more people to go home. In fact, by 12:30 am there were only about 20 people left in the audience.

That said, the world might not be ready for Evangelicals. Their music evokes rainbows, waterfalls, and surface tours of the Moon. They are young and full of potential, and they have to learn how to harness all their wild energy into a steady stage performance - but they are definitely a band to watch over the next few years. As a blustery Chicago slowly turns into a winter bedroom community, shows like this will keep things moving. What a shame that only 20 people were up for the ride.

Myspace links:
Say Hi To Your Mom
Evangelicals

Yo La Tengo @ The Vic - 10/5/06

(This review was posted on thetripwire.com on 10/10/06. From now on, I'll also be posting my work for thetripwire.com on this blog. Enjoy!)

Yo La Tengo graced the stage of Chicago's Vic Theatre on October 5, 2006. This was a clutch event for a venue that only occasionally brings in such respectable bands. Anyone who saw the group perform in July at the Pitchfork Music Festival might have been worried going into this show. Unfortunately, that performance was plagued with technical issues (their playing faded in an out, and sound bled in from the other two stages). A dedicated fan gave them the benefit of the doubt, and assumed that their craft would be better suited for an indoor theatre. Luckily an opportunity to witness such an occurrence wasn't far away, and those same fans wouldn't be let down. The audience at the Vic was filled with people in their upper 20s, many of whom seemed to approach the concert as more of a gallery exhibit than a rock show. There were hardly any of Chicago's typical hipsters in the crowd. The stage was bare of any decorations - only the drums, keyboards, and stage speakers could be seen. This choice left it completely to the band to entertain. The band looked like they had vanished into a New Jersey basement sometime around 1986, only to emerge twenty years later to an underground music world that has changed a dozen times. With Ira Kaplan in jeans and red Converse sneakers, Georgia Hubley in long-sleeved striped tee, and James McNew in plaid, the attention was further placed on the music.

They quickly established their foundation of Beach Boys and Velvet Underground influences, with obvious connections to bands like Sonic Youth who also emerged in the late '80s. The show had a pleasant flow, alternating between quiet droning songs and riotous noise. On top of that, the band approached their live performance like a work of art. They talked infrequently, and instead concentrated on the minute details of their presentation. The band emphasized songs from their new Matador release, I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass, but played a variety spanning their entire catalog. On "Pass The Hatchet, I Think I'm Goodkind," McNew thumped out his "one-two one-three one-two" bassline while Kaplan performed a sort of interpretive guitar dance - abandoning any conventional methods of playing. He pounded his whammy bar and flailed around, trying to extract whatever new noise he could. The result was phenomenal, and brought to mind what most people today can only witness on a Jimi Hendrix DVD. And this was only the second song of the concert.

The band showed the softer side of their current ass-beating campaign with songs like "Mr. Tough," which bounced with a youthful quality like the Charlie Brown theme song. Hearing the indie pop of "Stockholm Syndrome" played with such sincerity was truly fulfilling after hearing it for so many years only on their 1997 masterpiece I Can Hear The Heart Beating As One. It's always impressive to see band members play various instruments, especially when they take on each other's regular roles. The usual arrangement was Kaplan on guitar, McNew on bass, and Hubley on drums. But they changed up often, especially when Kaplan would man the keyboards. All three members had near equal singing duties, an amazing fact considering the inability of most bands to secure a single reputable vocalist.

Yo La Tengo's sound is one of a band who has completely discarded any hopes of being cool, and still blows most acclaimed bands out of the water - that means anyone on MTV or radio, but also indie critic gems that are given too much credit. They are also the ultimate indie band for staying with Matador throughout the years. They will never expect the music business to cater to them, but they discover artistic awards most bands will never know. The show was intimate, as if each member of the audience was hanging out in a living room with the band. Furthermore, a live show unveils new dimensions in their music instead of constraining the band. This is partly due to the lack of electronics that are so rampant in many currently performing bands. Where Yo La Tengo really succeeds is taking their few main musical influences, combining them with any inspiration they gather, and creating music with integrity and meaning. They prove in a single sitting that there's still some joy and wonder left in the world. The problem for most is that the joy is extremely hard to find, because it lies so deep inside. But as long as Kaplan and company keep mining that existential gold, they will hold their high seat as one of the America's greatest independent rock artists.

Website:
Yo La Tengo

News

It looks like I won't be writing much on this blog anymore. I recently got an internship at UR Chicago Magazine in editorial journalism. Between that and still working at the animal hospital, I have about zero free time. Try to catch my work on their website (http://www.urchicago.com), and look at Noise (part of Lansing State Journal) once in a while to catch my Take Five Music column (http://hub.lsj.com). Have fun this autumn!