Patchwork/Chris Koza/Elden Calder; May 14, 2008; Café Montmartre

Elden Calder is a mysterious band. Google them and all you get are photos, videos and reviews from the few people who have been lucky enough to see them. Like an indie rock Brigadoon they materialize once a year, play a kick ass show consisting of ridiculously catchy pop song after ridiculously catchy pop song, only to disappear again for months. There are some elements of the familiar, keyboard player Elliot Kozel is seemingly everywhere (in a good way) with his band Sleeping in the Aviary and its many offshoots and drummer Luke Bassuener is the driving force behind the social activist drum-circle rock band This Bright Apocalypse. But it’s the lead singer, the man responsible for these killer tunes, who remains a mystery. I was convinced he must be from out of town but rumor has it he is part of the ShopBop.com league of musician workers. The online catalog warehouse is a popular employment option for local musicians who like it for its flexible hours and decent hourly pay.

At this point Elden Calder doesn’t even have any recorded material available, though Elliot tells me they are working on a vinyl only release. Until then I have to work on talking the Momo’s charming sound guy Andy out of a copy of tonight’s terrific set. An appealing blend of piano and acoustic guitar with just the right amount of drum kick, Elden Calder has a sound that is inevitably familiar but also better than anything else that it sounds like. Please play more shows boys.

Since moving to Madison last year former Fox Valley resident Jeremiah Nelson, musically known as Patchwork, plays a good number of shows, but still it doesn’t seem as though I get to see him as often as I would like. Much of the time he plays solo, but every once in awhile he puts together a three piece to flesh out his smart pop tunes. The first incarnation consisted of Blueheels Landon Auger and Adam Cargin. Of course, using the busiest band in town’s rhythm section means there is going to be pretty limited availability. Tonight Luke was back behind the kit and a new bass player filled in the low end. Though a little rougher than the polish of the Blueheel boys, this lineup also had its charm. Of course, this was Luke’s last show with Patchwork before he takes off for Africa for most of the summer, leaving the drum chair open for the third member of TBA Chris Sasman.

The out-of-towner on the bill Minneapolitan Chris Koza filled in the middle slot. While it had been listed as being the Chris Koza Band, he was all alone up there. While I don’t recall anything distinctive about his set, he was certainly enjoyable enough to see again next time he passes through the area, unless, you know, Elden Calder is playing somewhere else the same night.