Before Carl Johns left Madison and eventually the country, his band Charlemagne had been at the forefront of a collection of lo-fi indie pop bands of varying talent known as the Wisconsin Pop Explosion!. Charlemagne was easily the most polished of these bands, but others such as the Super Eights, Vid Libert, and eventually Sleeping in the Aviary, were just as talented.
Johns’ band, formed after the dissolution of his alt-country band NoahJoah, went through many versions in its history in Madison, from the trio of backing singers in the original six (seven?) piece band the first time I saw them to being just a duo the last time. Their shows had been hit or miss, ranging from a revelation to plain boring, but never bad. So it wasn’t that shocking that the configuration of Charlemagne tonight consisted of just Johns and his new partner Emily Farrell, it was surprising that they were not good. While the native Australian Farrell was charming every time she spoke (the accent), she was less than impressive on vocals and didn’t seem to be much of a guitar player. To be fair, Johns’ voice must be difficult to harmonize with as I’ve seen people from Miss Kaleen to Dietrich Gosser sound cringe-worthy beside him. The Charlemagne songs I recognized sounded OK, but the new material that made up much of the set was unmemorable.
Luckily Charlemagne wasn’t the only reason I came back to the Frequency after the early show. Vid Libert has explored many genres- dub and reggae with the Takebacks, pop/punk with the Nervous System, and singer songwriter fare under his own name- but country was a land he hadn’t explored till now. After playing only two shows showcasing his country side, two members of his band the Problems moved away. Before they did, they recorded the new record Half Gone which Libert was giving away copies of tonight.
His band for this show consisted of bass player John Nichols (of WI PopEx! band the Super Eights) and multi-instrumentalist Miles Biswell who gave the proceeding authenticity with his stellar steel guitar work. For the last couple songs Biswell’s neighbor joined the band. He had started playing with them after wandering over to see what was going on in the studio Biswell had built in his back yard. The new record includes two songs that Libert had released earlier but have been reborn, and re-recorded, with a country flavor. I’ve been a fan of all his projects, but this may be my favorite.
The Hemlines are a relatively new band born after the dissolution of the Pop Explosion, but both members of the duo had been a part of it. Alex Fulton was the drummer for Charlemagne while Erika Zar played solo under the name Aunt Goodness. The band was born just over a year ago after the dissolution of the much-loved Runners Up, forming from the female half of the line-up. I’ve seen the Hemlines several times now and I’m always impressed by their earnestness, but I can’t help miss the boys from the band, guitarist/vocalist Bob Koch and bassist James Leaver. Their absence is especially noticeable on the several songs that had been a part of the Runners Up catalog. Still, I’d rather hear “James Brown with Two Heads” by half the band than never hear it at all.
Vid Libert & His Problems
The Hemlines
Charlemagne
No comments:
Post a Comment