After both of my January shows went surprisingly well, I was convinced that Madison had finally warmed to the idea of house concerts, and my streak of poorly attended shows was over. Then came February. While I immensely enjoyed the nearly-private set from the charming and ridiculously talented Theodore, it was impossible to hide the fact that no one was there. Still, I was convinced this week would be better. It was, but only slightly. Can.Ky.Ree hasn’t played a show outside of Chicago in their twelve year history, mostly because the bands members are busy with other projects. Saxophone/bassoon/melodica player Mark Messing heads Mucca Pazza, the gypsy punk circus marching band, while piano player Ryan Hembrey had just returned from the road as Califone’s tour manager/sound guy from the Sundance film festival through a string of dates opening for Wilco. He had just been in Madison a week ago, still he was excited to come back just a week later.
I’d only seen Can.Ky.Ree once, and that was four years ago. I certainly hadn’t forgotten their intriguing and magical performance, and once Ryan mentioned that maybe their first show outside of Chicago should be at the House of Righteous Music, I wasn’t about to let him forget it. The limiting factor that keeps them playing the same handful of venues in Chicago is their insistence on using a real piano. I actually don’t blame them for that, instead of being a silly artist quirk, a keyboard just doesn’t sell their curious turn-of-the-century drama the way the real thing does. There was a brief period when he thought that just maybe his parlor piano would be able to make the tight turn down the stairs, but gave up that idea. In the end he decided to use Daniel Knox’s electric piano. It sounded just fine, but the visual wasn’t as striking as seeing him play the upright at the Hideout.
What was the same was how much I enjoyed them. (Whew.) I couldn’t have been happier that they lived up to my memory of them, especially given that whenever I see a band of Ryan’s that I’m not really crazy about, I remind him how much I like Can.Ky.Ree. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what it is that’s so charming. It would be easy for their gypsy cabaret to come off as contrived and calculated, but the fact is that lead singer/guitarist and man-out-of-time Tom Musik sells it all so convincingly that you can’t imagine him playing any other kind of music. The suits that three-fourths of the band wore reinforced the illusion of a swanky nightclub even as the stage lights revealed the cement walls of the basement. Despite being suit less, Messing was an essential part of the band, and the bassoon (the first in the basement) was the best of his instruments.
Even though it had been four years, there were still songs I remembered perfectly from their opening set during Chris Mills’ month long Hideout residency. The most vivid of these was “A Kiss from a Drunken Stranger,” which has been stuck in my head ever since the show (this show, not the one four years ago). The next line, “one kiss can change everything,” rings with the same sort of truth as Dylan’s “Simple Twist of Fate.” Brilliant. While likely not for everyone, Can.Ky.Ree certainly charmed everyone in attendance. Chicago based Daniel Knox travels the same sort of alternative highway, and unsurprisingly this was not their first show together. There’s a sort of Rufus Wainwright spectacle to his music, which is simply and subtly backed by Paul Parts on bass and Jason Toth on drums. I was sad to hear that Knox has a saw player who couldn’t make it. Not only would the eerie singing of the saw been an intriguing addition to his melodrama, but it would have been the second saw in the basement in a week.
To start the night Luke Bassuener debuted Asumaya, the solo incarnation of his African influenced math rock band This Bright Apocalypse. Apparently I had predicted this eventuality, having declared him already nearly a one-man-band in an earlier review. Playing a show with looping pedals and other equipment through a PA is a lot different than practicing in your living room. Even though Luke had come over to practice a couple times in the week prior, the show probably didn’t go as smoothly as he had hoped. Even with the occasional feedback and pedal miscues, it was still a good set as Luke’s perpetual good nature and easygoing charm erased any memory of the miscues. In fact, the only thing keeping it from being a great night was the lack of audience, but that’s something I’ve learned to live with.
Asumaya
Can.Ky.Ree
Daniel Knox
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