Watch it here http://ourvinyl.com/ha-ha-tonka-2/
Saturday, June 09, 2012
Ha Ha Tonka, the Our Vinyl Sessions; June 9, 2012; a warehouse somewhere in Nashville
Watch it here http://ourvinyl.com/ha-ha-tonka-2/
Thursday, June 07, 2012
Monday, June 04, 2012
Zeus; June 4, 2012; Schubas (and Jonathan Richman at Pritzker Pavillion)
OK yes, even for my normal level of crazy this was pretty crazy. I had taken the eleven pm bus back from Chicago and the Sausage Fest last night, worked today, and then found myself back on a bus to Chicago to see Zeus at Schubas. They’re from Toronto and don’t tour the US often, in fact, their merch guy told me this was their first time headlining in Chicago. Their CD release shows zigged back and forth across Canada, with only a short dip down the East coast. They were my must-see at SXSW this year, and that thirty minute set only made me want more. I was pretty sure it would be worth it, and it certainly was.
In one of those rare instances of good timing, before I even got to Schubas I got to see Jonathan Richman play a free show at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. It had been a couple years since I had seen him last, but he is still the same old Jonathan, if maybe a little grayer, and those dance moves are still there. If you haven’t seen him, shame on you, you need to just for those moments when he sets down his guitar and does his thing. Surprisingly, I didn’t know most of the songs, the exceptions being “Let Her Go Into Darkness” and “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar” (of course). He did more songs in Italian than usual, but as usual drummer Tommy Larkins watched him intently following him perfectly. They never fail to make me smile.
By the time I got to Schubas the second band had just a few songs left. They were loud, but enjoyable, and had the look of a Battle of the Bands winner, and the fans to go with it. It was a surprising crowd for a Monday night and I worried that everyone was there for them and would leave before Zeus started. A few folks may have drifted out, but there was still a very respectable crowd. And they were fans- the guys next to me sang along to every word. What makes Zeus so interesting is that three of their four members take lead on their songs, giving their sound a wide and very Beatle-esque range. And all of it is awesome. I knew almost every song in the set which drew equally from the new Busting Visions and 2010’s Say Us. Every song was amazing, I felt like I barely moved a muscle the whole set, only to clap wildly at the end of every song.
Only the drummer kept his spot as the other three moved from guitar to bass to keyboard and each of them are incredibly skilled musicians. While it’s hard to pick a favorite, standouts from the new record included the infectious “Are You Gonna Waste My Time?” and the melancholy “With Eyes Closed.” “Marching through Your Head” and “How Does It Feel” were highlights from Say Us. Their perfect, un-ironic cover of Genesis’s “That’s All” is genius. Like the band before them, it was louder than was comfortable without earplugs and my cousin and his girlfriend moved back after only a couple songs. I meant to do the same after I took a few pictures, but found I couldn’t leave, I was too entranced. Besides, I didn’t want them to think I didn’t like them. Because nothing could be further from the truth. It’s always a little nerve wracking introducing people to see your favorite things, whether it’s a restaurant, a book or a band, but I didn’t need to worry about Johnny and Megan. “That was amazing,” Megan gushed after the show, Johnny concurred, and they talked about them all the way home.
If I hadn’t already dubbed Jeff Mangum show of the year, this would be it. Maybe it will be a tie.
Jonathan Richman at Pritzker Pavilion
Kickback
Zeus
In one of those rare instances of good timing, before I even got to Schubas I got to see Jonathan Richman play a free show at the Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. It had been a couple years since I had seen him last, but he is still the same old Jonathan, if maybe a little grayer, and those dance moves are still there. If you haven’t seen him, shame on you, you need to just for those moments when he sets down his guitar and does his thing. Surprisingly, I didn’t know most of the songs, the exceptions being “Let Her Go Into Darkness” and “I Was Dancing in the Lesbian Bar” (of course). He did more songs in Italian than usual, but as usual drummer Tommy Larkins watched him intently following him perfectly. They never fail to make me smile.
By the time I got to Schubas the second band had just a few songs left. They were loud, but enjoyable, and had the look of a Battle of the Bands winner, and the fans to go with it. It was a surprising crowd for a Monday night and I worried that everyone was there for them and would leave before Zeus started. A few folks may have drifted out, but there was still a very respectable crowd. And they were fans- the guys next to me sang along to every word. What makes Zeus so interesting is that three of their four members take lead on their songs, giving their sound a wide and very Beatle-esque range. And all of it is awesome. I knew almost every song in the set which drew equally from the new Busting Visions and 2010’s Say Us. Every song was amazing, I felt like I barely moved a muscle the whole set, only to clap wildly at the end of every song.
Only the drummer kept his spot as the other three moved from guitar to bass to keyboard and each of them are incredibly skilled musicians. While it’s hard to pick a favorite, standouts from the new record included the infectious “Are You Gonna Waste My Time?” and the melancholy “With Eyes Closed.” “Marching through Your Head” and “How Does It Feel” were highlights from Say Us. Their perfect, un-ironic cover of Genesis’s “That’s All” is genius. Like the band before them, it was louder than was comfortable without earplugs and my cousin and his girlfriend moved back after only a couple songs. I meant to do the same after I took a few pictures, but found I couldn’t leave, I was too entranced. Besides, I didn’t want them to think I didn’t like them. Because nothing could be further from the truth. It’s always a little nerve wracking introducing people to see your favorite things, whether it’s a restaurant, a book or a band, but I didn’t need to worry about Johnny and Megan. “That was amazing,” Megan gushed after the show, Johnny concurred, and they talked about them all the way home.
If I hadn’t already dubbed Jeff Mangum show of the year, this would be it. Maybe it will be a tie.
Jonathan Richman at Pritzker Pavilion
Kickback
Zeus
Sunday, June 03, 2012
Friday, June 01, 2012
Walter Salas-Humara/Michael Sienkowski; June 1, 2012; Kiki’s House of Righteous Music
I’ve been trying to get Sleeping in the Aviary’s drummer Michael Sienkowski to play a basement show for a long time, but the band’s rigorous touring schedule and the fact that they all picked up and moved to Minneapolis a few years back has made that difficult. It’s not just me; Sienkowski figured it had been two years since he had played a show of his own. Since SitA was in town last night I asked if he would be willing to stick around an extra day to open for the Silos’ Walter Salas-Humara. Luckily that worked into his schedule. Even though it has been awhile since he’s played in public, he certainly hasn’t stopped writing. He had a whole collection of songs, a set-worth in fact, that he’s produced since the release of the only record from his side project WhatFor.
He should play out more, because these songs were great. It made me sad to think that no one beyond his circle of friends had likely heard them. He said they were all part of a concept album he was working on, and while he explained each of the songs he played, he didn’t tell us what the concept was. He played unplugged, switching between guitar and keyboard, saying he’s been writing a lot on the latter. There were a lot of songs about girls, which is to be expected, including one about the coffee shop baristas he tends to fall for, and this particular one was a Madison girl. The most memorable of the songs was one he called a “Carpe Diem” sort of song. The hero is a slacker sort, and to everything the adults tell him he answers with a question. “His father says ‘Son, you’ve got to be a man,’ son says ‘what, man?’” Even better was “Police officer says ‘you’d better beware,’ son says ‘be where?’” Clever lyrics paired with a catchy melody, sounds like a hit. I loved the WhatFor record, and Sienkowski apologized, thinking those were the songs I wanted to hear. I told him I would be happy with whatever he played, and I was. Still, there is one old song that that he still likes to play, the classic “Every Time You Call that Girl.” It sounds like it was sucked through a wormhole from the 60s to a lo-fi bedroom recording.
It’s always a pleasure to have Salas-Humara play. His band the Silos did the CD release show for Come On Like the Fast Lane in the basement in 2005, essentially kicking off the House of Righteous Music with a sold out show that saw 60 or more people in and out of the basement. Even more significant they brought Jon Dee Graham to the basement for the first time. Surprisingly the crowds for his solo shows haven’t been as significant, which is surprising since Salas-Humara is the only constant member of the group, which has been around in one configuration or another for nearly thirty years. Despite the small crowd, or perhaps because of, it was a great set. He played songs from his entire catalog, though surprisingly, fan favorite “Susan Across the Ocean” wasn’t one of them, even though there were two women named Susan in the audience. When he came back for an encore Alex requested the song about “a bunch of normal people getting trashed” from Florizona, his most recent release. How appropriate.
Michael Sienkowski
Walter Salas-Humara
He should play out more, because these songs were great. It made me sad to think that no one beyond his circle of friends had likely heard them. He said they were all part of a concept album he was working on, and while he explained each of the songs he played, he didn’t tell us what the concept was. He played unplugged, switching between guitar and keyboard, saying he’s been writing a lot on the latter. There were a lot of songs about girls, which is to be expected, including one about the coffee shop baristas he tends to fall for, and this particular one was a Madison girl. The most memorable of the songs was one he called a “Carpe Diem” sort of song. The hero is a slacker sort, and to everything the adults tell him he answers with a question. “His father says ‘Son, you’ve got to be a man,’ son says ‘what, man?’” Even better was “Police officer says ‘you’d better beware,’ son says ‘be where?’” Clever lyrics paired with a catchy melody, sounds like a hit. I loved the WhatFor record, and Sienkowski apologized, thinking those were the songs I wanted to hear. I told him I would be happy with whatever he played, and I was. Still, there is one old song that that he still likes to play, the classic “Every Time You Call that Girl.” It sounds like it was sucked through a wormhole from the 60s to a lo-fi bedroom recording.
It’s always a pleasure to have Salas-Humara play. His band the Silos did the CD release show for Come On Like the Fast Lane in the basement in 2005, essentially kicking off the House of Righteous Music with a sold out show that saw 60 or more people in and out of the basement. Even more significant they brought Jon Dee Graham to the basement for the first time. Surprisingly the crowds for his solo shows haven’t been as significant, which is surprising since Salas-Humara is the only constant member of the group, which has been around in one configuration or another for nearly thirty years. Despite the small crowd, or perhaps because of, it was a great set. He played songs from his entire catalog, though surprisingly, fan favorite “Susan Across the Ocean” wasn’t one of them, even though there were two women named Susan in the audience. When he came back for an encore Alex requested the song about “a bunch of normal people getting trashed” from Florizona, his most recent release. How appropriate.
Michael Sienkowski
Walter Salas-Humara
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