Welcome to Pitchfork Music Festival Week! For the next seven days, you can count on more coverage of the 2013 Pitchfork Music Festival on this site than you can shake a stick at. What does “shake a stick at” mean and how does it apply in this context? It doesn’t matter! Just go with the flow. Anyways, as a grand introduction to this whole week’s worth of coverage, I wanted to help you get fully acquainted with all of the artists performing at this year’s festival. There’s somewhere around 45 or so (I’m too lazy to count), and depending on your tastes there’s a chance you might fall in love with all of them. Of course you’ll never know unless you listen to all of their music and judge for yourself. With that in mind, click past the jump to see a listing for every artist on the lineup, complete with links to their websites, songs you can stream on Soundcloud or Spotify (depending on your preference), and in some cases mp3s or full album/mixtape downloads. It’s quite comprehensive, and I hope you’ll discover something new and great as a result. The listings are ordered by day and (technically) set time, though I haven’t listed the set times here. Additionally, if you’d like to find almost every artist put together in a handy playlist that’s organized by genre (for flow purposes), look no further than this Spotify mix that I put together. Check back tomorrorw for the start of the day-by-day preview guide, where I’ll suggest what bands to see each hour of each day. And I promise that WILL include set times.
Tag: chicago music
Let’s start with an introduction. If you’re not relatively familiar with Chicago’s local music scene, the band Minor Characters may not have ever registered on your radar. Their ultimate plan is world domination, but as with any band or person that ever had the drive to pick up and play an instrument, we’ve all got to start somewhere. In the case of Minor Characters, they first got together at the end of 2010 and have been working hard to pay their dues ever since. They play as many live shows as possible, and through that avenue have built up something of a cult following in Chicago’s local scene. That hard work has paid off in other ways too, which is probably why they recently placed third in The Deli Magazine’s poll of Chicago Emerging Artists for 2012. But the reach of Minor Characters does extend beyond the city of Chicago, as they’ve done a fair amount of touring out of town and will be making their way to SXSW in March to hopefully introduce themselves to crowds eager to hear what they’ve got to offer. Of course everyone is also welcome to discover them via their self-titled EP that was released in late 2011. Five tracks isn’t exactly the largest or best catalogue, but really those songs served as a great foundation upon which to build from. As the old saying goes, better quality than quantity. So that was a great start for the band, but they’re just getting warmed up. Their second EP Heal Me, Healing Times looks to expand upon what they’ve already done and showcase the great strides they’ve made in the last year or so.
It’s always interesting to see how bands describe themselves in press materials. Minor Characters say that they are influenced by 60’s folk, The Beatles and Radiohead. If you’re a music fanatic, that’s sort of like the holy trio of influences, and most artists would kill just to be mentioned in the same breath. But here’s the thing: just because you’re inspired by another band or genre doesn’t mean you have to conform to or sound like it. Sometimes it’s just nice to have that knowledge base going in, because if a band says they’re inspired by Nickelback and Creed, that might raise a red flag before you hear a single note. When it comes to Minor Characters, perhaps it’s best to say that they’re a mobius strip of different sounds that come together to form something that feels entirely familiar yet unique at the same time. For example, their guitars on a track like “Sun Trials” feel tuned to the frequency of Grizzly Bear, but the melody itself doesn’t quite have the same multi-instrumental layers or stark stoicism to make a true match. That’s not a bad thing, as the chorus soars and aches with emotion and the band makes some smart, creative choices when it comes to overall structure and lyrics. If you listen closely in the final minute of the song, a high-pitched, static drone slides into the background that nearly recalls the deflated ending of Radiohead’s “Karma Police” but in a much more subtle fashion. There’s also a few carefully picked notes in the verses of “Aurora Borealis” that bear an eerie resemblance to Radiohead’s “Jigsaw Falling Into Place,” though maybe that’s more the result of transference after reading the band’s bio. The opening title track can leave the taste of Real Estate in your mouth thanks to its lazy summer day start before getting a strong tempo infusion and becoming a rather addictive indie pop song. Between that and the heartbreaking piano ballad “Expatriates” that closes out the short set, the band’s diverse array of talents are well displayed here.
Enjoyable and compelling as the Heal Me, Healing Times EP might be, there are a couple of small issues with it that need addressing. First and foremost is the length. You get four songs and a total run time of around 17 minutes, which really passes by in a flash. You’re left wanting more, and while that’s always a good thing, it’s also frustrating because it seems like this band is ready to take the plunge and go for the full LP. There are likely reasons why they’re holding off on it, perhaps for financial reasons or to serve as a stopgap as they consider signing to a label. But beyond the EP’s brevity, there are moments on it that feel just a little restrained or held back from something greater. Right now Minor Characters are striking a precious balance between a very normalized, pop-driven world and off-the-charts experimentation. The songs are clean cut and catchy enough to satisfy large audiences, but the rather literary and expository lyrics paired with a few strange effects add just enough dissonance to give you a glimpse into a different dimension. Somewhere down the line, be it months or a year or two from now, they’re probably going to have to fully commit to which direction they want to take. One path brings mainstream success and money but little critical acclaim, while the other path is the more challenging but brings gravitas and integrity to their music. If they’re lucky and can do it right, maybe they can have both. Either way, they’re a band with a wealth of talent worthy of much bigger and better things than where they’re currently at. The Heal Me, Healing Times EP is proof of that, building upon their earlier material and setting them apart from the hundreds of other Chicago bands trying to reach that next great peak. To put it another way, Minor Characters are finally ready to step out of the background and into the spotlight.
Stream the entire Heal Me, Healing Times EP
You can buy the Heal Me, Healing Times EP from Bandcamp or iTunes starting on 2/25/13, or get a copy from them at one of their shows.
Scott Lucas is something of a film buff. In 2004, he titled Local H’s fifth studio album Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?, which referenced the actress known for her roles in films like Carrie, Halloween, Rock and Roll High School and Stripes. His 2010 record with his “solo” project Scott Lucas and the Married Men was called George Lassos the Moon, a call back to It’s a Wonderful Life. Local H has been playing shows in Chicago on New Year’s Eve for over a decade now, and they always have themes to them with movie connotations. 2001 was their tribute to Stanley Kubrick, for example. Here are the intro videos the band showed before their themed NYE sets in 2010 and 2011, the former which pulls from 1930s musicals and the latter which is a mixture of a Rush concert film and Terence Malick’s The Tree of Life. So yes, it should come as little surprise that Local H named their new long player Hallelujah! I’m a Bum!, inspired by the 1933 Al Jolson musical of the same name. The plot of that film essentially glamorizes and satirizes the hobo lifestyle during the Great Depression. Considering the current state of our economy and that we’ve got a big election coming up, these are the topics that Lucas and drummer Brian St. Clair have chosen to focus on for this record. Like almost every Local H album, the unifying theme makes it a concept record, complete with seamless song transitions and reprises of melodies and lyrics at various points throughout. Listening to the whole 60+ minute, 17 track affair from start to finish in one sitting is pretty important to grasp all that’s being done, however there are a handful of songs worth focusing on if you don’t have the time or fortitude to take on the whole enchilada each and every time.
The first half of Hallelujah! I’m a Bum! is largely focused on how we’ve been trained and indoctrinated to believe lies perpetuated by authority figures, designed to keep us calm, complacent and to hold us back from achieving our full potential. “Cold Manor” is about how our education system lets us down in that regard, feeding us with the wrong information when we’re kids so we don’t ever know better. “They Saved Reagan’s Brain” is an indictment of the GOP and Wall Street greed, attacking the idea of trickle down economics and using the aforementioned President’s own words against him in sound clips from his 1983 Evil Empire speech. The focus shifts to Chicago for “Blue Line” and “Another February,” both songs about trying to survive the city’s harsh winters when you don’t have a warm bed to sleep in or a car that will start. The former track actually uses both El train sounds and a clip of a homeless person riding the rails, explaining he does it to avoid freezing to death at night. There is a clear divide in this album via “Cold and Mannered,” which reprises “Cold Manor” in a slower, more resigned lo-fi fashion. The band originally said they were going to make this a double album, and while press releases along with the extensive track listing certainly promote that idea, if you buy it on CD you’re still getting one disc or if you buy the mp3s in bulk it won’t cost you more than any other single album. Call it Local H taking the politics of this to the next level by keeping costs down in a tough economy.
When the second half of Hallelujah! I’m a Bum! kicks off with the 75 second guitar-and-horns stomp of “Trash Fire Bummers,” things feel a little different. Okay, so the introduction of horns is something new for the band and make for a nice touch, but there’s also a shift in perspective that permeates the rest of the album. Now that we’ve learned how the government, politicians and the economy have led us astray in our formative years, it’s time to examine the further damage we’re unknowingly causing ourselves and others in the present because nobody told us otherwise. “Get it out of neutral/ Make yourself useful,” Lucas demands amid frenzied guitars and staccato horns on “Here Come Ol’ Laptop.” He’s trying to slap people out of their fevered delusions and back to reality. “Ruling Kind” gives a rather fair and calm assessment of how we need to get rid of politicians that don’t have our best interests at heart. But then the Republican party gets hit with more barbs on “Limit Your Change” and “Paddy Considine.” The first predominantly features sound bites from people like Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin with their famous quotes like, “I like being able to fire people” and “How’s that hopey-changey stuff workin’ out for ya?” All of it is intended to expose their supposed hypocrisy, that in a quest to destroy President Obama they’re actually harming our country too. Following that is an indictment of the conspiracy theorist middle-aged white man, both believing and spreading misinformation about how the President is a “secret Muslim” or that only people of color are allowed to have a say in government.
If these sorts of topics sound a bit depressing and unpleasant to deal with, remember that the last Local H record 12 Angry Months was a very personal look at the crippling issues dealt with in the year following the end of a long-term relationship. Lucas and St. Clair also aren’t Japandroids, the similarly loud duo working hard to make rock and roll a celebration. The slog through this dark take on American living in 2012 is intended to get people angry about our failings and equally inspired to fight for actual change in our system. In other words, this is Local H’s pseudo take on Rage Against the Machine, and perhaps surprisingly, they wear that hat well. After looking inwards for so many records, it’s refreshing to hear them make music that truly speaks to millions of disenfranchised Americans. They become the voice of the middle class, deeply unsatisfied with both political parties (it’s worth noting there are a few criticisms aimed at President Obama on this album too) and frightened at the idea that we’ve been lost as a nation for so long we might never find our way back. Hallelujah! I’m a Bum! is an essential record to listen to as we prepare to vote this November, but its intentions and aspirations expand beyond that expiration date. Whether we hit another recession or not, America will likely remain in turmoil for many years to come. It’ll be good to have this around to remind us why and help vent some of that anger. Or you could completely ignore the lyrics and bang your head to some heavy garage rock for an hour. Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
Click here to watch the video for “Cold Manor”
Click here to watch a video of “Night Flight to Paris” being performed live in the studio
Let’s take a quick history lesson for the artsy Chicago band California Wives. They formed in 2009, self-released an EP in 2010 to a fair amount of buzz, and started touring nationally. One of their biggest career highlights so far came last fall when Peter Hook, formerly of Joy Division/New Order, invited the band to open for him on the Chicago date of his tour demoralizing performing Joy Division’s Closer. Considering California Wives sound a lot like classic New Order, the selection made a lot of sense. After fully solidifying their lineup earlier this year, the band signed to Vagrant Records in the spring and began to prepare their debut full length album. The result is Art History, and like so many bands it features a collection of the best songs they’ve written since their earliest days. That means 4/5ths of the Affair EP is here, plus a bunch of stuff they’ve been performing for awhile now but have never officially recorded before. Producer Claudius Mittendorfer (Interpol, Neon Indian) helped the band reinvent their sound a bit though, and as a result even the stuff you might otherwise have been familiar with is tweaked in such a way that it feels like you’re hearing it for the first time all over again. Songs like “Blood Red Youth” and “Purple” get 30-60 seconds chopped off their runtimes in the interest of being more concise. Some of the more jangly guitar parts and heavy bass lines get whitewashed over or placed further back in the mix to streamline the songs just a bit more too. The New Order comparisons aren’t quite so apt anymore, though they retain that ’80s sheen thanks to the heavy use of synths. Now they’re probably best classified as The Cure filtered through the more modern lens of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart. That works well enough for them, as Art History winds up being a day-glo pop journey that satisfies at every turn with melodies and hooks that will get stuck in your head for days. The highlights are mostly carryovers from the Affair EP, and they’re spread out generously across the album, making minor moments like “Los Angeles” and “Better Home” seem like better songs because they’re sandwiched in between two great ones. A couple brand new songs like “Marianne” and “The Fisher King” do well on their own too, with the former perhaps making the band’s strongest single to date. So yes, there are plenty of things to love about this album. There are also some not-so-great things too. Creatively speaing, Art History doesn’t break any new ground, nor does it even try to. It is by all accounts a very “safe” record, and that lack of exploration can make you feel like you’ve heard some of these songs before and done better. While many of these songs have memorable hooks, you’re sometimes left wondering if they stick with you because they’re genuinely good or simply because they repeat them so many times. How many times, you ask? Well, in the nearly four minutes that are “Tokyo,” the hook hits you 10 times. On “Twenty Three” that grand total is 8. Both are quite a bit higher than average, and that’s just two examples of many on the album. And while they don’t have to abide by traditional song structures to make an impact, the lack of a bridge in pretty much every song is just a little confounding too. What Art History amounts to in the end is a promising debut from a band that needs more time to develop and find their own niche. These songs are superficially pleasing enough to build a strong worldwide audience for California Wives, and if popularity is what they want it’s within their reach. As for critical acclaim, that one’s going to take some work.
Hey friends! I’m happy to present you with Faronheit’s Guide to Lollapalooza 2012. Whether you’re headed to the festival this year or would just like to learn a little more about the artists performing on this year’s lineup, hopefully this guide will point you in the direction of the acts you won’t want to miss. Before we get started, I should go over a few details to help you interpret this properly. The purpose of this guide is not to analyze every act on the lineup and weigh who you should go see at what particular time. Simply put, I picked 10 acts from each day, irregardless of what time they are playing, and attempted to explain why they’re worth seeing. It’s a very good lineup this year, so choosing only 10 from individual days was tough, but I like to think this is distilled down to help you have the best possible Lollapalooza experience. I should note that some of the small side stages and Perry’s go largely ignored in this guide, because I think if you want to know where to go for dance parties or American Idol runner-ups, you can find them yourselves. Speaking of finding things, make sure you look at the festival map before going to Grant Park, if you’ve never been before. Knowing where the stages are located and that it’s a 15 minute walk from one side of the park to the other is very, very important. In the guide below, I’ve indicated when and where the acts I’m recommending are performing, and they’re ordered by time slot to help plan out your day. Additionally, if you’d like to hear music from the artists I’ve mentioned below, along with a bunch of other acts, there are links to individual day Spotify playlists for your enjoyment. I’ve structured those playlists thematically rather than by time slot to provide you with the best possible listening experience. All that said, I hope you’re ready to have a lot of fun this weekend. Drink plenty of water, dip yourself in sunscreen, and try to rest whenever possible. Those are my tips for surviving the weekend. Without further ado, click past the jump to view my Guide to Lollapalooza 2012!
Okay, so you’re headed to Union Park this weekend for the Pitchfork Music Festival, but are either confused or conflicted about who or what to see during your time there. Don’t worry, it happens to the best of us, even those that are familiar with 95% of the artists performing. Don’t fear, however. I’m here to help. Starting today and wrapping up on Thursday, we’ll take a day-by-day look at the “essesntial acts to see” at this year’s Pitchfork Fest. If you’re looking for some additional music education on these artists, make sure you have a look at this post, in which you can download or stream a song from every single artist on the lineup. Take a taste, and if you like what you hear, you can invest in a full album or maybe just go see that particular artist perform at the festival. That said, let’s get started with a look at your best bets for Friday. My personal picks are affixed with stars (**).
Outer Minds (Blue Stage, 3:20)
**Lower Dens (Red Stage, 3:30)
This year’s Pitchfork Music Festival starts off local. Chicago’s own Outer Minds have the designation of playing the first set of the weekend, and if you’re fortunate enough to get there early, there’s plenty to love about these guys. Their core sound is garage rock, but thanks to some fun harmonies and a few blistering guitar passages you could say there’s a psychedelic influence in there too. The band’s self-titled debut album came out in March, and you can stream or buy it digitally here. If their live show is anything like their record, it should be a really fun and energetic time. Facing off against Outer Minds will be Lower Dens, the Baltimore soft pop band whose latest record Nootropics is one of 2012’s finest offerings so far. Excellent as these songs may be, and as engaging of a frontwoman as Jana Hunter is, Lower Dens might best be described as “sleepy.” In other words, with the summer afternoon sun beating down on your face, it could be tough to enjoy the band’s darker yet slowly gorgeous melodies. You might be best off with the cutting energy of Outer Minds to start things right, however I’m giving the official recommendation to Lower Dens based solely on the strength of their material.
Willis Earl Beal (Blue Stage, 4:15)
**The Olivia Tremor Control (Green Stage, 4:35)
Willis Earl Beal’s debut album Acousmatic Sorcery is a thing of raw beauty. Another artist with strong ties to Chicago, his life story is as fascinating as his music. He’s been homeless, joined the Army, left CD-Rs of his music in random places, busked on the street, auditioned for The X Factor and posted flyers with his phone number on them encouraging people to call and he’d play a song for them. What do all these things say about the man? Well, in his 27 years you’d say he’s LIVED. The pain and hardship comes through in his powerful singing voice, which goes from a whisper to a gruff howl with very little effort. His set should be one of the most fascinating of the entire festival, and any fan of the blues and soul music should make an appointment to see it. On the other side of the park will be Olivia Tremor Control, and fans of the Elephant 6 collective of the ’90s will have plenty to get excited about. The band released two effortlessly catchy and classic indie pop records in the form of 1996’s Music from the Unrealized Film Script, Dusk at Cubist Castle and 1999’s Black Foliage: Animation Music Volume One before breaking up. Their much heralded reunion in 2009 hasn’t resulted in a lot of large scale touring, so when they do play shows some excitement comes along with it. Also it’s not impossible to think that former band member and close friend Jeff Mangum might drop in for a song or two, simply because he can.
Tim Hecker (Blue Stage, 5:15)
**A$AP Rocky (Red Stage, 5:30)
The five o’clock hour on Friday brings together an interesting paradox of talent. Tim Hecker is a great Canadian producer and electronica composer whose last couple records have been deep and gorgeous soundscapes worthy of the critical acclaim they’ve received. You could also describe them as very serious and often intense examinations of the way technology and digital elements have overtaken traditional and organic instrumentation. What this really amounts to is that if you’re hoping to get some shade by the smaller Blue stage and just sort of relax for a bit on a blanket, listening to Tim Hecker will provide you with a cool breeze, even if nature doesn’t hand you one. As for A$AP Rocky, his star has been on the rise all year long. Fresh off the his LiveLoveA$AP mixtape, he and the A$AP Mob have courted controversy and violence in a way not all that dissimilar from the way Odd Future was doing last year. Of course Rocky has a reportedly three million dollar record deal, which also puts the stakes pretty high for his official debut album LongLiveA$AP when it comes out in September. Expect to hear him perform a bunch of that new stuff while the A$AP Mob riles up the crowd in between tracks. It could be a total disaster ending in some crowd insanity, or it could just be a whole lot of fun to watch. Either way, the guy might be the next Jay-Z or Kanye West, so best to see him now before the rest of the world sinks their teeth into him.
**Japandroids (Blue Stage, 6:15)
Big K.R.I.T. (Green Stage, 6:25)
Have you heard Celebration Rock yet? It is a triumph of an album for Japandroids, and one of 2012’s best rock records. If you like your guitars loud, your drums pounding, and anthems you can shout along with, Japandroids are not only the best thing happening in this time slot, but perhaps for all of Friday. Expect plenty of fists in the air, mosh pits and crowd surfing too. This is a high energy, high octane show, and these sorts of bands don’t come around as often anymore. Not only that, but Brian King and David Prowse are serious about their craft and play as if their lives depended on it. Celebrate life, celebrate rock and try not to get hurt while doing so. It’s quite likely that Big K.R.I.T. will bring a lot of energy and celebration to his set too, though his version of hip hop is a bit more conscientious and introspective than many others. Don’t worry though, that makes him one of the more unique voices in the genre these days, and his talent has been very apparent over his last couple records and mixtapes, most notably Return of 4Eva. You’re not going to get the style and flash of an A$AP Rocky, but he mines the nostalgia of the mid-’90s era of rap when the genre was so much more than that. If the idea sounds appealing to you, his set might have that same effect.
Clams Casino (Blue Stage, 7:15)
**Dirty Projectors (Red Stage, 7:20)
Clams Casino is the second instrumental act performing on Friday. Unlike Tim Hecker though, Clams Casino has made a name for himself by rather brilliantly producing a bunch of hip hop. Everyone from Soulja Boy to Lil B to A$AP Rocky (of course) have used his beats and instrumentals as backing for their own rhymes. Instead of letting those compositions sit behind vocals, Clams Casino has released a pair of free mixtapes and an EP containing pieces he’s worked on for others or just himself, all of it sans vocals (but not necessarily vocal samples). These things stand up so well on their own, he can play live shows with them and get people moving and/or shouting along if they happen to know some of the hip hop tracks the beats originally appeared on. Count on his set to be a good, danceable time. Then there’s Dirty Projectors, a band that has scooped up quite a bit of critical acclaim these last few years for their wildly inventive songs. My thoughts on the band’s latest opus Swing Lo Magellan can be found here, but in a nutshell it’s their most accessible and effortlessly enjoyable record to date. If you’ve heard Dirty Projectors before and didn’t like it, their live show surely won’t do anything to change your mind. What it will showcase are the impressive talents of Amber Coffman, Haley Dekle and Olga Bell, whose vocal ping-ponging must be seen to be believed. Frontman Dave Longstreth is the mastermind behind it all, and though he’s not the warmest or most personable guy in the world, he lets the music speak for him. You should be paying close attention.
**Purity Ring (Blue Stage, 8:20)
Feist (Green Stage, 8:20)
Purity Ring don’t have an album out yet. Their debut, Shrines, is set for release at the end of this month. In the meantime, there have been a few singles that have caught the ears of many a tastemaker. What makes this duo so unique is their ability to turn hip hop and electronica elements into compelling pop music. They actually like to describe it as “future pop,” and given the glitchy samples and fun other little tweaks they throw in against Megan James’ smooth vocals, that’s not far from the truth. Perhaps the main reason why they’re “headlining” the small Blue stage on Friday night has less to do with popularity (as that’s still steadily building) and more to do with how their live show is structured. At 8:20pm there will still be a bit of sunlight left, but Purity Ring prefer to perform in total darkness. Their stage setup includes multi-colored lightbulbs that pulsate and pound with the beats. So not only do the songs draw you in and stick with you, but you’ll likely remember the visual elements as well for quite some time. As for Feist, well, she’s simply a delight. Her records Let It Die and The Reminder were strong representations of female singer-songwriter pop. People fell in love with her thanks to cute songs like “Mushaboom” and “1,2,3,4”. Goofy choreographed music videos and a few acting appearances on comedy shows have only made her that much more endearing, which is why it was such a disappointment when her new album Metals didn’t fully follow in those footsteps. No worries though, because her headlining set at this year’s festival has every indication of being highly enjoyable and entertaining. She may even bring a few people from the crowd up on stage to spice things up a bit. She’s great like that. If you watch her set, there’s a high likelihood you’ll end the night smiling, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
TOMORROW: PITCHFORK MUSIC FESTIVAL 2012 COVERAGE CONTINUES WITH A DAY 2 PREVIEW!
Chicago’s own Maps & Atlases haven’t gotten to the point of popularity they’re at today by pandering. They’re daring, carve-their-own-path sorts of musicians, willing to take their songs in unexpected directions while still maintaining a modicum of structure and thematics. That’s a big part of what made their two EPs Tree, Swallows, Houses and You and Me and the Mountain such unique and compelling listens. They’re also what earned the band a place underneath the intricate “math rock” umbrella. Consider that early material falling somewhere between Minus the Bear, Battles and Don Caballero. Their 2010 debut full length Perch Patchwork still held steadfast to many of those elements (particularly on the second half of the record), but expanded the band’s reach by becoming much more pop-centric. They were able to take their oddities and intricate instrumentation and subdue them just enough to make them more attractive to a wider audience. At the same time they played with tempos and percussion to explore more Afro-pop and freak folk ideas that had been brewing for awhile. The end product was still good, just a little uneven. For their sophmore effort Beware and Be Grateful, the band has yet again ironed out the creases in their sound to streamline it just a bit more. The production is squeaky clean, and Dave Davison’s warming warble sits front and center. Opening track “Old and Gray” pulsates with harmonized vocal loops that wouldn’t sound too out of place on an Animal Collective record, while the the electric guitar noodling bears an eerie resemblance to something Dirty Projectors might churn out. Yet when combined and taken as a whole, the track feels like it has more in common with TV on the Radio than either of those two bands. That blends seamlessly into the sprightly “Fever,” a very fun and catchy pop song that is probably one of the most straightforward tracks Maps & Atlases have ever written. Fans of the band’s older material will find solace in “Winter” and “Bugs”, both of which have heavy math rock leanings. They also push further into the territory of Paul Simon and Vampire Weekend with tracks like “Be Three Years Old” and “Old Ash”. And with soft rock reaching popularity again, a song like “Remote and Dark Years” has Peter Gabriel’s fingerprints all over it. Somehow the record comes together quite well, in spite of any apparent genre jumping that may occur. Where Beware and Be Grateful falters is in its length. Four out of the album’s ten songs breach the 5 minute mark, and there’d be nothing wrong with that if they could justify the length. Most of it is the result of sustained melody, but given how pop-flavored these songs are, 3.5 minutes is a good time to aim for. At least a couple of these songs could be made better simply by chopping a minute off the runtime. Additionally, you can tell the band worked really hard on this album. Kudos to them for that, however with songs like these you want the presentation to come off as effortless. The more aware you are of the sweat that went into making this record, the less fun and memorable it becomes. You can marvel at the technical precision, but that’s engaging your head and not your heart. Maps & Atlases are certainly on the right path with Beware and Be Grateful, they just need to learn that sometimes you need to put the directions down and let your emotions take the wheel.
On Monday editions of Pick Your Poison, I typically like to regale you with tales of interesting or important shows in and around the Chicagoland area that are worth your time seeking out. That is, if you live here of course. Today is a particularly special edition of that, because the two shows I’m going to mention are Chicago-centric in every way possible. Quintessential Chicago is what I’d call them, so if you’re interested in learning more about the city and its music scene, go see these bands play or at the very least listen to the music samples I’m providing to you below.
First of all, if you don’t know the Waco Brothers, you don’t know country music and you don’t know Chicago. Ok, so Chicago isn’t nearly Nashville or Dallas when it comes to country, but that doesn’t mean great country music can’t be made here. Of course it’s anything but traditional country, and the Waco Brothers have achieved something of a legendary status for their crazy live shows that are more punk rock in style than anything else. For their new record Great Chicago Fire, they’ve collaborated with Nashville legend and auteur Paul Burch. If the title track is any indication of what to expect from the entire album, it’s going to be a real treat when it’s released next Tuesday 4/24. In celebration of that, the Waco Brothers and Paul Burch will be playing a record release show next Thursday, April 26th at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn. The show time is 8:30PM and tickets are $15. Buy tickets here.
Secondly, I hope you’ve heard of JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. If there’s one Chicago band that’s truly breaking out in 2012, it’s these guys. They unleashed their latest album Want More last fall to critical acclaim, and have been touring almost nonstop since then. They played nearly a dozen shows at SXSW this year, and I feel privileged to have seen the very last one, taking place at 1AM on a Saturday night. The crowd was completely worn down. The band was completely worn down too, as it comes with the territory of playing 3-4 shows a day for 3-4 days in a row. Yet everyone persevered and summoned up the energy for one last hour of pure musical enjoyment. There was magic in that show, in part because there’s magic in this band. They’re soulful, funky and fun, quickly on their way to becoming not only a Chicago treasure, but an American one too. On Friday, April 27th, they’ll be rolling through town for one of their biggest shows to date – headlining at Metro. It’s an all-Chicago bill that night too, in the best way possible as rising stars Gold Motel and Blah Blah Blah will be opening. Soul Summit DJs will be spinning in between sets as well, to keep the party going. And what a party it will be. Having looked over the full concert calendar for that day, I will officially guarantee you there will not be a better show happening in Chicago that Friday night. If you’re around and need something to do that night, come on out and we’ll have some serious fun. Have a listen to the latest JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound single “Sister Ray Charles” to help push you in the right direction. Or watch the video for the song. Perhaps their dynamic cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart” will be more your speed. The show on the 27th starts at 8PM and tickets are only $12. Buy tickets here.
As for today’s Pick Your Poison, I’m pleased to recommend tracks from Air Traffic Controller, The Bombay Royale, Higgins, Co Pilots’ remix of The Naked and Famous, Old Bricks, School Knights, What Hearts and Wymond Miles. In the Soundcloud section, don’t miss streaming songs from Royal Headache, Supreme Cuts, Tim Hecker, Yuck and SBTRKT’s remix of Frank Ocean.
Air Traffic Controller – Blame
The Bombay Royale – You Me Bullets Love
The Naked and Famous – No Way (Co-Pilots Remix)
School Knights – Present Tense
Warning Light – Slept on the Shore All Morning Again
What Hearts – Do It in the Day
SOUNDCLOUD
Frank Ocean – Whip Appeal (SBTRKT Edit)
Royal Headache – Psychotic Episode
It’s that time of year, friends: Lollapalooza lineup time. Spring is in the air, but soon enough summer will be here and so will Chicago’s great music festivals. Unless you bought tickets well in advance, I’m sure this year’s Lollapalooza lineup will be the deciding factor as to whether or not you make your way to Grant Park this August 3-5. Ticket prices have risen this year, no doubt in part because the supreme tax deal the festival was getting from the City of Chicago has all but gone away. Early bird tickets have all sold out, and general 3-day passes are currently on sale for $230 (service fees included). Is it worth the cost? Well, that’s for you to decide. The full lineup is listed below, and is headlined by Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Black Keys, Black Sabbath, Jack White, Florence + the Machine, and At the Drive-In. Okay, so those last 2 headliners don’t really seem like they deserve the official “headlining” slot. I’d argue that The Shins and Sigur Ros are more deserving of headlining than Florence + the Machine and At the Drive-In are. That said, I’m still excited that reunion acts Black Sabbath, At the Drive-In and The Afghan Whigs will be there. Other noteworthy acts include Passion Pit, M83, The Weeknd, Bloc Party, Metric, Childish Gambino, tUnE-yArDs, The Tallest Man on Earth, Of Monsters and Men, Alabama Shakes, Tame Impala, The Walkmen, Neon Indian, Dum Dum Girls, Washed Out, Givers, Chairlift, Sharon Van Etten, Polica, First Aid Kit, FIDLAR, Bombay Bicycle Club, Bowerbirds, JEFF the Brotherhood, and Chicago’s own JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound. If you’re a fan of Perry’s electronica stage, Avicii, Justice and Bassnectar will all be headliners, with others sets from Kaskade, Calvin Harris, Santigold, and Little Dragon, among others. Again, have a look at the full lineup after the jump. If you ask me, this is pretty damn good. Worth the price of admission? I’d say so. Buy tickets here.
In case you haven’t heard, last week Wilco ended their fall/winter U.S. tour in support of their new album “The Whole Love” by performing 5 shows in their hometown of Chicago. Dubbed “The Incredible Shrinking Tour”, each night built upon the one before it as the band started at the 3,500 capacity Civic Opera House and ended a few days later at the 500 capacity Lincoln Hall. Along the way, there would also be stops at The Riviera (2,300), The Vic (1,400) and Metro (1,150). While I would have loved to have attended all 5 shows, time, money and ticket availability reduced me down to only 3 of the 5 nights. Still, 3 Wilco shows are better than 2 or 1 or none, and I also happened to be in attendance at the last two nights in which the band played their smallest shows in years, probably over a decade. Each show I attended also had its own distinct vibe and set list, so I thought I’d take a few minutes to recap and review each one. Let’s go in order.
(Le Butcherettes at Lollapalooza)
The best live show that I have seen so far in 2011 has come courtesy of Le Butcherettes. Minding my own business and casually stopping by to check out what their performance was like this past summer at Lollapalooza, I became so enamored with what they were doing on stage that I could not pull myself away to go see the other bands I had also marked off in that time slot. The promise I made to myself at that time was that I’d never miss another Le Butcherettes show in Chicago again. They were simply too good to miss. There are very few bands I can say that about, because while so many have energy and are sonically virile, few actually embrace the idea that a performance can also be art. Naturally then, I was excited to hear that Le Butcherettes were coming back through town on a fall headlining tour, making a stop by the under 500 capacity venue Subterranean. Tagging along with them would be two great Chicago bands, White Mystery and Gypsyblood.
While I tried my best to make it for the very start ot the show, I unfortunately missed the entirety of White Mystery’s set. I’ve seen the duo perform live before and they’re excellent and worth seeing even if you do have to show up early to see them. Gypsyblood was the meat in this band sandwich, and thankfully I was able to catch all of their 30 minute set. The band released their record “Cold in the Guestway” this past spring, and it’s a pretty solid lo-fi post-punk collection of tracks, one part Black Lips, one part Liars and one part Joy Division. The ramshackle garage sound echoes well in their live show, which was largely fuzzy but never to the point where it degraded any of their melodies and hooks. The sheer number of “oohs” and “aahs” and “woos” also made it easy enough to sing along even if you didn’t know the words, and it was clear from the packed house that was the case with many. But the band appeared to be having a blast on stage, bringing a fun energy that charmed upon impact and had more than a few people close to the stage dancing like nobody was watching. The further towards the back you went though, the more people you spotted randomly chatting or paying closer attention to their phones than what was happening on stage. Not everybody could be considered a fan and not everybody was willing to be won over by these clearly talented guys. Still, expect to hear more about Gypsyblood sooner rather than later as they do more touring and charm more people.
There are a few things about Le Butcherettes’ set at Lollapalooza that didn’t make for easy repetition. First and foremost was the stage size, as festivals build huge spaces to accomodate the crowds, and Subterranean is miniscule by comparison. Secondly, for this tour normal drummer Gabe Serbian and bassist Jonathan Hischke were not along for the ride. Whether or not they’re simply out of the band or just not tagging along for the handful of November dates, their presence was missed anyways. Teri Gender Bender is obviously the central focus of any Le Butcherettes live show, but those two guys both brought a dynamic energy all their own to the point where Serbian began violently puking during the band’s Lollapalooza show out of sheer heat exhaustion. Hischke bounces around the stage with a style that draws some solid comparisons to Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Replacing them on Friday night and for this brief fall tour was Omar Rodriguez-Lopez on bass and an unnamed female on drums. Rodriguez-Lopez you may be familiar with either for his work in At the Drive-In/The Mars Volta or even solo, but he’s also the one credited with “discovering” Le Butcherettes and pulling them from the clubs in Mexico and onto the worldwide radar. He produced and played bass on all the songs on the band’s debut record “Sin Sin Sin” as well, so there was some charm in seeing him reprise that role for this tour. Yet he also shied away from any sort of spotlight or distinction on his own, standing off on the side of the stage the entire show next to the drum kit and giving Teri all of the spotlight. She of course is more than equipped to take the reins and run with it, which she did with her usual gusto and aplomb.
Things started on a relatively quiet note for Le Butcherettes, with Teri Gender Bender behind her keyboard and grinding out a moderately subdued (and ultimately lengthy) melody. It was a relatively odd choice to open with, particularly because most bands come charging out of the gate with something high energy and fun to immediately get the crowd in a good mood. What this did instead was lull much of the crowd into a false sense of security while quietly building tension for exhilarating moments of release. It wasn’t altogether perfect, but it worked in its own sort of way. Things didn’t really settle into a groove until Teri picked up a guitar, at which point the thrashing and head banging truly began. “Bang!” was most definitely an early highlight, as was “Dress Off”, both largely encapsulating what Le Butcherettes do best on stage, with Teri showing off her unique dance moves and getting interactive with the crowd. She was relatively restricted in her movements, given the small space on the Subterranean stage, but still managed to thrill by relying on the power of her own vocals and singing sans microphone a couple different times. There were also multiple stage dives that only moderately succeeded due to some of the people at the front that were not fully prepared to provide the necessary support for such a feat. The biggest overall reaction of the night came from “Henry Don’t Got Love”, naturally because it’s the single that has a music video and earned a bit of radio airplay in Chicago and around the country. Many were already jumping around and head banging before the band played it, but anyone that wasn’t yet at that point quickly got there during it. “New York” was also met with a similar sort of passion, even if most of us Chicagoans wished it were about our city instead.
After powering through an hour-long set that included almost the entire “Sin Sin Sin” along with a few older cuts, the crowd was more enthusiastic than ever as the band said goodnight and exited the stage. Naturally, an encore was demanded, and Teri was kind enough to give one, albeit in her own sort of way. Taking the stage solo, she picked up a drum stick and climbed atop the bass drum. No guitar and no keyboards, she relied purely on percussion and vocals for a quick 90 second song as one final treat for devoted fans. Above all else, that was a remarkable example of the power of Le Butcherettes – specifically that Teri could probably have spent the entire set with just a drum stick in hand and a microphone at her lips (or, some would argue, no microphone is needed) and it would have been just as engaging. The music is an important part of the equation for any band, but the performance art aspect of it bears an equal or greater share with Le Butcherettes. From Teri’s intense stares to her vocal tics to her stomps, head bangs and dancing, it’s tough not to watch such a spectacle without your eyes wide and mouth agape. While their Subterranean show lacked some of the fluidity and overt drama of their Lollapalooza set, Le Butcherettes remain a must-see live act no matter the venue. Hopefully as their star continues to rise, they won’t lose any of that magic.
Le Butcherettes – Henry Don’t Got Love
Le Butcherettes – New York
LE BUTCHERETTES TOUR DATES (WITH IGGY & THE STOOGES):
12/01 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Palladium
12/04 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
12/06 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
As a music venue, the Riviera Theatre is one of the worst in the city of Chicago. In fact, it kind of borders on abysmal. I dislike it so much that I’ve had a personal ban on going to shows there for the last several years. That was a result of attending multiple shows there and having normally great live bands turn in terrible performances. The common denominator among them all was the Riv, so I imposed a ban, vowing to only break it in the case of a show so rare it’d kill me to miss it. This is why it has been close to 7 years since I last set foot in the venue. Naturally then, I was by no means excited to get back there, but a situation finally emerged that I could not pass up. The Smashing Pumpkins were returning to their hometown for the first time in a long time (not counting the charity show they played at Metro last fall), and The Riv just so happened to be the moderately small venue they chose to play. They could have sold out a venue at least 3x the size, which made the experience special. Not only that, but they’ve been putting a dent in their 44-song “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope” project and are set to unleash their ninth full length “Oceania” next month. So add in the chance to preview some of that and despite my apprehension about the venue along with how well this revamped lineup is doing, I felt it was something I needed to see at least once.
One other reason I was a bit excited about the show was that the band Light FM was opening. They’re out on their first national tour in support of their freshly released album “Buzz Kill City”. I’ve been listening to that super catchy, fuzzed out synth pop record quite a bit in the last couple weeks, and was interested to see how it translated in a live setting. There’s also a certain charm to see a band in a state of relative infancy (they’ve been around awhile but are just now gaining national attention) try to win over a whole new set of fans. Given that the start time was a prompt 7PM, The Riv wasn’t yet at full capacity when Light FM took the stage. The band was still grateful to those that did show up early, and in my opinion it was worth it. They breezed through a 20 minute set, giving them only enough time to perform a handful of songs, but making each one of them count. They may not be the most active band when on stage, something that might make sense given the sort of music they make, but sometimes those things need to be sacrificed to ensure the quality is there. Similarly, it’s comforting that Light FM take a very basic approach to their live show and are successful. There are so many bands that feel the need to dress up their performance with a gimmick to try and set themselves apart, but more often than not it’s a measure to try and counter mediocrity. One of the bands on this bill fits that description perfectly, and I’ll get to them in a minute. On the whole, Light FM’s set was pretty good, in spite of only getting a relatively brief snapshot of what they’re capable of. Those that were there seemed to enjoy what they heard too, even if they had just shown up to get as close to Billy Corgan as possible. This is a promising young band with plenty of growing left to do, and the more time spent playing live the faster that growth will occur.
Light FM – Mercy
Buy/Stream Light FM’s album “Buzz Kill City”
The two bands opening for the Smashing Pumpkins on Friday were hand-picked by Billy Corgan. That’s probably the only reason that Fancy Space People were on the bill. Corgan is essentially serving as a “mentor” for the band, pulling them from relative obscurity and working closely with them on the relatively small amount of music they’ve released so far. Their debut EP was released on Starry Records, which is directly connected with Coldwater Studios, both of which are owned and operated by Kerry Brown, of the former Chicago band Catherine. Corgan has known Brown from way back in the day when the Pumpkins shared a practice space with Catherine in Chicago. More on that connection later, but the point being Corgan has his fingerprints all over Fancy Space People. My initial impression of the 8-piece band that showed up on stage was one of odd curiosity. I wasn’t terribly far from the stage, but from my vantage point it appeared that this was an all-female band dressed to the nines in sparkly leotards. Upon closer examination however, and after noticing that one of the band members clearly had facial hair, I came to realize that at least half the band was wearing long-haired wigs and all sorts of makeup, effectively creating a gender-bending androgynous situation. That was the first oddity. The second was how committed the band was to staying “in character”. They consistently referred to the crowd as “Earthlings” and spoke of offering up intergalactic protection from forces that might otherwise threaten to harm us. The song lyrics also backed up the banter. It was pure theater, and entertaining as it was, the whole spectacle wasn’t enough to distract from the moderately poor quality of the music itself. First of all, having 8 members in your band for a sound that clearly doesn’t require it is simply excessive and it wouldn’t surprise me if a few of the parts were doubled over just to add some more power to the songs. Secondly, while there’s certainly a void in the glam rock/hard rock genre since Kiss has become less and less active over the years, is that a void that needs to be filled? Different strokes for different folks, I guess. There was nothing outright terrible about Fancy Space People’s set, but it’s clear these guys and girls need to work on their sound first and their stage presence second. Make some songs worth hearing and tone down the rhetoric a little and people will pay attention. It seemed to me that much of the crowd was apathetic towards the band or scoffed at how showy the whole thing was. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night though was how Fancy Space People effectively bridged the gap in sonic styles between Light FM and the Smashing Pumpkins. By incorporating the synths of Light FM and the psychedelics of the Pumpkins, the three-act bill ultimately made sense, and that’s at least something Billy Corgan got right.
Listen to and buy music from Fancy Space People
Prior to speaking directly about how the Smashing Pumpkins’ set at The Riv was, I’d like to issue a small disclaimer first. My history with this band has been a tumultuous one. The Smashing Pumpkins were a staple of my years growing up, and records like “Gish” and “Siamese Dream” were (and remain) essential listening for fans of 90s rock. So many people loved this band, which is why it was such a shame to see personnel like D’arcy Wretzky and James Iha go. When the Pumpkins broke up in December of 2000, that was the end of an era for me. In my opinion, the real Smashing Pumpkins died that day, and when Billy Corgan put out the call to re-establish the band in 2005 sans everyone but drummer Jimmy Chamberlin, to me it hasn’t been the same since. There have been multiple lineup changes since then, with the only constant being Corgan, and devoted fans will argue that’s all you need. After all, one of the main reasons people keep leaving the band is because Corgan takes on a dictator-like status, seeking to control every aspect of the Pumpkins sound and going so far as to re-record the parts of other members if he feels they are not good enough. Then there are the post-reunion live shows, which often find Corgan in a less than jovial mood and berating the crowd for getting upset the band isn’t playing more of the hits. It would seem that the Smashing Pumpkins version 2.0 are seeking to erase the legacy they developed in the early years. That’s what disappoints me the most I think. But I also give some modicum of credit to Corgan for some of the ballsy moves he’s made in the last few years. Projects like the 44-song “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope”, which has been getting released piece by piece since winter of 2009 is a daring and bold attempt to be different. As that song cycle continues to progress, the majority of those songs have also been released as free downloads, which is Corgan saying he hopes people will try them and be inspired to purchase a limited edition box of them packaged together. In the last couple years the live shows have gotten less angry and more devoted to the power of the music, likely because many of the old fans have quit following the band and the ones that remain truly believe in what he’s doing. I consider myself a purist, disliking much of what the Pumpkins have done recently but still intrigued enough to keep an eye and ear on them in case something brilliant happens. So with fingers crossed, my hope on Friday night at the Riv was to try and enjoy what would likely be a set heavy on post-2000 material. Believe it or not, Corgan & Co. managed to actually surprise me.
As the Smashing Pumpkins took the stage at The Riv, I immediately felt out of my depth. They launched into the epic “Quasar/Stella Polaris and the People Mover” and immediately backed it up with “Panopticon”, the trio of which kick off the upcoming Pumpkins record “Oceania”. Very few (if any) people have heard that upcoming record yet, and while the crowd was cheering because the band was on stage, there was a sense of bewilderment to it. You can’t sing along to these songs because you don’t know them and have no idea where they’re going. The first bit of genuine excitement came with the black curtain behind the band dropping to reveal two large, mirrored propellers and an intricate lighting rig. Yet that unveiling was marred by the lights all shining on full blast at once, effectively blinding the audience for a bit as their pupils played catch up. As to how good the new songs at the start of the show were, they’re far more psychedelic in nature than the older Pumpkins stuff, and The Riv’s shoddy sound system created a much muddier and uninspiring mix than the songs themselves probably deserved. My bet is they sound better on record.
The first surprise of the evening came four songs in, when the band played the 1992 “I Am One” b-side “Starla”. That one really separated the hardcore fans from the more casual fans, and it would turn out to be just the beginning of a night largely devoted to looking back. Many of the songs were distinctly old school, but it was about the farthest thing from a greatest hits parade that you could get. The first third of the set was rounded out via deep cuts from “Gish” and “Siamese Dream”, with “Mellon Collie…” single “Muzzle” sandwiched in between. There was a weirdly balanced mayhem as the set progressed, with a pair of songs from “Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol. 3” getting played, but having the first two volumes completely ignored. Also completely ignored were “Zeitgeist” and both of the “Machina” records. Outside of about half the “Oceania” record, the main focus appeared to be on “Gish” and “Siamese Dream”, along with b-sides and outtakes from those records. It’s been so long since I’ve listened to “Pisces Iscariot”, the rarities compilation from the band’s earliest recordings, that I was fumbling to remember cuts like “Frail and Bedazzled” and “Obscured”. Yet there’s also something discomforting about the few oddities that the Smashing Pumpkins pulled out of their back pockets on Friday night. Those b-sides and outtakes were cut from the main records for a reason, even if they were put onto compilations later. Very few bands can claim their b-sides are nearly as good as their main catalogues, and the Pumpkins are probably not one of them. So why whip them out and why now? Well, turns out there will be deluxe reissues of “Gish”, “Siamese Dream” and “Pisces Iscariot” before the end of the year. So was it promotionally motivated? You bet it was. Does it make them any less interesting to hear? Not really, as much of it is better than the band’s later catalogue. As evidenced by their touring around “Zeitgeist” a few years ago, Corgan seems to have a distaste for any of the old Pumpkins singles. Hence only four made the cut for the evening, with “Muzzle”, “Siva”, “Cherub Rock” and “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” each clearly garnering the loudest crowd responses of the night and some intense sing-alongs. After the show I heard a few fans grumbling about the lack of easily recognizable songs in the set, but saying it was still “better than a few years ago, when they played even less than that”.
If there was one thing I learned from watching this Smashing Pumpkins set, it was that Billy Corgan is a much better guitarist than I’ve ever given him credit for. Sure, he’s been responsible for writing and composing almost the entire Pumpkins catalogue, but I always figured that he took the ideas of James Iha or whatever guitarist that was in the band and repurposed them for his own self-aggrandization. With more nameless and faceless personnel surrounding Corgan than ever before though, it’s less and less likely they’re writing these brilliant parts that he’s taking advantage of. They seem to be more about following his lead than challenging it. And you know what? It works for them. The dynamic allows for some give and take between all of the band members, even if they’re not as talented as those that came before them. The back-and-forth guitar lines between Corgan and Jeff Schroeder on “Siva” gave the song a little fresher life than it does on record. Bassist Nicole Fiorentino and drummer Mike Byrne both kept a strong rhythmic dynamic to most of the songs, and the former’s vocal harmonies intertwined remarkably well with Corgan’s nasal tones. You still should probably call this the Billy Corgan Show though, because whenever he wasn’t playfully sparring with his bandmates, he was off on some extended guitar solo. Over 2.5 hours, I don’t think I’ve ever witnessed somebody take more solos than Corgan did. It reached the point where it was excessive and also physically painful for Corgan himself. He cracked a smile through much of it, but there was a point during an intense version of “Silverfuck” that he had to shake his hand out because it had gotten so cramped up from all the soloing. All that intricate guitar work ultimately served a purpose, which was to unite the past, present and future of the Smashing Pumpkins under one large umbrella. He purposely chose the more prog-rock and psychedelic moments out of the older material to merge it better with the newer stuff that places distinct emphasis on it. On the couple songs that didn’t serve that unifying purpose, he forced them into it by drawing them out into longer arrangements, accented with more solos. And you know what? It wasn’t half bad.
At the start of the encore, Corgan came out to deliver some of the only stage banter of the entire night. After acknowledging his brother up in the balcony, he talked briefly about the early days of the band and how they shared a practice space on the North Side of Chicago with this great local band Catherine. Catherine broke up in the late 90s, but Corgan has remained friends with them and has been working towards getting them to reunite. So it was with great pride that he re-introduced Catherine to the world as they performed together on stage for the first time in over a decade. They played a two song set, with Corgan contributing some guitar, and it was some great post-punk rock that appeared to indicate Catherine hadn’t lost much of a step. “A fine wine we are not,” one of the guys in Catherine proclaimed before launching into “Broken Bunny Bird” off their 1994 record “Sorry!”. It was exciting that they were back together, but a younger-skewing crowd gave clueless stares and polite applause to the band as most were entirely unfamiliar with the material. Most likely many were disappointed that Corgan was giving the encore time to this other band rather than playing more Pumpkins songs. The truth is, it was a little shocking that Corgan yielded the stage to anyone given his love of the spotlight. To close out the night for good, he seemed to want to throw the crowd a bone and leave them wanting more by breaking out “Bullet With Butterfly Wings”. Ironically it was the one moment of the entire set where Corgan appeared to be uninspired. He raced through the song at a faster than normal pace, like he was trying to remove a band-aid that was stuck to a thick patch of hair. The hope was the pain would go away quicker if he just ripped it right off in one quick motion. The crowd was more than satisfied though, and smiles were easy to come by. For a night that was largely built on the unfamiliarity of new material, rarities and deep cuts, it was just a little surprising they were smiling at all.
Smashing Pumpkins – Owata
Smashing Pumpkins – Lightning Strikes
Set List:
Quasar/Stella Polaris and the People Mover (Oceania)
Panopticon (Oceania)
Starla (I Am One single b-side)
Geek U.S.A. (Siamese Dream)
Muzzle (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
Window Paine (Gish)
Lightning Strikes (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol. 3)
Soma (Siamese Dream)
Siva (Gish)
Oceania (Oceania)
Frail and Bedazzled (Siamese Dream outtake)
Silverfuck (Siamese Dream)
Obscured (Gish outtake, Today single b-side)
Pale Horse (Oceania)
Thru the Eyes of Ruby (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
Cherub Rock (Siamese Dream)
Owata (Teargarden by Kaleidyscope, Vol. 3)
My Love Is Winter (Oceania)
For Martha (Adore)
\\**Encore**//
Idiot (Catherine song)
Broken Bunny Bird (Catherine song)
Bullet with Butterfly Wings (Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness)
Remaining Tour Dates
Oct 17 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Oct 18 New York, NY Terminal 5
Oct 19 Providence, RI Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel
Oct 21 Boston, MA Orpheum Theater
Oct 22 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theater
So before I forget, and because it’s really cool, let me tell all of you Chicago readers about a great FREE show happening tomorrow night. Our good friends over at Vice, in association with VitaminWater, are putting on an UNCAPPED show tomorrow night (Thursday, April 7th) at Viaduct (3111 North Western Avenue). Show starts at 9PM and features a lineup that’s been curated by Black Lips. Mannequin Men, Lover! and Hollows will all be playing sets, all for FREE so long as you RSVP. You need to be 21+ to attend, primarily because there will also be free alcoholic beverages. You won’t find a much better deal in town, and if you’re looking for a way to kick off your weekend early, definitely check this show out. Again, you need to RSVP to get in, so go here and do so. Here’s a couple mp3s to get your interest peaked:
Mannequin Men – Boys
Mannequin Men – Grapefruit
Lover! – No More Reasons
Outside of that, here’s the rundown of today’s Pick Your Poison. Highlights include tracks from Apparat, Chicago’s own Company of Thieves, The Olympic Symphonium, and Telepathique. There’s also an interesting collaboration between Graham Coxon, Paloma Faith and Bill Ryder-Jones that’s part of a Converse series. In the Soundcloud section you’ll find a new solo track from Death Cab for Cutie’s Ben Gibbard, which is pretty good.
Arron Dean – The Extraordinary Things We Fear
Company of Thieves – Modern Waste
Dirty Gold – California Sunrise (Hannes Fischer Remix)
Graham Coxon, Paloma Faith and Bill Ryder-Jones – Desire
Hammer No More the Fingers – Leroy
The Last Royals – If You Leave (OMD cover)
The Olympic Symphonium – Settle Down
The Rum Diary – Pyrrhic Victory
Telepathique – All Your Lovers
SOUNDCLOUD
Ben Gibbard – When the Sun Goes Down
DeepSeaGreen – Soul, Stray Cats & The Cosmos
Nobody is denying that Kanye West is controversial. The guy steals headlines for doing shit like calling George W. Bush out, claiming he “doesn’t care about black people”. He throws temper tantrums at awards shows when he doesn’t win things he was nominated for, and on occasion when other people don’t win things he felt they should have. It was after that whole Taylor Swift incident and the subsequent backlash that West really began to realize the world doesn’t bend to his every whim and desire. Well, he probably knew that before, but refused to give the thought much creedence. He wrote missives on his website about it, essentially apologizing and confessing that he needs to take a hard look at himself and work on both controlling his anger and thinking before speaking. It was the start of a self-imposed hiatus of sorts, where he disappeared from the media, from having an online presence, from showing up at friends’ shows to make surprise cameos. He went to Hawaii, one of the most beautiful and relaxed places on Earth, and found some mental health. Playing out like your traditional movie plotline, Kanye reached the low point where all hope may have seemed lost. His storied quest to become the greatest artist that ever lived hit its biggest speedbump as suddenly he had turned from hero to villain. Given the outspoken and completely honest manner in which he’s conducted himself since the very beginning of his rise to fame though, West has probably been playing the villain for some people longer than others.
Everyone loves a tale of redemption though, and after a few months of down time and personal reflection, Kanye West began working on a proper follow-up to his last record, 2008’s “808s and Heartbreak”. There were rumblings of a record reportedly titled “Good Ass Job” that was tentatively scheduled for release in mid-2010, but that failed to happen. Instead, West officially re-emerged from exile by showing up at Facebook and Twitter headquarters to do some impromptu a capella performances of some new material. Videos began to pop up online, and that sparked some interest. Soon after began the G.O.O.D. Fridays, in which West would give away free mp3s of new music once a week, thereby earning him loads of good will and renewed respect. It would have been largely for naught had the tracks he was handing out sucked, but as Kanye himself would probably tell you, “sucking” isn’t really in his vocabulary. The big comeback tour also included a stop by the MTV Video Music Awards, where just a year earlier his on-stage interruption was what sparked his fall from grace. Performing new track “Runaway” completely solo, West spouted off lines like “Let’s have a toast for the douchebags/Let’s have a toast for the assholes/Let’s have a toast for the scumbags”. It was pretty self-deprecating with just a hint of remorse for being one of those douchebag asshole scumbag jerkoffs. And so, Kanye West is officially back, the spotlight firmly on him once again with the much-delayed but finally released fifth album “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” officially landing last week. It’s almost as if he wanted to make sure it was out just in time for all those year-end “Best of” lists.
If there’s one thing we’ve learned about Kanye West over his last few years and albums, it’s that he doesn’t do small. Case in point, the music video for his 9-minute opus “Runaway” officially runs 35 minutes and features such spectacles as fireworks and a parade. “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” runs in a similar fashion, taking a mere 13 tracks and extending out to a grand 70 minutes. Eight of the songs extend beyond the five minute mark, and a couple of the shorter ones are merely interludes attached to bigger main tracks. Take the track “All the Lights” as one of the sharpest examples of excess, with over 42 people getting credit as having contributed something to the final product. There’s a whole brass section, strings, some woodwinds and about a dozen guest vocalists, most of which are impossible to pick out individually. The track itself is deceptively simple on the surface, but a close and studied listen reveals layers that go far beyond what any reasonable person might expect. So it goes for much of the record, jumping through a multitude of stylistic hoops with a who’s-who of guests that include everyone from Jay-Z to Nicki Minaj to Rick Ross and the WTF-ness of Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Thankfully most of the Auto-Tune madness that completely covered “808s and Heartbreak” has vanished, though in its place are plenty of other vocal manipulations. “Gorgeous” has West sounding like he’s gone all flat with his vocals hit with a pretty strong mono filter that makes you wonder what hip hop would have sounded like were there recordings of it in the 50s and 60s. There’s also the robotic vocal breakdown near the end of “Runaway” and just a slice of Auto-Tune on “Lost in the World” thanks more to the sampling of Bon Iver’s “Woods” than anything else. But “Blame Game” features the greatest vocal acrobatics, as West’s voice goes from slow to fast to just plain weird speeds all over an Aphex Twin piano sample. It’s also one of his bleakest tracks to date, taking the album’s title and rendering it completely true from a lyrical perspective.
Kanye West spends much of “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” talking about some heavy-handed topics. While getting into superhero lore on “POWER”, West also gets into a commentary about his increased loss of innocence and childlike wonder. There was a certain playfulness that took over on his first couple records, but it’s not like thoroughly depressing (but confrontational and real) topics are new ground for him. Hell, “808s and Heartbreak” was a record born out of a tragic breakup and his mother’s death. It was not a fun experience in the least. The fun on this new record really comes in the form of pure indulgence. Whether that means drinking and partying as much as you want or sleeping with a LOT of women, these are topics motivated purely by the pleasure centers of our brain. They’re also the part of the same section that houses the angry and violent urges as well, which is why on “Blame Game” he tells a girl he misses both fucking her and choking her. One assumes the choking bit is a sexual thing, but he says it with such malicious intent that it’s difficult to know where to draw the line. Similarly, “All the Lights” comes across as a celebration of fame but also deals with the perils and pitfalls that go along with it. It’s less “I’m so famous, I’ve had to stop trying to grocery shop” and more “Restraining order/Can’t see my daughter”. This highlights the dichotomy that weighs on this record from start to finish. For every light there is a dark. For every good there is a bad. For every hero there is a villain. For every beautiful fantasy there is a dark and twisted reality. Kanye West is and is about all of these things, and the public perception of him is just as divided. We can see ourselves in it too, which is what makes West such a powerful force in music today. There’s always the intensely relatable moments, like somebody’s reading straight out of our diaries, but thanks to his unfiltered perspective, sometimes West also goes on about the things we WISH we could do or say but wouldn’t dare on account of social convention or what effect it’d have on the way others see us. West gets away with it because he’s one of the few people that simply doesn’t care…or at least not as much as we do.
For inquiring ears that simply have to know, “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” is a hip hop achievement of the highest order. Hell, it’s a musical achievement of the highest order. Kanye West once again proves he’s one of, if not the best and most talented artists in music today no matter if he’s got love from the general public or not. The whole Taylor Swift thing? You might as well wipe that from your memory because not only are both artists involved sick and tired of talking about it, but they both have extremely well-received new records that deserve your undivided attention. The one thing you can never accuse Kanye West of being is unambitious, and this new album weighs in as a highlight reel of great moments from his past, taking place in the present, with a sharp outlook towards the future. Of course where he’ll go next is anybody’s guess, but at the moment he’s taking a page straight out of his song “Stronger”. With his personal and professional life in complete shambles, West took a step back, assessed the situation, and has risen from the ashes better than ever before. Haters be damned, Kanye West is here to stay. Now if only somebody could get him to shut up about it.
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