The Bottle Rockets set out to film first DVD

Note: Photo courtesy of Bloodshot Records.

"It's way overdue, and there are so many good ones out there," said The Bottle Rockets' lead singer Brian Henneman, in regards to filming a live DVD. "We figured we might as well do it."

Henneman is right. The alternative-country staple has been alive and kicking since 1992, and it's about time for one of their live shows to be documented. That's why their concert Saturday night at The Highdive in Champaign will be filmed for a release on Bloodshot Records somewhere (not too far) down the line.

"There's no proper film footage of what we do," he said. "This is going to be a straight-ahead deal, encompassing all the eras of the band."

The director of the DVD will be John Boston of Chicago, known for his work with his company Whiskey Bender Productions.

In addition, The Bottle Rockets are fresh off the heels of their 15th Anniversary tour, which saw them playing setlists created by fans. It forced the band to learn some material they hadn't played in a long time, and it's safe to say some of the selections may end up on the DVD.

"Sometimes it was songs we hadn't played in five years," Henneman said. "It was a lot of fun and good for us. No matter what we've been doing for the last 10-12 years, we had to pull out any song at any given time."

But why The Highdive?

"From a technical end, it's great," Henneman said. "It's easy to film in, with a good setup. They are letting us take it over for the entire day, to set up."

Moreover though, it may be the location. Henneman said it's the perfect middle ground between Chicago and St. Louis, where a lot of their fans will be coming from.

"There's no big expense for getting there," he said. "It just kind of pointed its fingers at The Highdive."

2009 is shaping up to be a busy year for The Bottle Rockets. In addition to the DVD, the band is also looking to release their new record, Lean Forward, sometime soon. Expect a few new songs at the show, since the DVD will most likely be released after the new album comes out.

The DVD is the thing on Henneman's mind right now though, and it's best to just expect what The Bottle Rockets do best.

"It's just going to be us doing what we do, nothing outrageous or outlandish," he said. "We just wanted to do it before we got too old."

The Bottle Rockets will be at The Highdive, 51 E. Main St., Champaign, Saturday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10, and doors open at 6 p.m. There will be no opening act, as the show is being filmed for a DVD.

Max Tundra's one-man charm outperforms Junior Boys

I didn't know a lot about Max Tundra before I saw him at The Canopy Club in Urbana, Monday night.

And to be fair, when he started his set, I wasn't that impressed. It was just another guy with a lot of electronics, layering sounds and instruments. I have seen way too many of these kind of performances, and they bore me to death. No matter how awesome the music is, it's not always interesting to watch an electronica performer make the music.

But then he started dancing, and it made it worth it to me. Instead of taking it all seriously, Tundra (real name Ben Jacobs) knew he was kind of a schlub, and he embraced it. He flailed, jumped up and down and just had a good time.

Even with a small audience, he didn't care. Tundra's odds of winning people over were small, but he did it.

A big part of it was that the music got more interesting as his set went on, which was a combination of electronic, orchestral and power pop. And all this was done by one man, looping and picking away (and dancing. Oh the dancing).

Tundra closed his set with a weird/intriguing cover of "So Long, Farewell" from the musical The Sound of Music. While played with a lot of electronic flourishes and synthesizers, it stayed remarkably faithful to the original.

But then he started flailing his arms and dancing, and it made the all the better for it.

While Tundra's set grew on me, Junior Boys' set never really took off. Maybe it was the small crowd (I don't think so, they seemed to enjoy that), maybe it was that they took breaks between songs (if a dance band wants an audience to keep moving, they need to keep playing), or maybe it was that I had too high of expectations (dance bands usually impress me), but the show did not catch fire like I thought it would.

I have rather enjoyed what I have heard from their new album Begone Dull Care, but the arrangements barely deviated from the album versions, and even with the addition of a live drummer, there wasn't much more to it. That "oomph" wasn't there.

There were a couple of exceptions, most notably the song "In the Morning." The band just seemed to get a little more excited, and tried to reach beyond what they already knew the song would be.

More often than not though, Junior Boys didn't reach that far.

Note: Photos will be up soon.

An Horse takes simplicity to another level

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

Since they had the simplest setup of any of the bands playing on Thursday night at The Canopy Club in Urbana, An Horse's set focused on the songs.

The Australian indie rock band's 30-minute set had very few embellishments (just guitar and drums, and a shaker on one song), meaning their material better stand well on its own.

It did, and I liked it.

To elaborate, not much changed between the arrangements from their debut album, Rearrange Beds, and in a live setting but the songs are good enough to warrant that. Still, lead singer and guitarist Kate Cooker and drummer Damon Cox did just enough to let the songs breathe and up the energy level.

An Horse played most of the songs off Rearrange Beds, and their simple, guitar-driven indie rock worked best on songs like "Company" and "Little Little Little." When they kept it fast and propulsive, the material sounded the best.

When they slowed it down a bit, however, their set dragged, but not because of the material. Instead, The Void Room of The Canopy Club can be an unforgiving room for sound. When it's loud and fast, it sounds great. When it's slower, the sound gets swallowed up.

Nevertheless, An Horse's set was simple, which is probably why I liked it so much (and why much of the set didn't suffer from those sound issues). Compared to Company of Thieves, the band that played before them, their music was simple, but even that is an unfair generalization.

The Appleseed Cast was a different feeling though. If An Horse was about the songs, The Appleseed Cast were about the feeling and the dynamics.

And when the band was loud, it was loud. For such a small venue, they made sure they were heard loud and clear 100 yards away.

These weren't simple ditties either. These were multi-sectioned compositions (a staple of many post-rock bands like The Appleseed Cast), which rarely employs anything like verses or choruses. Yeah, there were vocals, but more often than not they took a backseat to the instrumentation (which often sounded like ocean waves hitting the beach in a violent manner).


Again, the band's slower or more intricate material got lost in the sound mix , but The Appleseed Cast were okay being as loud as they want, pounding their instruments for maximum effect. For the most part, that was okay with me as well.

Note: I did an interview with Kate Cooper of An Horse prior to the show. I will be posting it here sometime soon. Keep checking back!

Those Darlins: the name doesn't give it all away

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

Those Darlins have almost nothing in common with their name.

Okay, well maybe they are three girls who play country music...and I guess it does have that connotation...but these girls have a lot more to them. On record, they are steeped in tradition, writing simple songs with straightforward lyrics (no metaphors or big words).

Then there is their live sound. Everything their songs have on record (particularly on the fantastic three-song Wild One EP) are turned up in front of an audience. The singalongs are there, but they are more in-your face. The guitar switches from acoustic to electric. There is no production. It's fantastic.

And that's exactly how it was at The Highdive on Friday night. No frills, no extras, just loud electric music.

The band, made up of three girls (playing guitar, bass and baritone ukelele) and a drummer added a raw energy to everything they played, be it originals or covers (their cover of Woody Guthrie's "To Washington" was a good addition). Their songs, including "The Whole Damn Thing" (about getting drunk and eating an entire chicken), were fun, rocking numbers with a keen sense of humor. I can't wait for the album.

Sure, they were sloppy, but it was fun. And adding to just straight-up country was a good mix of punk and 60s pop. The guitar solos were straight out of early Beatles records, while the alternative country movement of the 80s and 90s (noted for combining classic country with punk) could be heard throughout their too-short set (their album will be out later this year). Yeah, they only have one album coming out, and I don't know if they were even ready to play more, but I wanted it.


To be sure, Those Darlins aren't masters at their instruments, but that's what adds to their charm. Even if the music is amateur-ish and bouncy (in a good way, sounding as if it was meant to be), they mean everything they sing and play, and they do it all with an attitude.

Hrmm. I guess they do have something in common with their name.

Note: I recorded an interview with them prior to the show and you can find it here. The band and I talk about their origins (including their name), the music that inspire them and their trip and attention at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin, TX. This is my first time doing an audio interview, but hopefully it isn't too rough to listen to.

Street Level Doppler: un-dwelling acoustic music

Street Level Doppler may just have the coolest name of any band from the Champaign-Urbana area.

The band's debut EP, Taking Some Time, will be coming out during the Boneyard Arts Festival this weekend, and they will be holding a record release show at The Iron Post on Saturday to commemorate the release.

I really found myself enjoying this record more than I thought I would. Reading any description of them doesn't really explain it well (except for mine, of course). While their acoustic-based music doesn't seem to have a whole lot to say, it's still enjoyable. Street Level Doppler have been doing acoustic covers for a long time, yet this is their first time releasing original material.

Their sound kind of reminds me of the Weed Street Band, a now-defunct Chicago group that employed some of the same aspects. And if it was going to be compared to anybody more well-known, I would say James Taylor, but even that doesn't give a good idea. It's just...strummy.

It's breezy yet not sappy, and the melodies are strong and rooted in the best pop out there. And the lyrics are just kind of there; nothing to write home about, but they add texture.

And maybe the thing about it that attracts me to it the most would be that it's upbeat. I hear way too many bands and singers who think that acoustic music is an excuse to slow it down and whine about problems.

Not these guys. They seem to be taking it in stride, and Taking Some Time benefits from that.

Street Level Doppler will be playing their CD release show Saturday at The Iron Post, 120 S. Race St., Urbana, Cover is $5 and the first 50 people in the door will get a free copy of the CD.

Benevento turns up the "oomph" at Logan Square Auditorium

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

Marco Benevento's show at Logan Square Auditorium on Thursday was a great one, but I'm not sure how to describe it.


Listening to his latest album Me, Not Me didn't really prepare me for what I saw. Yes the songs were the same ones, and Benevento is just as out-there live as he is on record, but there was a lot more power to it.

They had a lot more "oomph," and most of the credit goes to drummer Simon Lott, who was the equivalent of a hard-rock jazz percussionist. I don't know how else to describe it, except that he kept time with such force that is unusual for jazz (and with his funny faces, he was probably the most entertaining player to watch).

Bassist Reed Mathis gets credit too, for holding down a low-end that often gets lost in the style they were playing.

The show featured a heavy sampling of songs (mostly covers) from the new record, as they began with My Morning Jacket's "Golden." Started with a sampler of a rhythm, the band kicked in full force, bringing out different emotions in each section of the song.

As the night went on, the band got looser but just as weird. Their jazz gave way to rock, pop and many unclassifiable tunes (at one point there were girls dancing onstage), and they covered songs by Neil Young ("Don't Let It Bring You Down") and Deerhoof ("Twin Killers").

And Benevento's own material was just as strong. He has a real ear for melody, so even his improvisation wasn't based on showing off. Instead, he tried to find the best piano line to mesh with the other instruments.

And then there were the effects. Benevento himself stuck pretty much to his upright piano, but he found plenty of uses for it with his array of effects pedals. Sometimes it sounded like the wind, other times it sounded like a guitar. But he was able to make use of an acoustic instrument and turn it into something it is not.

Benevento and the band closed with a cover of The Beatles' "I Saw Her Standing There," which had everyone bashing their instruments. It managed to be more joyful than the original, which was pretty much the theme of the show (it got the 30 or so people in the audience dancing too).

As pointed out by cohort Aaron Facemire, this was real music, and it sounded good to hear that for a change.

Opening band The Liquid Beat Allstars went on for about an hour, and that was about 40 minutes too long.

It was like Phish gone jazz. They jammed for too long on a sound that got very repetitious (smooth jazz with funk bass lines and synthesized strings), often having four or five points in each song could have logically ended.


Prince does that in his sleep, and I'd rather hear him than them.

Worth going to: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band at Courtyard Cafe

Note: Photo courtesy of Dead Oceans.

The Courtyard Cafe had quite a week last week, what with shows by The Mountain Goats and Hold Steady. This week though, comes The Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band.

The group, which has either the best or the stupidest name of 2009 (even while writing this I still can't make up my mind), recently put out their debut self-titled album. The album is a blast of indie-rock energy in the best way (and there are plenty of wrong ways to do it), fast drums, intertwined guitars and poppy melodies. Now, this may all sound very standard, and it's true they don't stray much from the formula, but the songs are good enough to stand up on their own.

While the group is still very new (their drummer is 14 years old!), they are on their way to creating a sound of their own. Sure, they may veer a little bit too close to the likes of The New Pornographers or Ra Ra Riot, and not every song is a winner, but it's their first time out.

Songs like the waltz-punk "Masquerade" show signs of a bright future, and their guitar lines, especially on the song "Little Red Shoes," are subtly great. Instead of bashing them over your head, they noodle around and provide a strong counter melody to the main vocals.

It's good to see a band without a unique quirk to set them apart. These guys are playing music for the sake of playing music. They don't have a singer with a weird voice (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) or a high school orchestra feel (Arcade Fire at their most primitive). Nah, Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band are just songwriters.

Now if only they had a name that matched the sound...

Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band, with Bess Rogers, will be performing at the Courtyard Cafe in the Illini Union, Urbana, Thursday, April 9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5, or $3 with a University of Illinois ID.

Avant-jazz and the cover: the music of Marco Benevento

Note: Photo courtesy of Calabro Music Media.

Marco Benevento has a unique way of making a cover.

It doesn't entail merely regurgitating a melody with another singer or instrument (even though they remain intact). No, a cover to this eclectic-jazz artist means deconstructing a song, finding colorful additions or flourishes, and making a whole new song out of it.

"When you play a tune and do your own thing to it, it's important to retain the musical color of it," Benevento said. "You need to capture the essence of it and put your essence in it at the same time."

Benevento put this to good use with his latest album Me, Not Me. A jazz record in only the simplest terms, Benevento puts his "essence" into songs by Led Zeppelin, Leonard Cohen and a few originals. The versatile pianist (he also plays solo shows, is in the Benevento-Russo Duo, and often collaborates with other artists) is able to make the songs his own, by running his piano through various effects and pedals.

The album was a project he had wanted to do since he moved to New York in 2000.

"It's been done in rock music and every other kind of music," Benevento said. "I have been playing these songs for a long time, and I finally felt comfortable enough to do such a thing."

Benevento said the songs picked for this record are ones he has been playing for a long time ("certain songs lend themselves to improvisation and reorganization, but it takes time to try them live"), and ones he feels a personal connection with.

One of the most popular tracks he has reinterpreted though, is the song "Golden" by My Morning Jacket. While the melody remains intact, the focus instead shifts onto the percussion and rhythm, re-imagining it as more groove-oriented than the original's moody acoustic vibe.

Benevento said that was one of the songs he really wanted to stick out on the album, adding tempo and mood changes throughout the song that weren't imagined the first time around.

It's a great cover, but best of all, it's a weird one.

And if Benevento's music errs on the side of weird on record, it's a whole different beast in concert. With this tour, which brings him to Logan Square Auditorium on Thursday, he is playing as a trio, including bass, drums and whatever piano there is for him to tinker with.

"I just put some pedals in a backpack and a microphone that I leave in the piano," Benevento said. "I then run it through a guitar amp to recreate the song."

This can provide mixed results though, as not every piano has the same sound (he describes it as "Frankensteining" the piano).

Still, with the gamble that is every new piano, there is a guarantee that every show will be unique.

"It's exciting to find the piano as a whole other instrument," he said. "It's almost like a guitar concept of a piano. You get feedback, and there are fluctuations, because it's a live acoustic instrument."

Marco Benevento, with Liquid Beat Allstars, will be at Logan Square Auditorium, 2539 N. Kedzie Blvd, Chicago, Thursday, April 9 at 8:30 p.m. Tickets are $12.

Just a guitar and a voice: the naked songs of The Mountain Goats

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

That damn coffee machine was a nuisance.

I don't know what I was expecting, as Thursday's night's Mountain Goats and John Vanderslice concert was held in the Courtyard Cafe (ahem, a coffee shop), but every time it started working, the music was drowned out.

It didn't help that the show was all acoustic music. The struggle lasted any time a customer ordered a drink, they were glared at by either the performer or the audience (Vanderslice even stopped a song at one point to wait for the noise to end).

Distractions aside, the music in Urbana Thursday night was a mixed back. Vanderslice can write good enough melodies, but struggles with choruses. And The Mountain Goats (just John Darnielle this time) were great, but didn't play for long enough (apparently to a throat problem).

Vanderslice opened, and I'll be damned if I ever understood what he was singing about. His between-song banter was funny and engaging, but his lyrics were abstract to the point of being incomprehensible.

And yes, his melodies were good. They went somewhere, and they were colorful enough to keep me interested. But they never paid off, and the songs went nowhere (even the last song, which had audience members onstage clapping along, wasn't discernible from anything else he played).

When Darnielle took the stage, he went right into a cover of Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." Sounding like it was a joke, it quickly turned into an plea for help and attention, much like the music he writes himself.

He then went straight into "Going to Bolivia," and from there it took off. For the 50-minute set, it was one song after another.

Darnielle's bare-bones approach served him well, and it highlighted the strange but straightforward lyrics he had. He is not the most technically proficient player, but his almost punky approach made up for it. He was passionate, and this helped him rise up beyond just being a man and his guitar.

And while Vanderslice struggled to make a song go somewhere, Darnielle's songs were short and to the point. Rivalled only by Robert Pollard (of Guided by Voices) in terms of output, he is able to churn out a large quantity of music, meaning they aren't all long. Unlike Pollard, however, he has an emotional attachment to these songs, revealing things he would never be comfortable just saying (he also has the uncanny ability to make cover personal, which he did again with Jay and the Americans' "This Magic Moment).

The audience was with him the entire time, almost eerily-so. When Darnielle played "Shadow Song," it was so quiet that it was distracting to hear my pen writing. When he played "No Children," the audience sang every word. It was a dedication I hadn't seen to a band in a long time, and it was great to see.

Darnielle's set ended too soon, and he could have played for much longer and still not lost any steam. In the end, they (and I) didn't care about the damn coffee machine, just the music. And we wanted more.

Notes: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

In addition, My updates done during the show on Twitter can be found here.