Illinois Hi-Fi

Pitchfork Music Festival: I won't be there, but check these out for me

2009-07-15T00:51:00.008-05:00

For the first time since the festival started in 2006 (and 2005, when it was still called the Intonation Music Festival), I have attended the Pitchfork Music Festival. This year, I will be missing it for the first time.

While this hasn't broken my heart, there were still a few bands I wanted to see. Let me know how it goes.

-Tortoise-This is a band I think would be great live...if I paid attention. These guys were at the first Pitchfork festival (then called Intonation), and while I enjoyed what I saw of their set, I stood in line for most of it, waiting for an autograph from Sebastien Grainger of Death from Above 1979.

Regardless, I have enjoyed every release of theirs, including their new one, Beacons of Ancestorship. I wish I could be there, but alas, I'll catch them some other time (Friday at 5).

-Yo La Tengo - I saw these guys at the Pygmalion Music Festival in Champaign-Urbana last fall, and it was one of the best shows I have ever seen. That band makes quite a noise for such a trio, and with their set being hand-picked by fans, it should be pretty awesome (Friday at 6:10).

-The Jesus Lizard-I think enough has been said about this band reuniting and how powerful of a live act they are. I don't think I need to go into any more detail (Friday at 7:20).

-Fucked Up-This band should be what Les Savy Fav was to the festival in 2005 and 2008 (Saturday at 2:30).

-Ponytail-This band exudes happiness. Their 2008 album Ice Cream Spiritual, while nearly wordless, is a blast of sunshine and dance-y goodness. Here's to hoping it's just as good live (Saturday at 4:30).

-Black Lips-I've heard horror stories about this band's power onstage. I would expect nothing less (Saturday at 8:30)

-Blitzen Trapper-These folkies have been on my radar since 2007's Wild Mountain Nation. I want to see them live, and see if that intimacy/craziness can translate live. They are hippies, but hopefully they can forget that onstage.

-M83-The first album of theirs I really got into was 2003's Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts, and then I kind of forgot about them. I saw them at 2005's Lollapalooza, but ended up falling asleep (it was hot out that day). Again, I wonder how good they really are live, especially if I paid attention. I liked last year's Saturdays = Youth, so if they have a great light show to go along with the ambient music, it should be awesome (Sunday at 6:15).

Sonic Youth: sticking to the new stuff

2009-07-05T23:51:00.010-05:00

Note: Photos by Eric Heisig

Sorry it's been so long. Real life is getting in the way more and more these days.

I have to applaud Sonic Youth for almost always playing the most songs from their recent release in concert. That was definitely the case on Sunday at the Vic Theatre.

The band offered almost the entire album The Eternal, which was released earlier this month. The songs sounded good too, with their rougher edges and power shining through (their last album, Rather Ripped, saw the band trying more poppy music. Great stuff, but this new album is their best in a while).

The best song out of the new bunch was, without a doubt, "Anti-Orgasm." With its garage-rock riff and harmony vocals (a rarity for the band), the song was the epitome of what they can do, build tension while create beauty with weird melodies and structures. Other songs such as "Sacred Trickster" sounded just as good, proving that this time around, it's Kim Gordon's band. A lot of the new material is sung by her, and while she was front and center for most of the time, she had the most commanding presence.

When the band tried other material, they seemed less adventurous, but maybe that's because they already know the ins and outs of the songs. They opened the show with "She Is Not Alone" from their very first album, and the encores had them revisiting three songs from Daydream Nation. Sure, they all sounded great, but the best thing about this show was their willingness to try all their new material.

Sonic Youth also seems to be flourishing by playing with former Pavement bassist Mark Ibold. While their first album was released in 1981, Ibold helped create a full sound, which is a big compliment considering how big they can sound with just the guitars of Thurston Moore and Lee Ranaldo.

Opening band White/Light was a one-note band, but that's how they wanted it. Their live show consisted of a drone, with the changes coming ever-so subtly. They weren't trying to be tuneful, and while it was cool for a little while, some changes would have been nice.

There is a reason Lou Reed's Metal Machine Music didn't become a widespread hit.

Here are a couple more photos from the show:

Starlight Mints: cool lights, cool music, a great spectacle

2009-06-14T13:34:00.010-05:00

Photos by Ned Mulka

I was wowed by the Starlight Mints, and it takes a lot for me to get wowed.

Their show at The Highdive in Champaign on Friday was awesome. It all added up: the lighting, the music, the energy (the lack of crowd didn't help, but it didn't bug me, even if it did bug the band). It was a legitimate surprise, one of the best shows I have seen this year.

I should have known something awesome was coming up from when I entered The Highdive. There was a video screen up and a projector ready to go. I knew it would be cool, but not this cool.

Starlight Mints are gearing up for the release of their latest record, Change Remians (out now digitally), and a good portion of their 45-minute set was derived from it.

In fact, the upcoming record yielded the best song of the night in "Zoomba." With a pre-recorded discordant horn section and a powerful drum beat, the band displayed their power.

Their music was joyous and upbeat but it had a weight to it. The rhythms were emphasized and made what could have been very precious music into something monstrous.

In addition, the band seems to have learned quite a bit from fellow Oklahomans and former tourmates The Flaming Lips, as their visuals were almost as good as the music. With a video screen playing various backgrounds and two LED lights in the front, the lights were almost as bright as the band's energy, but put together made for a great spectacle on such a small stage.

The band ended their set early, probably because Evangelicals went on late. Starlight Mints was determined to end on a good note though, after a botched version of "Submarine #3." They did, but it was too short for such a good show.

Opening band Evangelicals really love The Cure. That's just about everything you need to know about them, since every song sounded like The Cure (guys, if you aren't getting the message, listen to another band besides The Cure).

To be fair, the band's material had a lot more power onstage, but the weirdness and odd musical styles displayed on 2008's The Evening Descends were not shown.

When I saw them at the Pygmalion Festival last September, I walked out. Part of that was because they were boring, the other was that I wanted to see other bands. While they have improved as a live act since then, they struggle to make the interesting elements of their records a part of their live set.

That being said, I did enjoy how raw and punky some of their numbers became, especially the song "Bellawood." If only they were able to combine the punky and the intricate. Then Evangelicals would really be creating something great.

Here are some more photos from the show:

Starlight Mints

Evangelicals

Just a reminder: audio interviews from Summer Camp are up

2009-06-07T19:03:00.003-05:00

So it came t my attention that it may be best to put up links and a reminder on where to find the audio interviews I did at Summer Camp. I posted them on the days they were done and the days they played. I interviewed This Must Be the Band on the Friday, and Backyard Tire Fire and Easy Star All-Stars on Sunday.

Sorry for the confusion, if there was any. In case you missed it, here are links to the audio:

This Must Be the Band

Why Charles Otto (lead singer/David Byrne) decided to form a Talking Heads cover band

Why the Talking Heads music is a good jumping off point for This Must Be the Band, instead of them being a straight cover band

Backyard Tire Fire

Lead singer Ed Anderson talks about the formation of the band

The band talks about recording their new, upcoming album with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos

Why do they come back to Summer Camp year after year?

Easy Star All-Stars

Goldwasser talks about the creation of Easy Star Records

Goldwasser talks about what would not work as an album to cover/create for Easy Star

Goldwasser talks about picking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to recreate as a reggae album

Goldwasser talks about hearing back from the artists he has covered

Summer Camp: The people

2009-06-06T22:40:00.010-05:00

Photos by Eric Heisig

I didn't just take photos of bands, you know. Here are some of the people that come every year to a three-day celebration of no showers, live music and substances that wouldn't be allowed to be ingested at any job.

Fever Ray: having soul while still sounding soulless

2009-05-28T22:25:00.003-05:00

I've been sitting on the self-titled debut album by Fever Ray for some time now. I've listened to it, and then put it away, listened to it, put it away, etc. This is partly due to being busy, and partly because I heard different things every time I listened to it.

This review will have to be based on my feelings from the last time I listened to it (though they very well may change again), but I hear a lot of emotion in this, something a listener may not expect going into a project that has a lot of electronics.

Fever Ray is the new project of Karin Andersson of the Swedish electronic duo The Knife. The group's icy sound was something I always enjoyed, but I didn't really feel any emotions while listening to it. It felt very sterile, as the group is very straightforward, but the emotion-less feel of it has always worked.

Fever Ray has a lot of the same production techniques as The Knife, but this time Andersson lets the emotion bleeds through. Her pain is palpable when listening to her vocals.

It doesn't matter how much her vocals are processed ("If I Had a Heart") or how weird the beats are ("Seven" sounds like something out of an educational video about touring jungles), Fever Ray is a very raw, revealing record.

The lyrics themselves are nothing revelatory, but the way Andersson uses her voice exudes pain. She comes off as a mixture of Bjork and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs at her very sweetest. However, this album is better crafted than either of the two singers I just mentioned.

The album is meant to take you on a journey, and not to be too cliche, but it's your decision on how you want it to take you. It's an engaging listen that will, as I said a couple times already, reveal it to be different things at different times.

Don't let The Knife's sterile sound fool you, just give this one time. That's the way to appreciate it the most.

Summer Camp Music Festival: Sunday

2009-05-26T22:30:00.007-05:00

Photos by Eric Heisig

12:40 a.m. - I get back from my car and watch a little bit of The Wood Brothers, who are playing on the Campfire Stage. They are okay, but not good enough to hold my interest. I press on.

1:00 - I get back from my car, and start walking around in the woods. It is really fun to walk around in a pitch-black area surrounded by campsites and.

With my press pass, I am let into the VIP area (I didn't think this got me into these kind of places!), which has a trail lit-up by arches of different colors. It's kind of cool, but then the arches end, and it's just campsites. Meh.

2:30 - I go to bed. I am exhausted. Shooting, walking with heavy equipment and taking in the sun are taking their toll on me. My car's back seat is mighty enticing right now.

10:15 - I wake up, because I have an interview with the rock band Backyard Tire Fire around 11 a.m. Better get a-moving.

11:00 - I get onto festival grounds, and call the tour manager for Backyard Tire Fire. He tells me Willie Nelson's soundcheck ran late, so they are going to be a little rushed to get their soundcheck in before they play. We agree to do the interview after the show.

11:15 - Now that I have some free time to kill, I check out a band called Seeker playing at the Starshine Stage. They sound like a less-accomplished, more annoying version of Incubus. There is a little big of progressive rock to them, but their music lacks the propulsion necessarily to really captivate an audience. Plus, from a visual standpoint, they don't do that much.

I get bored, and believe it or not, silence and sitting down sounds more interesting right now than this band.

11:45 - It is quite hot outside, so I am just sitting by the Sunshine Stage, waiting for Backyard Tire Fire to start. I still have some time, but by now, I am getting exhausted.

11:55 - There is a man in the front row that I have seen at a bunch of shows. He's a nice guy, who shares a lot of the same musical tastes that I have. We chat for a bit.

12:00 p.m. - Backyard Tire Fire hit the stage. I remember them having less members when I saw them last year ... I think there were two less.

The band plays a good set though, playing a bunch of songs off their to-be-released album produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos. It's kind of weird to hear a bunch of new songs, since their latest album, The Places We Lived, came out last August, but the new material is strong. These guys are only getting better.

In all, Backyard Tire Fire only plays one song from that last album ("How in the Hell Did You Get Back Here" was the closer), but their set is solid. The addition of an extra guitarist and keyboardist makes for a fuller sound onstage, and their cover of the Traveling Wilburys' "Handle with Care" is spot-on.

Last year, I had heard of this band but never saw them. I saw their set and was impressed. This year they played just as well. While the crowd is small (it is early in the day), they are dedicated (the band would later tell me Summer Camp shows feel like hometown shows, since they are from Bloomington, Ill.), knowing most of the material they are playing.

It is one of the better shows I have seen this the weekend.

1:20 - I call Backyard Tire Fire's manager again, and I meet him and he takes me backstage. I interview the band (all very nice, funny guys).

Here is the interview. Click on the text to hear the band speak.

Lead singer Ed Anderson talks about the formation of the band

The band talks about recording their new, upcoming album with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos

Why do they come back to Summer Camp year after year?

1:45 - I realized I forgot to call the tour manager for Easy Star All-Stars, which I was supposed to do earlier in the day. I have an interview scheduled with the band, and calling her completely escaped me.

Feeling stupid, I frantically call her, and she is nice enough to go with it. The band goes on at 2:30, and we plan on doing the interview right after the show. Instead of trying to go through the hassle of getting backstage (it can be a hassle, but I have luckily avoided it for most of the weekend), she asks if I want to just hang out backstage and then do the interview right after.

I agree. It is backstage, after all.

2:15 - I get to the gate for the backstage area and call her. She comes to the gate and gets me, and asks someone who works at the festival to take me to get a backstage VIP pass.

I am then taken to an office, where we are told that they are completely out for the weekend. Apparently a lot of bands and managers went overboard and gave out too many (something I really noticed this year ... I know there weren't a lot of press passes given out by the festival organizers, but it seems like press and VIP passes were handed out like crack by the bands and managers playing the festivals. They are everywhere).

We go back to the backstage area, and the lady tells me to just hang out, and if anyone hassles me to drop her name. Nice lady, and really was able to deal with a difficult situation well.

2:30 - Easy Star All-Stars take the stage, and I am watching on the side. I have never really been backstage like this before, and it is pretty cool (Al from moe. is right next to me, watching the set).

My roommate obsessed over Easy Star's latest album, Easy Star's Lonely Hearts Dub Band (I'll give you one guess on what they are covering), and I have heard some of their Radiohead covers. I was really looking forward to them, and I wasn't let down.

The band started with an instrumental two-step, and slowly the full band appears onstage. There is skanking, dancing and anything else you can do to reggae.

Easy Star All-Stars play a mix of originals, Beatles songs and Radiohead songs (they have a weird but cool version of "Paranoid Android," and they keep their energy up for the entire show. The audience wasn't huge (at least from what I see on the side), but they knew just about every word to "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and "With a Little Help from My Friends" (no wonder).

The band goes a little bit overtime, but no one seems to care.

4:10 - After waiting and pacing a bit backstage (there is no good way to not look suspicious when doing this, especially when bands are sitting with friends and families right by where you are), I get a hold of Easy Star's manager, and she brings me into their dressing room, where I interview producer and co-creator Michael Goldwasser. Very generous man, especially since he had just played a show not 15 minutes prior.

Note: Here is my interview with Goldwasser. Click on the links below to hear him.

Goldwasser talks about the creation of Easy Star Records

Goldwasser talks about what would not work as an album to cover/create for Easy Star

Goldwasser talks about picking Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band to recreate as a reggae album

Goldwasser talks about hearing back from the artists he has covered

4:30 - Medeski, Scofield, Martin & Wood are so sweet. I love me some jazz, and they are doing free jazz the way it was intended.

John Scofield is probably the most interesting to listen to, only because he doesn't overplay. He plays few notes, and has the ability to milk every note for all of its energy. Medeski, Martin & Wood (who don't do too badly on their own) surround his playing with frenetic beats, organ stabs and fast bass lines. They are clearly inspired, and consistently trying to find the best way to make Scofield fit in.

For the most part, they succeed. Their cover of The Beatles' "Julia" is a highlight, keeping in mind how much Scofield underplays. He isn't interested in flashiness, just the melody and making its simplicity and beauty shine through.

I leave a bit early because I want to catch the beginning of Los Lobos.

5:45 - Los Lobos begins. The first album of theirs I really got into was 2004's The Ride (even though they have been around for much longer than that), and I was really looking forward to seeing them.

They blew me away. Los Lobos are one of the most versatile bands I have ever seen on stage, effortlessly blending rock, blues, jazz, Latin, folk and other styles into one big mish mash of music. They jammed, but not to excess. They were very good at their instruments, but they weren't showing off. Everything was only to improve the structure of the song, and it showed.

In addition, Willie Nelson harmonica player Mickey Raphael played with Los Lobos for nearly their entire set, finding an interesting way to incorporate himself and add color to their music.

During the festival, I have usually stayed in the photo pit for a band for about 10 minutes. I left earlier for them, so I could take it all in.

It's a wonder how criminally underrated this band is, but by the end of the set they were working the crowds like the pros they are (even if a singalong to Buddy Holly's "Not Fade Away" didn't work, the audience was still trying to remember the words).

By the end of their performance, I am convinced they put on the best show of the festival. Hands down.

7:30 - This festival needs to end. Great music, but I am so tired.

8:00 - Willie Nelson starts. I have seen him before, so I know what to expect.

And this time, it's just about the same as last time. At age 76, Nelson is the epitome of country gone Vegas. It's all about the choruses, and the quickest way to get to them so the audience (who mostly bought one-day passes to watch Willie) can recognize what the song is.

Nelson frequently ends songs prematurely, so he can move right on to the next song. I don't know if it's his boredom, or if he fears the audience will get bored, but the show can go through 30 songs in about 70 minutes. It reminded me of the time I saw rapper Nas perform, and how it was a miracle if he did an entire song.

I suppose he can rest on his laurels at this point, but I know Nelson is still capable of doing relevant work (witness 2006's Songbird). It's a shame he sticks to truncated classics to hold him over, and doesn't perform very much new material (save for a couple of dopey songs about drugs and being a superher0).

I will say though, that his incorporating of old gospel tunes. These days, Nelson ends his show with the hymn "I'll Fly Away." Even though it sounds like it was recorded in Vegas, there is a certain poignancy to it, that even though he is going through the motions, it's better to see a legend now before he's not here anymore.

Personally, I don't buy it. Willie, put some effort into your damn shows.

Oh, one more thing I noticed: women over 50 love Willie Nelson.

9:30 - I had decided that if moe.'s set was good, I'd stay. If not, I'm leaving.

moe. takes the stage, and it's only okay. I decide to stay for a little while, to give it one more chance. Even though I am running on fumes, these guys have played five sets, plus countless other side shows. One more on my end can't hurt.

10:15 - I leave the festival. moe.'s last is not particularly inspiring, and my want for a shower and a real bed wins out.

I bet moe. does too. They have been here just as long as me, if not longer.

Sorry, Summer Camp, it's been great, but I think we should see other people. Let's give it a time, say, one year, and see where we are then.

Here are some more photos from the day:

Backyard Tire Fire

Easy Star All-Stars

Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood

Los Lobos

Summer Camp Music Festival: Saturday

2009-05-26T21:03:00.028-05:00

Photos by Eric Heisig

12:15 a.m.– I am looking for my car in the lot, and a guy approaches me and asks "dude do you have any ganj?" I did not, but that pretty much summarizes why I am sometimes weirded out by this festival. It's the people that just expect everyone to share everything.

I had never met this kid before, and he just expects me to give him some weed if I had any? Maybe I just like having stuff to call my own, but I am not one to just give away things I paid for any earned. Yeah, a stick of gum or a drink of water is one thing, but something expensive? I don't think so (and if he thought I was a dealer, my mistake. My gripes are then worth nothing).

12:45 – I am in bed (well, the trunk of my car, with the seats pushed down for a semi-flat surface. How comfortable, but hey, the parking lot is quieter). I am exhausted, and hopefully I can stay up later tomorrow to check out late-night doings.

9:30 - I wake up, after sleeping much better. It wasn't the comfort (still just as bad) or the impending bad BO (which is starting to peak its ugly, smelly head), but I was just exhausted. The night before I got wise and covered my windows to the east with T-shirts so the sun wasn't shining directly on me, causing me to become a human loaf of bread and bake.

11:00 - I am still at my car, after uploading photos and writing a little bit about the night before. I am really dragging my feet in getting back to the campgrounds, but the first act I want to see isn't until noon. I am okay on time, so why not relax until I have to brave the oppressive sun and humidity? (again, this isn't a "woe is me" situation, but carrying a lot of camera equipment for a long time can take its toll)

12:20 p.m. - At the Moonshine Stage, a band named Secret Chiefs 3 are playing. I get there, and am pleasantly surprised. The band are all dressed in cloaks as they play music that I can only describe as soundtrack music (with maybe a bit of krautrock thrown in for good measure). It's pretty cool, and would work well in a car chase scene.

The music is sweeping and cinematic, and I love it. It was nothing like I expected (maybe I am narrow-minded, but just about every unknown band I see has been a jam band. These guys are far from that.

Note: No pictures for this band, sorry. I ended up just sitting down and enjoying the music too much.

1:00 - It rains a bit. This is a good thing, because it has been dusty and humid all weekend, and this helps a lot. It didn't storm or last for very long, but it did the trick. The dirt is padded down and there is some cool air moving through the area.

1:20 - I check out some of Family Groove Company's set. I had heard some good things about this band, including how they were more based in jazz and (hence the name) riding grooves instead of just jamming. In other words, there was some structure to this, and the music should benefit from it.

And yeah...they kind of did benefit from it, but not that much. Family Groove Company is a lot more focused than most, but it isn't great. Maybe I caught them during a weaker set, but they weren't anything great.

That being said, guitarist Adam Lewis has a great sound and somehow found a great way to fit into everything the rest of the band played. He displayed character when the music displayed none with a style of his own, mixing jazz, rock and soul effectively.

2:00 - Hill Country Revue come onto the Moonshine Stage. The band is a side project of North Mississippi Allstars member Cody Dickinson, and their side project-y status kind of showed. The band had some originals, but they weren't great, and no member of the band really seemed like they wanted to do anything more than just jam. That is fine though, it just makes for a less interesting concert than the North Mississippi Allstars.

Their bluesy music only really took off when they injected covers into their set, including Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," or when they just let the guitars do the work. Dickinson even brought out a washboard at one point, that was a strangely interesting instrument.

Also, big black men should be the only ones allowed to play bass. Witness bassist Chris Chew. He is the man.

3:20 - I just lie down on the grass. Nice and relaxing, and it's cool to forget about things. I decide to just hang out at the Moonshine Stage, because for a while it has all the acts I am interested in watching.

Also, less moving is involved.

4:00 - Gomez starts. Congratulations boys, you succeed in fully waking me up.

I had looked forward to seeing these guys, since I really liked their latest record, A New Tide, and I had played their song, "Girlshapedlovedrug," quite a bit when I was a DJ at WZND. It was a good song.

Gomez's set doesn't disappoint either. The band's songs wouldn't sound out of place in Britain in the early 90s, but there is something almost progressive about them. This isn't a jam band, but they are jamming. Their songs are layered, but there is still a kind of simplicity to them. I like it.

The crowd is into it too, which proves my prediction kind of wrong. Their attracted audience isn't very big, but it is bigger than I thought it would be. I leave the set early, which I know I will later regret, but it puts me in a better mood.

And yeah, they did play "Girlshapedlovedrug." It was pretty sweet.

5:00 - I knew I would regret leaving Gomez early, but I had never seen Keller Williams before. I wish I had stayed at Gomez, even though he was pretty cool.

Keller Williams is an artist whose live shows are built on him looping different instruments to create songs onstage. It makes for a unique experience, so maybe the one I am watching is not one of his best.

Williams is a great guitar player, no doubt, but his songs are wispy and dry. He has a character, but doesn't let his freak flag fly enough. He is content with just letting a breezy song go by without any distractions, and I get kind of bored. Aside from a few humorous lyrics and a lot more proficiency on guitar, it's nothing to distinguish it from any other hippie with a guitar.

I had my hopes up for Keller Williams, after I heard a lot of good things, and while it was pleasant and occasionally made me laugh, I am ultimately let down.

6:00 - Les Claypool does not let me down though. He is just as weird as I thought he would be and more.

For starters, his entire band (consisting of a cellist, percussionist/xylophonist and drummer) are all wearing tuxedos and masks, and the music is all built around is skronk-y bass playing technique. It's quirky yet funny at the same time.

I have always been picky about Claypool. I don't follow all of the work he does, but what I have heard, I like. For example, Primus is good, as is Oysterhead and Colonel Claypool's Bucket of Bernie Brains. However, I have never listened to his solo albums or anything else.

That may change though, since his performance is really good. He prances around the stage as if he is in a Jewish wedding, and brings out a variety of basses, including an electric, standup and acoustic slide bass. They all simply add color to the mix.

Claypool's band is tight as well. The cellist more or less takes the role a guitarist would, and the percussionist and drummer are perfectly in-sync with each other.

Even if I can't name song titles, it was still one of the best sets I saw at the festival.

8:00 - After the Les Claypool show, I ended up following a group of fans as they waited to meet him and get his autograph. I recorded the entire thing, so look for some sort of audio story to come out of this in the coming week. I will post it here, and it was a pretty entertaining time.

The Les fans are dedicated, following him through every project he does, so these fans weren't giving up easily. Just wait and listen.

8:30 - moe. performs their best set yet. I miss the first part of it due to hanging out with the Les fans, but what I see is awesome. In this set, the band is knee-deep in psychedelia, and towards the end, the band brings on a member of Gomez to take them even deeper.

I am thrilled. This is the set I have been waiting to see them perform, and moe. finally comes through.

Their set ends with a colorful version of The Doors' "Soul Kitchen," which gives way to a drone that lasts for a good 10 minutes. I leave their set to walk over to the other stage, hoping Umphrey's can match it.

9:20 - Umphrey's McGee doesn't match moe., but it is a pretty good set as it is.

The band is in progressive-rock mode, and they wouldn't be out of place sharing a stage with Rush. This is the kind of Umphrey's that I wish I saw last year, and this is shaping up to be the best stretch of music (Les, moe., Umphrey's) I have seen at the festival yet. Everyone is on tip of their game.

The best part of the set is a cover mash-up they do, combining Metallica's "Sad But True" and Gorillaz's "Clint Eastwood." It's weird, but they make it their own.

Umphrey's McGee's set closes with a monster song (of which I do not know the name of, whoops), and fireworks are shot into the air. This is a celebration, and damn if those fireworks don't add something great to the mix.

And as with all great things, I leave early to catch moe.'s last set of the night. I am hoping it's not my second mistake of the day, as it was with Gomez.

10:15 - moe.'s last set doesn't even come close to the one earlier, and it is a mistake. This this time they are in funk mode. I get bored because there's nothing worse than unfunky white boys trying to do funk.

In addition, I'll take a moment to pose a question: why do moe. and Umphrey's McGee have extra percussionists? They are of no use and don't do anything that adds significantly to the music. It would be one less salary to pay. Just...get rid of them and it would be a better live show. For both bands.

11:20 - I leave moe.'s set early, partially because I am getting sick of the music and partially because I wanted to get back to my car to drop off some equipment before I went exploring into the ssccccarrrryyy woods (nah, just the woods, but I still didn't need all my camera equipment).

Here are some more photos from throughout the day:

Family Groove Company

Gomez

Keller Williams

Les Claypool

moe. (set 2 of 5)

Umphrey's McGee (set 3 of 4)

moe. (Set 3 of 5)

Summer Camp Music Festival: Friday

2009-05-26T00:25:00.036-05:00

Photos by Eric Heisig

1:40 a.m. – I get back to my car, where I will be sleeping. Since Illinois Hi-Fi was only granted one press pass, I stay in the car, because I have expensive equipment as well as it being rather difficult and a pain to put up a tent without a second hand.

8:30 – I wake up after not sleeping very well. My car is cramped and the sun is shining directly into my face. My back hurts from the hard surface. What a way to wake up.

9:45 – I go to the ticket booth to see if they have any lanyards for my press pass. They don’t, as they had run out the night before and never got any more. I used this as an excuse to go to Wal-Mart and pick that up as well as a little bit of breakfast.

10:45 – I get back and start organizing my car and planning out my day. During this time, a man with a green balloon walks up to me and asks "you want to buy any ganj?" I say no. He asks “do you want to buy any Molly?” Again, I say no.

The man looks at me, annoyed and kind of angry. “You want to pop my balloon, don’t you?” Becoming annoyed myself, I say “no,” and he walks away, obviously disappointed I didn’t partake.

If you're reading this, sorry, but not really. I have no problem with anyone taking anything at this festival (as long as they can control themselves), but I am not since I am working.

11:50 – I get back into the festival and head over to the Camping Stage. A band called The Stretch is playing. I had heard some chatter about them, and they turn out to be some a generic jam-funk band. They didn't do much visually either. Booorrinnnngg.

They group stretches out (get it?) with a little bit of blues, but otherwise there is not much there to distinguish them from the umpteenth amounts of others like them at Summer Camp. I got bored and walked away.

12:15 p.m. – I watch a little bit of The Macpodz play at the Starshine Stage. Unlike The Stretch, these guys are weird. They have a personality to them and a striking resemblance to Parliament and Funkadelic, with weird chants, funny vocals and freaky solos. They weren’t trying to be smooth, but rather sound weird. They succeeded, and it was an early highlight.

1:15- I catch a little bit of Future Rock after walking the festival grounds a bit and seeing what else there were. There are a lot of environmental groups, and as mentioned before, a man building a sculpture out of melted shopping carts, but not much more.

Future Rock is okay. They are missing a really wild, clubby element that is part of the best dance bands. It’s all smooth, no edges (I have met a surprising number of photographers who were hired by them to shoot their shows. They gave out a lot of press/photo passes in their name).

1:30 – I catch moe.’s opening set, which includes the song "America...Fuck Yeah!" from the movie Team America: World Police. It’s a funny way to begin a pretty good set by them, easily matching the set of theirs I saw closing out Saturday night’s festivities (though no lights, so it was missing that).

2:20 – I catch 40 minutes of the set by This Must Be the Band, a Talking Heads cover band based out of Chicago. I saw these guys in February at The Canopy Club, where they recreated the entire performance from Stop Making Sense. This time, it was just the songs, but it was still fun.

The band has really grown to have a good sense of the material, meaning they are able to stretch out and do different things instead of just performing the songs the same way. The song “Slippery People” is a definite highlight, with the groove being stretched out as far as it can be (the bassist is also in a dress. It’s a man, but the original was Tina Weymouth, so…where does that leave him?).

Their set is marred by the sweet, sweet odor of overflowing Port-O-Potties. There’s no pick-me-up quite like that stench. The festival has been having problems with that today, and I have spotted quite a few trucks brought in to take the fun stuff out of the toilets.

This Must Be the Band closes with “Psycho Killer,” which has everyone in the audience pumping their fists to a song that…really doesn’t warrant that. Ah well.

3:00 – I get something to eat and chill out. My my my, it is quite hot out today.

3:30 – I interview This Must Be the Band. Check back here for the audio from that interview.

Edit: Here is the audio: Click the links to hear about the topics:

Why Charles Otto (lead singer/David Byrne) decided to form a Talking Heads cover band

Why the Talking Heads music is a good jumping off point for This Must Be the Band, instead of them being a straight cover band

3:45 – I see a little bit of a set by That 1 Guy, who is playing a set of pipes, tubes, and pedals to make a really weird sound. Think Les Claypool without a bass, except he has a contraption that can make the bass sounds.

That 1 Guy is another one of those weirdos, but the music is cool. It’s fun to catch for a few minutes, as he’s a funny guy who produces a lot of “wow” moments, but beyond that I don’t know how much of it I could take.

4:00 – Dark Star Orchestra, a Grateful Dead cover band who specialize in recreating entire setlists from the band, is playing on the Moonshine Stage. I photograph a song or two and then head out into the grass and check it out.

It's eerie how similar the band sounds to the actual Dead. Today, they are out with their acoustic guitars, playing like early-70s Dead. Their jams are meandering and interesting, if not mind-blowing. It’s a great way to spend a hot afternoon, and they know that.

Dark Star Orchestra plays right into the concertgoer’s hands by pulling out a cover of "The Weight" by The Band. Last year, I heard that song being played and sung by everyone, and while it’s not as prevalent this year, it’s a favorite. Very cliché, and not the best way to end the set.

5:15 – I lay down. It’s still quite hot out.

6:15 – Buckethead is on the Moonshine Stage, and he arrives 15 minutes late. I shoot part of the set and then head out to listen.

I came into the festival not knowing what to expect from Buckethead, and I left his set kind of disappointed. Most of it included him playing along to an iPod of prerecorded music. That 1 Guy had his equipment set up to play with him, but I left before he started playing.

7:00 – Girl Talk starts at the Sunshine Stage. He was a big hit last year, with his audience size growing more and more as the set went on.

This year people knew what to expect, and it was more of the same. While his set has changed very little in the past year (a new sample here, a new beat there), he has added a 1ouple of stage hands hired to shoot toilet paper, confetti and water into the audience.

It’s a good performance, even if it wasn't his best. There are way too many people onstage (to the point where it spilled over onto the speakers in the pit), and Gregg Gillis gets lost in the mix. Maybe that was the point, but he wasn't at his peak.

The set ends with the now-standard "Faithfully" and "International Player's Anthem" combination that had people waving their arms in the air. It was a highlight of the day.

9:45 – Method Man and Redman finally hit the stage. They are 45 minutes late, with little to no explanation as to why.

Every time I have seen anything related to Wu Tang Clan, I have left disappointed. This time though, they deliver. This is what I wanted to see when I saw Wu Tang Clan in December. Method and Red are all over the stage, bouncing back and forth from each other, getting int the crowd’s faces.

The duo pay the obligatory tribute to ODB with "Shimmy Shimmy Ya," pull out a bit of Wu Tang with "Shame on a Nigga" and do a few songs from their latest album. It was awesome.

10:15 – I order a beef sandwich and fries from a vendor. As the lady is handing them over to me, a guy comes up beside me and says "look at fucking Sling Blade right here. 'Mmmm those are some good taters.'" He laughs at how funny he thinks he is.

I look at him and say “Is that who I am?” He just stands there, grinning at how proud of himself he is. The lady behind the counter smiles at me. I walk away.

10:30 – I had wanted to catch Umphrey’s last set of the night, so I head over to the Moonshine Stage. When I got there they had already started (thanks Method Man and Redman), but I walk in to the opening notes of a Van Halen's "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love."

Last time I saw Umphrey's, I was disappointed. I had heard so many things about how adventurous they were, that they were more prog-rock than jam band. However, when I saw them at Summer Camp last year, I saw a mediocre blues jam that went on for about an hour too long.

This time though, the prog was in full force. Yeah, there was still a lot of fat that could be trimmed, but I was surprised to see how many of their parts and arrangements are composed and orchestrated, instead of doing them on the fly. Their lighting was also awesome, and it was a pretty good way to chill out on the lawn and take it in.

I leave early, because I am ready to pass out. A sun and a lot of camera equipment take the energy out of me, and I need to retire to my quarters.

Here are more photos from the day:

Future Rock

moe. (Set 1 of 5)

This Must Be the Band

Girl Talk

Method Man and Redman

Umphrey's McGee

Summer Camp Music Festival: Thursday night

2009-05-26T00:20:00.008-05:00

Photos by Eric Heisig

I chose to do these posts in the order in which I saw things. I got there late on Thursday, so this will be a shorter post, but the next three days will be longer.

Also, even though these posts are day-to-day, my days don't exactly end at the midnight threshold. So, if something seems incomplete, go to the next day and you will most likely find the rest there.

11:30 p.m. – After dragging my feet on actually leaving Urbana, I arrive at Three Sisters’ Park in Chillicothe. I park, get my press pass and do a bit of exploring.

The band 56 Hope Road is playing on the Campfire Stage, a small stage near the entrance, and I get bored quickly. They try to be funky in the whitest way possible, with absolutely no semblance of musical ambition. It’s a party-vibe vamp, and I get bored.

Much more interesting was a tent located in the middle of the two main stages. There was a DJ who is playing to about 25 people, and a Bloomington-based artist named Jason Mack who is starting a weird sculpture involving melting shopping carts. The melting metal was cool to watch, and Mack plans on finishing it by the end of the festival (Note: even though it’s hard to have a bias about melting shopping carts, I should disclose that I knew the artist’s girlfriend from when I attended Illinois State University).

The tent also had some art activities, including a painting made while it is spinning (see the photo below). It made for a very cool visual.

The people are friendly and wanting to talk. Usually it’s about what bands they are looking forward to, but hey, that’s the main reason everyone is here.

Tonight though, it’s all about drinking, smoking and having a good time. Tomorrow, it’s about the music…and drinking, smoking and having a good time.

Almost everyone I ask is pumped to see moe. I am looking forward to it too, but these people are dedicated. One person I met came from Pennsylvania (he said it took 14 hours to get here) to see them.

Again, here is the photo of the spinning painting:

Summer Camp Music Festival: What I am expecting

2009-05-21T12:12:00.008-05:00

Last year was the first time I had been to the Summer Camp Festival in Chillicothe, Ill. I covered it for another publication, but this year it's all me. I will be there (if all stays the same) alone, doing photos, interviews, recording audio and everything else imaginable.

This isn't a "woe is me" kind of post, but rather an "I'm excited" one. It will be a lot of work, but I think it will be worth it.

The schedule for the festival can be found here. Plan accordingly.

In the meantime, here are just a few bands I think will be good, okay or bad

Worth seeing

-Girl Talk - last year was the first time seeing Gregg Gillis, and I loved it. He was able to transform a somewhat skeptical crowd into a sweaty mess. An early highlight for me

-Medeski Scofield Martin & Wood - The first album I heard by Medeski Martin & Wood was "Friday Night in the Universe." It was strange, but I loved it. This time though, they will be playing with John Scofield (he played with Miles Davis). This will be my first time seeing them, and I'm pumped.

-Les Claypool - He's a weird guy, but his bass-playing style is uncopied and his vocals are weird to a fault. Should be awesome, and make for much more interesting jamming than half the bands at the festival.

-moe. - My regret last year was that I didn't stay for the full final set. I liked what I saw (and was able to shoot in the photo pit), so this year I think I'll be sure to see more of them.

-Willie Nelson - I saw him at Assembly Hall in Champaign last December, and his saving grace at age 76 is his guitar-playing skills. That man shreds on a classical guitar, and it's pretty sweet. It lifts his tunes above the standard three-chord country ditties.

-The Easy Star All-Stars - Reggae covers of famous albums and bands. Enough said.

-Backyard Tire Fire - Great country-rock from a band based in Bloomington, Ill. They had a great set in an early slot last year.

Interested in

-Hill Country Revue - It has some members of the North Mississippi Allstars. I'm in, but I'm not terribly familiar.

-Dark Star Orchestra - I never saw the Grateful Dead live (though my dad took my mom to one of their concerts when she was pregnant with me. Probably explains a lot), so I'm interested to see how their setlist-recreating shows turn out.

The Wood Brothers - I have heard good things about this bluegrass-infused duo, so I am looking forward to seeing at least one of their sets.

I'm on the fence

-Umphrey's McGee - I was not impressed by one of their sets at least year's festival. Yeah, I know, they are a mainstay and that's why they play umpteenth amount of times, but I still wasn't buying it. I am ready to give them another chance though. Boys, impress me.

-Buckethead - Pro: He was in Guns 'n' Roses. Con:...He was in Guns 'n' Roses. I'm interested to see how his guitar wankery will go over, but it will be interesting if nothing else.

Bands I think will be poorly attended

Note: Last year, one of the worst-attended shows was the set by The New Pornographers. A misbooking possibly, since I don't think the Summer Camp-goers were that interested. It's great to be eclectic, I agree, yet it was a shame to see a great band go unnoticed at such a big place. Here's who I think will suffer a similar fate:

-Los Lobos - These guys are so much more than "La Bamba," but I bet few others else knows that. They are consistently innovative, funny and rocking, but I bet few others know that. My cards are on this for one of the smaller crowds.

-Gomez - They will have less of a turnout than Los Lobos, because they really haven't made that big of a mark in America. I hope I'm wrong, but I think it will be quite intimate.

Note: Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/eheisig. I don't know how the Internet will be there (free? too expensive? spotty?), but I can guarantee I will be updating on Twitter. All you need is a phone and a way to say something in a short way.

Seksu, the fun type

2009-05-14T01:25:00.006-05:00

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

Here is my photo documentation of the intimate show at The Canopy Club last Sunday.

Mogwai @ Congress Theater in Chicago

2009-05-12T14:18:00.005-05:00

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

I ventured to Chicago last Friday to see Mogwai perform at the Congress Theater. Mr. Heisig was unable to accompany me and being as I am not a great writer by any stretch this will be a short post.

Of the four or five times I have seen Mogwai now, I liked this performance the best. As usual, they play only the tracks they want, not as to piss of the audience but they are techinically limited to what songs the can put in a playlist. Be that as it may, they always choose a great playlist, intermixing old songs with their new(ish) material to keep the whole crowd please.

They definitely knew how to navigate their catalogue at the Congress, having a keen ear on when to play their slow songs, when to sound heavier, and when to stop. I was even surprised during "Killing All the Flies" at the timing of the sudden burst near the end of the song, something I pride myself in being able to predict after listening to the song a couple dozen times (in a row).

They closed out with "Like Herod" in their encore and while I would have preferred "Mogwai Fear Satan" or "Xmas Steps" as an ending, it left me pumped as I exited the theater.

They band that opened for Mogwai, otherwise known as Twilight Sad, could not do justice to the show. I would venture to say either they couldn't hear each other, or they simply did not care, but their music, while plenty brooding, was not as cohesive as it could have been.

They reminded me of the band I Love You, But I've Chosen Darkness, minus the driving force that goes into the performance of darker music. While it was their last show on the tour with Mogwai, I think they seemed a bit more tired than just being on the road.

Short and "focused": George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at The Canopy Club

2009-05-10T01:17:00.009-05:00

Note: Photos by Erica Magda.

Clocking in at three hours, Thursday night's P-Funk show was a short set...for them.

I'm not exaggerating. George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic can play up to four, four-and-a-half hours. Three hours is nothing to them.

Yet at the same time, the version of P-Funk I saw on Thursday at The Canopy Club was more focused than it had been any time I had seen them in the past. They jammed, but it usually led to something new. The singers and performers seemed more organized, and Clinton...well...instead of just kind of wandering around, he took an active role in making music (even though it was not a very large role).

This is the fourth time I have seen the band in some incarnation, and by now I know what to expect. The band, minus Clinton, starts playing to warm the crowd up as "the Mothership has just landed." As they play, a pimp-esque character named Sir Nose comes out and makes fun of the funk. He is then thwarted by Clinton, who shows him the way of the funk. Sir Nose starts to dance, and Clinton and the Mothership keeps on funkin'.

This has been done for a few years now, with very little variation. The only switch-ups come night to night, as the band switches out songs.

And the setlist was pretty good, with good but sloppy versions of "Cosmic Slop" (no pun intended), "Atomic Dog" and "Flashlight." But the undeniable highlight, though, was Michael Hampton, a.k.a. Kidd Funkadelic, and his full reading of the guitar epic "Maggot Brain."

It was done in its full form, and Hampton's playing (minus a cord getting unplugged) was flawless and a sight to see him go up and down the fretboard. The 10-minute-plus song provided something the show can lack at times: real emotion. His guitar had emotion, whereas so much more of the music can be reduced to a joke or a chant.

The rest of the music fared much better than in the past as well, with more vocal performances instead of pointless jamming (even though there were six guitarists on stage at one point). Since Clinton himself can't really sing anymore, he relies on a group of performers to carry on for him, including Garry Shider (original P-Funk member), Belita Woods, Kendra Foster and Kim Manning (a.k.a. "Peaches" from the reality show Flavor of Love). All of them are good singers, even if some of them are too y0ung to have understood the band in their heyday.

Still, the real star ended up being Gene "Poo Poo Man" Anderson, a soul singer who has been around for quite some time. His faux-James Brown moves and vocal performance provided a real boost of energy when it was needed.

And Clinton himself did not come even close to matching that energy. He was content looking into the audience, waving his hands around a few times and maybe shouting along to a song (remember how I said he contributed more this time? Well, that was his contribution).

Even though this has all been done before, there is no indication that these guys are phoning it in. In the 70s, this kind of music and clothing (outlandish, with a man in a diaper, a lot of colors and weird suits) was akin to a minstrel show, parodying the old stereotypes of blacks.

Today though, the attire is accepted, but not as a parody, and nobody is looking to break any new ground. They are jamming on whatever idea comes to their heads, and it can make for some great ideas in a show that rarely drags. For a bunch of old funkateers, they can still pull it off.

The band knew they had to get their show done though (again, because they have been doing the same show for so many years), and they pulled it off, albeit in a shorter window. Maybe this was because of a curfew, or maybe it was because they had their act together.

I don't know, and I guess I'll have to see how it turns out next time.

Note: A very bizarre thing happened to photograher Erica Magda and I when we were getting into the show, which led to us meeting Clinton right before the show started. I may or may not write up something for that story, since it left me confused yet delighted at the same time. Maybe that was the point, because that's how the show feels at times as well.

A one-man divisive view of Joe Pug

2009-05-07T13:25:00.011-05:00

Note: Photos by Aaron Facemire.

On one hand, I really enjoy his 2008 E.P., Nation of Heat. Yes, it has a big Dylan vibe, but the songs stood well on their own.

That's why, even a couple of days later, I'm still torn about Pug's performance at The Canopy Club in Urbana on Sunday. Yes, he was a competent performer, with a strangely compelling personality, and yes, he has the voice to be a good folk singer.

After seeing him live though, I have to think his whole is forced. Pug's voice does not sound (or, when he's singing, look) natural, and the songs seemed to lose something in concert. The three-chords-and-a-harmonica vibe works better on record, and even if the songs hold up, they have to be better than they are (the only exception to this was "Hymn #101," a stream-of-conscious song that he milked for all it was worth).

In fact, the best part of the show had to be the cover of Tom Waits' "Ol' 55" that he and a member of opening band Horse Feathers did. It seemed a bit sloppy, a bit unrehearsed, but at the same time it signaled he was not completely set in his ways. He was willing to branch out, take a little bit of a risk.

And that's exactly what Joe Pug will need to do if he wants to move forward: try new things. The three-chord folk song won't work forever (getting a harmonica in a different key will help that as well), there needs to be something more than that.

Oh, and stop listening to early Bob Dylan. That vibe was there way too much to be anything new and unique. Let your own personality, which is plenty unique, shine through.

Horse Feathers was less divisive for me. Their bluegrass/homespun vibe was really amped up in concert, even if they were battling a poor sound system and a crowd that seemed indifferent to their set (one member even commented on that towards the end of their set).

Still, their set was worth watching, as their songs evoked something along the lines of a campfire sing-a-long (with better songs than any campfire sing-a-long would yield). With the addition of a banjo, rudimentary percussion and, at one point, a handsaw, their music almost bordered on old-style gothic, but was saved from that with the voice of lead singer Jason Ringle.

The Bottle Rockets on Saturday night: should be a good DVD

2009-05-03T19:45:00.011-05:00

Note: Photos by Erica Magda.

It was pretty obvious that The Bottle Rockets were getting recorded for a DVD on Saturday night.

No, it wasn't just the cameras and equipment set up around The Highdive in Champaign, It wasn't the packed crowd. No no no, it was the sense of grandeur. It was the sense that this needed to be made something special.

The Bottle Rockets acted like they knew they were being filmed (lead singer Brian Henneman made numerous references to it), so the movements were more epic, the songs were more rocking and the band were more energetic. After all, it needed to look good on tape, and they needed to take it to the next level.

And that's not a bad thing necessarily. In fact, it made for quite a show, which lasted for nearly two-and-a-half hours. In addition, their setlist picked from their entire career, which ensured it was a show to remember.

Still, this made for some forced moments early in the set. They were nervous. After all, if this failed, the live performance wouldn't be worthy of release, and a lot of money would be wasted.

The band's sound, a mix of country and hard rock, was well-suited in The Highdive's surprisingly good sound, and the twin guitars of Henneman and John Horton. They loosened up as well, and they jammed hard, with Horton and Henneman battling it out in long solos.

The band excelled best when they were keeping it to the fast songs, such as "Kerosene" and "Radar Gun," yet "Welfare Music" hit a poignant note, with the audience singing along.

They also played a healthy amount from their new record, Lean Forward, scheduled to come out later this year (after the release of the DVD, which is the reason so many songs were included from it). They sounded like prime Bottle Rockets, and after 16 years of putting out records, that's what we have come to expect.

Live, the songs stretched out, and the rhythm section was able to breathe. Major props go to drummer Mark Ortmann, and basssist Keith Voegele, who kept their cool yet kept as steady as humanly possible throughout the entire show (and for a show that long, it was a big feat).

And after two hours of playing, they were even called back (a "true encore," as Henneman put it), playing some more great songs (the best being "Kit Kat Clock").

Yeah, it should make for a good DVD.

Joe Pug: An old voice at a young age

2009-05-03T00:58:00.006-05:00

Note: Photo courtesy of No Door Agency.

Joe Pug has a voice that sounds like he's 50. Thing is though, he isn't 50.

Pug, a Chicago transplant by way of Maryland, employs the gruff, weathered voice mainly heard in older blues and folk artists. He's in his 20s, but it suits his music.

Despite his age, he said that's just how it comes out.

"It's just been my most natural voice," Pug said. "When I open my mouth, that's how it comes out."

Pug, along with alt-country band Horse Feathers (check out their newest album House with No Name as well), and My Dear Alan Andrews, will be playing at The Canopy Club in Urbana on Sunday.

Pug in particular is getting a lot of attention, with write-ups in the Chicago Sun-Times and being featured on NPR's "Second Stage." Not bad for a singer who only started singing and performing a few years ago.

"I wrote and people responded to it, so I went with it," Pug said. "I sort of felt compelled to do it, like it was something I was supposed to do."

His music speaks well on its own. His 2008 debut EP, Nation of Heat, is a good introduction to his folk-influenced ways. Some of the lyrics come off as carefully-constructed, others as stream-of-conscious rambles.

And some meet somewhere in the middle, like standout track "Hymn #101." The song has a (cliche) Dylan-esque feel to it, but Dylan was never so clear-sounding.

Pug said that song came out of one afternoon, even though the contents of the song (which is certainly open to interpretation) had been brewing for some time.

"It just flowed and sounded right," Pug said. "I don't know if I can analyze it."

Later this year, Pug's full-length debut album will be coming out, and he said that some of the songs will feature more instrumentation (his EP is just him and a guitar), and some will just be him. It all depends on what the song calls for.

"It's a little less lonely with a band," Pug admits.

Until then though, he will be out on the road, and even though the economy isn't great, he is thrilled people are still showing up.

"For as much as everyone talks about how bad the economy is, there's a turnout at the shows I play," Pug said. "People will pay $10 for a show, they are still coming out and enjoying themselves."

Joe Pug, Horse Feathers and My Dear Alan Andrews will be at The Canopy Club, 708 S. Goodwin Ave., Urbana, Sunday, May 3 at 9 p.m. Tickets are $8 in advance.

Early listening: Peaches' "I Feel Cream"

2009-05-01T00:02:00.006-05:00

The good people at XL Recordings have been nice enough to let Illinois Hi-Fi put up a stream of the new Peaches album, "I Feel Cream," before it comes out on Tuesday.

A review from us will come soon enough, but for now, check it out and let us know what you think. If you think nothing else of Peaches, she will at least provoke something.

Peaches "I Feel Cream"

The Bottle Rockets set out to film first DVD

2009-04-30T23:01:00.006-05:00

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

2009-04-30T10:05:00.004-05:00

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

2009-04-26T15:07:00.009-05:00

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

2009-04-20T00:15:00.017-05:00

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

2009-04-17T16:26:00.007-05:00

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

2009-04-11T16:42:00.010-05:00

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

2009-04-09T01:28:00.010-05:00

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

2009-04-09T00:23:00.008-05:00

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

2009-04-03T17:08:00.006-05:00

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.

Prince on Leno, night 3: somewhere in the middle

2009-03-28T14:44:00.007-05:00

I guess I was wrong. Either that, or he didn't live up to his promise.

"Ol' Skool Company," 3/25/09

Listen to Leno say that he will be performing a song from a different CD each night. That did not happen.

On his third night on Leno, Prince performed "Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful," from Lot3s Flower. Just as a reminder, "Dreamer," a song from the same album, was performed on night two.

The purple one's performance on night three was only okay. It didn't reach the heights of Thursday's performance, but wasn't as banal as Wednesday. He found some middle ground, where he does funk by-the-numbers, and it is entertaining, but at the same time not breaking any new ground.

That said, Prince has the ability to take an okay song and turn it into a great live song, which is exactly what he did on Friday night. It was a four-minute party, with some wicked guitar and lively dancing. Thursday's performance had originality, and for that it was better but it was just a good time on Friday night (Note: he tried for this on Wednesday for this).

Here is Friday's performance:

"Feel Good, Feel Better, Feel Wonderful"

And here is Thursday's performance:

"Dreamer"

Prince on Leno, night 2: now that's more like it

2009-03-26T23:40:00.007-05:00

With last night's old-man-trying-to-look-young-and-not-in-a-good-way act, Prince had a lot to live up to...and he did.

I'm serious. The man pulled it off Thursday night on Leno. Maybe it was a better song, maybe it was that he was more inspired, but instead of trying to sound relevant, he proved why he still is relevant. He was shit-hot tonight, instead of just being, well, shit.

This time, Prince performed "Dreamer," a song off of Lotus Flow3r. Instead of rooted in funk, the song is inspired by Hendrix (so much so that he kept teasing "Purple Haze" in is solos), riding a deep groove throughout. It rocked hard, and it gave him ample space to show off what he can do with a guitar. Those sounds are unnatural.

Since the early 00s, Prince has been showing more and more why he is such an underrated guitarist. "Dreamer" on Leno was just another great example, and it makes me want to see him play guitar more.

Jay Leno has said that Prince will perform one song from each of the three discs each night he is on. That leaves a song from the disc by his new protege, Bria Valente. I don't have high hopes.

Note: I liked his little stunt of giving his guitar away to an audience member and walking off, but not long after, I saw one of the show's workers cross the camera with it. Apparently it's only okay to tease someone by giving them a guitar, but once the cameras are (supposedly) not rolling anymore, they need it back. That was cold.

Prince on Leno, night 1: creepy old man

2009-03-25T15:52:00.015-05:00

The purple one made his first of three appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno this week to promote his new three-CD set, which will be released on Sunday (only at Target, screw you independent retailers!).

On Wednesday, he performed "Ol' Skool Company" from the second disc, entitled MPLSoUND. The song is reminiscent of his work with The New Power Generation, but not in a good way.

In the early 90s, Prince became obsessed with hip-hop, and while he succeeded at times, I am overall not a fan of those forays. "Ol' Skool Company" is a tired rehash of that sound, which makes me want to hate it. And I do.

On Leno, he started the song by teasing a bit of "Purple Rain." Those 15 seconds were the best of it, and it quickly became dull. Prince is supposed to ooze sex, but on Wednesday, I saw a middle-aged man trying too hard to sound like he still had the mojo (making references to Obama and AIG didn't help, especially since Ol' Man Purple has never stood up for the common man. Remember when I said he was only selling the album at Target?).

With "Ol' Skool Company," he did not have said mojo, and in any other circumstance, a 50-year-old man with makeup on would get arrested for doing what Prince did (while the guitar solo and backup vocalists singing the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey was entertaining and helped, it didn't redeem the blandness of the song). A track needs to be good to pull off that act, and it was not

Note: The recorded version of this song clocks in at 7:30. Steer clear, since the hip-hop is played up even more on MPLSoUND.

The beats got louder as the night went on: Ratatat at Metro, 2/23

2009-03-24T01:40:00.011-05:00

Note: Photo courtesy of Beggar's Group.

On record, Ratatat comes off as almost lounge music for a new generation, mixing electronics with live instruments.

Live though, they become an entirely different beast. Sure, it still remains the two members (bassist Evan Mast and guitarist Mike Stroud), but the dance portion of the band's formula is played up. They had the sold-out crowd moving for the entirety of their 75-minute set, with pre-programmed beats and music augmenting their live guitars, keyboards and percussion.

While on record, the band is all about the future, in concert it is about the past...by means of the future. The screen behind them had videos projected onto it the entire night, ranging from men talking to the Paul Simon video for "You Can Call Me Al" (with Chevy Chase)...and they were all set on fire. Ratatat was paying tribute to the past in its own way.

The band spent most of its set performing a soundtrack for the background images, but as the show went on, it became all about them. Stroud is an incredible guitarist to watch (again, recalling the tone and style of Joe Satriani), especially as he used every square inch of the stage to dance, jump or bend over backwards.

Ratatat drew equally from all three of their albums, with the most highlights coming from their debut album. Still, "Wildcat" from their second album, Classics, and "Mirando" from LP3 sounded great.

As the night went on, it got more intense. They had the crowd in the palm of their hands, and they knew it. The songs got faster, more energetic, and much louder (in the balcony, I was able to feel the ground shake).

I couldn't resist the inkling that this band would work just as well as a metal band as I watched Stroud and Mast played. They are proficient enough on their instruments to do it. Ah well, maybe next time, but the thought stayed with me.

The band's encore only stepped up the intensity. Closing the show with "Seventeen Years," the audience kept dancing, just as they had the entire show.

Opening act Think About Life was a pleasant treat. While the three-piece Canadian group relied a bit too much on programmed beats (especially since they had a drummer), they had a lot of energy, and frontman Martin Cesar led it well.

While the band's music was based around the early 80s new wave style, they also added in hip-hop, funk and orchestral pop in the mix. Even if it was a little bit derivative, they had enough energy to make it fresh and entirely their own.

Despot was a different story altogether. While the New York rapper started off okay (I won't even warrant a "starting off strong"), it quickly became tiresome. His beats sounded like they were Atmosphere throwaways, and not in the good sense. Sure, "Get Rich or Try Dying" (which has been featured on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim), was entertaining, but that doesn't make up for the rest of the set. The rhymes became more forced, as if he was trying to strech it out as much as he could to fill time.

Note: While Illinois Hi-Fi did make arrangements to photograph, the band prohibited cameras at the show (this should not be read as a criticism. We are very grateful to have the opportunity to cover such a show for our first time).

The first show covered by Illinois Hi-Fi...Ratatat

2009-03-22T22:04:00.024-05:00

Note: Photo courtesy of Beggar's Group.

The headline says it all. Illinois Hi-Fi will be covering its first show on Monday night, the sold-out Ratatat concert at the Metro in Chicago. We are incredibly proud and grateful that we will be able to cover a show at this level, especially for our first time around (this will be the first of many, as there are some exciting things planned for the future).

Ratatat is an instrumental rock/electronic band from New York City. Currently touring behind LP3, their (appropriately-titled) third record, the band is getting spacier and spacier as they make more and more music. In addition, the band is continually getting more and more exposure (so much so that their Metro show is sold out), touring with bands like The Killers, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand and more.

The first time I heard this band was when their first album came out in 2004. I was a senior in high school, and I started listening to them because I liked the name and artwork ("with a name like that, they have to be cool!"). I was right though, it was an interesting sound, very electronic but at the same time human. There was no disconnect between computers and man on that record, and Ratatat is still great five years later.

While LP3 may not reach those heights, it still has some highlights (check out "Shempi"), and should make for an interesting show (the band has a feeling that reminds me a bit of guitar mastermind Joe Satriani, but maybe that's just me). It's my first time as well (for Eric and Illinois Hi-Fi), so I'm hoping for a good show.

Ratatat, with Despot and Think About Life: March 23 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., Chicago. Tickets are $23 in advance and $26 day of the show (sold out). Doors are at 8 p.m., show at 9 p.m.

A few albums on our radar...

2009-03-14T23:55:00.017-05:00

For the inaugural article for Illinois Hi-Fi (congratulations?), I figured it would be a good time to write about a few albums that have been on our radar. These albums are by no means perfect or even "the next big thing," but they are definitely worth some time.

1. Benjy Ferree - Come Back to the Five and Dime Bobby Dee Bobby Dee

Anchored by the song "Big Business" (one of my most-played songs so far this year, Ferree's album follows the life of child actor Bobby Driscoll (he was in Disney movies in the 1940s and 50s). While the lyrics are rife with references to Driscoll's life, the music is a colorful, garage rock affair with some of the weirdest harmonies I have heard in a while. They are goody and funny yet accomplished.

At times the album veers a little too close to The White Stripes' brand of rock (Ferree is a dead ringer for Jack White), but there is still enough of a story arc and inventiveness to hold over for about 50 minutes.

2. Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound - Bandaids on Bullet Holes

Roxy Epoxy (formerly of the band Expoxies) sounds like a modern-day Joan Jett. Her music is part punk, part new wave and part just straight-up rock. She has an attitude that comes off strongly while she sings and plays.

Her new album is a perfect female counterpart to any of the pop-punk albums that will be shoved down the throat of radio listeners this year (the list is, and will be, endless). I'm not saying I'm above that, but Roxy Epoxy & The Rebound is miles ahead of that drudge. She comes off as very natural, even though the production is slick. It works.

3. Ben Kweller - Changing Horses

When I was 14, I heard "Falling" on AOL Radio. I loved it, and was shocked a few weeks later to find it at Target. I still love that first record, and the two albums that followed it are good as well.

I have done some growing up though. As I have gotten older and heard more Kweller, I realized that he is one of the stupidest lyricists I have ever heard. The words on Changing Horses are okay, but this time around I'm not as focused on the lyrics as much as I'm focused on the music.

Kweller took a country road this time around. There are almost no electric guitars on this record, and while he doesn't have the twang in his voice, the instruments sure do. It's pretty much Kweller doing his thing while being backed by a different band. I like it, but there are no tracks that stand out as much as "Falling." I guess I'll never feel like I'm 14 again.

4. Charles Spearin - The Happiness Project

Knowing that Spearin is a member of Broken Social Scene is not enough to prepare a listener for this record. It doesn't follow conventional song form in the least, and even after sitting on it for a while, I don't know how I feel about it.

The album is essentially a series of stories told by people from Spearin's neighborhood. The music is reactionary, often trying to find a melody in the inflection of their voices. Sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails badly. A great idea executed well for half the time, while the other half suffers from indulgence. Sometimes normal people don't make good melodies with their voices.

5. Dan Auerbach - Keep It Hid

I love this record, and dare I say, it is better than anything he has done with The Black Keys.

...Okay, maybe that is going a little too far (I'm still thinking about it...), but Keep It Hid is still a great great album. The music benefits from being fleshed out by a full band (instead of just guitar and drums), and Auerbach escapes from the blues format he is normally tied to. I really hopes he makes more albums like this in the future, and that is wasn't just a break from his normal duties. Do them both, please.