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August is harvest season, and I don’t mean corn: It’s the annual time of year when we welcome the bountiful student population back to our small city. Whether or not you’ve been away, it’s worth noting that summer vacation has brought a few changes in the music landscape.
Last night’s White Lightning Wherehouse show combined the haunting loops of Olivia and her bass, the tongue-in-cheek acoustic guitar set of obchod, the punk rock(abilly) of Mr Hide, and the effervescent violinist Skye Carrasco, joined by the heavy drums of Brad Highnam and enchanting sitar of Luther Bangert.
I counted five instruments impressively played by Cheyenne on stage at the Mill this past Thursday – guitar, banjo, violin, drums and keyboard. She created a confectionery of soothing guitar and thoughtful lyrics that made me want to curl up in a booth and just listen instead of jumping around taking photos.
I had no idea what I was in for when I showed up to the midnight show at the White Lightning Wherehouse under a full moon last night. I knew this much: Old Scratch was performing along with the amazing, ever-changing lineup of Cirque Stupendo. I stepped into the Wherehouse to find Old Scratch bathed in green light, making their painted faces seem eerily inhuman…
I will spare you my usual gushing over Will Whitmore’s witty and mischievously uplifting lyrics, intoxicating melodies, and unmatched stage presence. Instead, I will say that his free performance in the Ped Mall on Saturday evening was everything you’d expect from the inimitable performer. That man can also cover a song like nobody’s business.
I was talking with a friend of mine about a week or so ago about Real Estate. If you are not familiar, they played PS1 last year along with releasing one of the great albums of 2009. He was lamenting the fact that there had not been any new material from the Real Estate/Ducktails music organization…
It has now been three days since the 2010 Pitchfork Music Festival wrapped up, and I’m still feeling it. My skin is flaking off, leaving behind a pinkish-red nasty burn, my muscles are sore from standing for hours upon hours, and my urine is still golden due to dehydration.
Filtering through my email one day, I found a press package for a young lady named Cheyenne Marie Mize who is currently on tour to support her debut album Before Lately. While she has street cred from working with Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Mize has to be able to stand up on her own. One cannot ride the coattails of a more famous star to get ahead…
Tim Stop Trio stopped by Gabe’s over the weekend to play some music, much to our benefit. The Chicagoan quartet played a number of original tracks as well as a few covers, including Warren G’s Regulators. It’s hard to argue with Warren G, to be fair.
Just in from a California Tour, Joe and Vicki Price brought the boogie back to town. On Saturday night it was not just Joe’s foot that was stompin’ as the dance floor filled quickly and a glance around the room showed the rest were dancing in their chairs.
The most telling moment of Panda Bear’s set at the Pitchfork Music Festival this past weekend was when a man desperately yelled something along the lines of, “Please, I’m on mushrooms!” This eruption wasn’t out of line ’cause the first half of Panda Bear’s set was nothing less than abrasive and experimental.
This Wednesday’s Lightning Bolt at Gabe’s was one of the loudest shows I’ve seen in quite some time. It was also one of the best. If you haven’t yet had a chance to read A.C. Hawley’s preview for the show, it’s still a relevant read, and perhaps even more so if you happened to attend the show itself. You’ll realize that Hawley’s proselytizing was entirely accurate.
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