Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2003 | 18:07
Wilco @ Auditorium Theatre 9.19.03
Wilco last friday. what can i say? it was Wilco. i know at some point i said that Cave In was the best band in the world. i may have qualified that statement after seeing The Dismemberment Plan (they broke up so they're not longer in contention, but they were pretty amazing). Wilco is better. Wilco is amazing.
let me admit right now that i got into Wilco when i read an article in the chicago tribune about Yankee Hotel Foxtrot and the label struggles they had with that release. they may not even have had a new deal yet when that got written. when YHF came out, i bought it for two reasons: the article, and i'd always heard Wilco was good and i should get their albums. so my introduction was Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, and that's what i know the best. by now i have being there, and with any luck i'll get Summer Teeth before too long, but it didn't matter friday night. even when i didn't know the songs, most everyone else did and i could feel the enthusiasm with which they played from all the way in row r of upper balcony 1 (somehow they put people higher than that, but i think i would have gotten dizzy up there).
originally i had two row e seats, but no one could go with me so i sold them then bought the row r from someone else. it didn't matter. Auditorium Theatre is about as acoustically perfect as they come. Louis Sullivan designed it, back when Frank Lloyd Wright was his apprentice. the place has recently been renovated and is gorgeous. i do not use that word often, or lightly.
opening for Wilco was Carla Bozulich, formerly of The Geraldine Fibbers and Scarnella. she and her band opened with a few selections from her cover of Willie Nelson's Red Headed Stranger (quite an ambitious project, one which Willie himself endorsed by performing on the album). these songs were atmospheric country that dipped into jazz and rock. the percussionist wasn't a standard drummer, and they had an upright bass, violin, and the very talented Nels Cline on guitar (later when he played with Wilco Jeff Tweedy called him the best guitarist in the world). they also played a few Geraldine Fibbers tunes, then some from their new album, not out yet. it was a good set, though as with most opening acts the audience talked through it and were impatient for Wilco.
between them and the headliners, some guy from xrt came out and gave us the quick history of the auditorium and introduced the "poet laureate of indie rock". this is a guy who goes to shows around chicago and before some acts reads poems about the act. well, his titles are about the acts, like Hella 2 and Wilco 5, but the poems have absolutely nothing to do with much of anything, being abstract metaphysical meanderings. still, he's not hurting anyone and no one seems put out by his readings. i'm still confused, but i guess he's such a fixture on this scene that even Wilco invites him to read before they play.
then came Wilco. i don't know that i can do the show justice, but let's say they played a lot of their usual songs, and a few they don't play much. in fact, Jeff Tweedy introduced one song saying that they hadn't played it since they toured for A.M., and afterwards claimed they wouldn't play it ever again. there was a Yankee Hotel Foxtrot suite starting with Poor places and melding into I'm the man who loves you, Radio cure, Jesus, etc., and I am trying to break your heart. the also played War on war, Heavy metal drummer, Reservations, Pot kettle black, and Heavy metal drummer. so the only YHF track they didn't play was the one someone kept shouting for: Kamera.
Wilco went on stage around 9 and played until probably 11:30, so it was well worth the money. i wish i'd been able to see the saturday show, to compare them, but i was busy.
if you have the chance to see Wilco, don't sell your ticket: go.
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 13:28
Lozenge & Hella @ Bottom Lounge
what is it with bad opening acts? last saturday some friends and i went down to Bottom Lounge to catch Lozenge and Hella. before them was The Pines, a guitar-bass-drums trio from indiana (so the third trio in a row i saw perform--weird). they sucked. well, this guy phil knew said anyone who has it together enough to get up on stage and play for an audience deserves some credit. ok, sure, yeah, but they still suck. basically, i felt i'd heard all of it before. they played 70's riff rock, sounding like sub-black sabbath and deep purple rip offs. basically, they played the same riffs, but were a half as talented and sounded a fifth as good. the only thing worse than the first "song" was the second one, and so forth. bascially, the longer they played the less i liked it. the only entertainment value, other than playing name that tune, was watching the drummer make these ridiculously effortful faces while playing fairly simple drum parts. neither Lozenge nor Hella drummers felt the need to do such things, and they were playing well above that level. can't any good musicians come out of indiana? i mean, other than lisa germano.
then came Lozenge. let's see: drummer, junk percussionist, gentle giant bassist, spazmodic accordion/moog player. it was like death carnival music. that doesn't really describe it, but neither would anything else i can say. basically i was confused and astounded through their set. definitely something to see, but afterwards i felt like i'd just watched a david lynch film. what the hell just happened?
as i was trying to digest that, Hella set up. Hella is a drummer and a guitarist. the guitarist makes these great faces while playing (almost as good as The Pines' drummer). the drummer has his kit pulled in tight so he can hit it all quickly. and he was fast. inhuman, one might say. he'd play a groove for a bar then just go, with the guitar doing its thing with him. i couldn't tell if it was all scripted of if they simply both soloed the whole time (like free jazz), but it was amazing to watch. the man plays blast beats with one kick pedal. it was insane.
so the ultimate question, after you solve the riddle of Lozenge, is how did The Pines get on this bill? they sound nothing like the other two bands, and certainly don't prepare you for what's coming. i saw some frat boy types grooving to it, milkplow fans, but the other bands draw the music nerds and indie rock scenesters (and inshi), to steal an observation from phil. whose bad idea was The Pines anyway?
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 13:26
loveing mickey
i have this theory, just now developed, that Toni Basil's song "Mickey" isn't merely about being crazy for some guy, but also about being desperate for sex. There's a line suggesting contraception, and another where she says she wants it so badly she'll "take it like a man". ah, the joys of risque innuendo. where have those gone?
Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2003 | 09:00
Denali / Rainer Maria at the Metro
on thursday 11 september i attended the Rainer Maria show at the Metro. also on the bill were The M's and Denali. there was another band, but i missed it.
The M's were not very good. they were your basic indie rock band, with three vocalists who traded off or shared songs, none of whom had a strong voice. i could tell right away that if they played faster they would sound better, and indeed the faster songs did sound better. they were also over quicker. i got the feeling that this band would break up in a year or two and everyone would go back to their day jobs. one of them will stick with music and end up in a mildly successful band somewhere, while the others sell real estate and pursue accounting degrees. such are The M's.
following them was a three-piece from virginia called Denali. they are: a female singer/guitarist who also played keyboard, a bassist who also ran the drum machine, and a drummer. their music on cd sounds like trip-hop emo, but live they lose much of the trip-hop-ness. the singer's voice wasn't quite strong enough to match the instruments--she sang loudly but couldn't project--so that when the dynamics rose her voice would get lost. her best performances were on the slower, quieter songs, though since most of the audience were just people out to drink and see a band, and not particularly fans, people kept talking through the quiet songs (much to my annoyance). it was a good little performance, and i think the people from Denali had a good time. they certainly performed well.
Rainer Maria was the star of the show. another three-piece (guitar-bass-drums, with the bassist a singing female), they had great songs and good stage moves. the guitarist would jump around, spin, pull little 70's arena rock swagger moves, and occasionally step up to the mic for backing or duet vocals. the bassist came out in a white skirt and white shirt with knee-high red leather boots, and would high step, jump, and shake her frilly skirt as she played. i only have two Rainer Maria albums, so i didn't recognize all the songs, but they were sort of split between classic 90's emo and 70's hard rock emo. not that there was emo in the 70's, but had there been it would have sounded like Rainer Maria's 'Long Knives Drawn' album. the pre-'Long Knives Drawn' songs had an arty flair and more complicated structures, while the later songs are more pop-oriented. don't get me wrong, this stuff won't heat up the airwaves, but as Rainer Maria is an independent rock band no one would want it to.
The M's and noisy audience aside, it was a good show. i recommend catching Denali and/or Rainer Maria if you have the chance. after the show we went underneath to smart bar to hear DJ Mother Hubbard spin. she played a bunch of danceable 80's tracks, with a few remixes and missy elliott thrown in for spice. some songs garnered more participation than others (duran duran filled the floor, somehow), but it was fun. she's a dj to watch.
