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The Thermals at Lincoln Hall 5/16/2013
The Thermals stormed into town Friday night hit in the heels of their latest record, Desperate Ground. It’s an impassioned return to the angry days of their most popular album The Body, The Blood, The Machine; the antithesis to their last release Personal Life. I’m a big fan of the new record and looked forward to hearing some of it played live. I was also a bit nervous about the show because I remember seeing them in 2011 and being really let down.
Right from the start I got good vibes from the stage. The first band, Moon King, was an unusual three-piece from Canada. They played a kind of spacey psych-rock with weird folk and pop influences thrown in. It took a little while for their set to really get going, but by the fourth song the crowd was getting into it and they were starting to fire on all cylinders.
After they finished local rockers Bare Mutants plugged in. I saw them open for Smith Westerns at Schubas a long time ago, and I thought they were a little boring. It only took one song to have me all turned around on my impressions of them. Here at Lincoln Hall they were far more interesting and lively. The guitar work by Jered Gummere was especially fine. I don’t remember the band being so large when I saw them before, so perhaps they’ve undergone some changes. I certainly don’t remember Jeannie O’Toole being in the band, but I’m glad she is. Lots of great bands are represented here (Mannequin Men, The Ponys, the 1900′s), but as a whole they manage to be more than the sum of their parts.
At 10:45 The Thermals came out to raucous applause and launched into “Returning To The Fold.” This immediately relieved my apprehensions about the show. When I saw them before the crowd was absolutely dead, and the music felt flat. I put equal blame on the venue and the band-Logan Square Auditorium is a huge open room that allows noise to stay in the air forever. Loud, fast music does not play well there. They also didn’t break into any of “the hits” until late in the show, at which point the crowd erupted and it finally felt like a Thermals show.
The audience at Lincoln Hall never let it get too staid. By song two there was aggressive moshing going on in the middle of the room and by song three Hutch Harris was in the middle of the pit getting up close and personal with some fans. He came back out again later in the show, as did drummer Westin Glass. His quick crowd surfing stunt was definitely a show highlight. The performance Glass put on all night was astounding to watch. He goes all out on every song, leaving a puddle of sweat as a testament to his love for playing live.
As far as setlists go, you’d be hard pressed to find one more pleasing to a fan of The Thermals. It didn’t focus too much on the brand new songs, instead covering the whole of the bands now decade-long career. Everything from their earliest “No Culture Icons” to the fantastic (and even better live) “Sword By My Side,” they really gave a Thermals 101 course. For fans like me that think The Body is one of the greatest albums of all-time, they opened with “Returning To The Fold” and also played “Here’s Your Future,” “St Rosa And The Swallows,” “I Might Need You To Kill,” and “Pillar Of Salt.”
For a little over an hour Harris, Glass, and bassist Kathy Foster put on a tour de force I’ve been dreaming of since I became aware of their music. No one was ready to leave after the one song encore. Foster and Glass were more than happy to high five and shake hands with members of the audience and show their appreciation. I’m happy to say that my faith in the band has been redeemed after the earlier disappointment. I’m already excited to see them the next time they come to town.
Fort Frances @ Schubas, 5/5/2013
I don’t have a ton to add about Fort Frances’ live show. After last night’s performance, I believe the seventh time I’ve seen them live, I’m convinced they are one of the best live acts around. Pretty much every show has given a preview of at least one new song that hasn’t been released. They also do a great job of rearranging their material, so it never feels like you’re seeing the same show again. Fresh off the early success of their latest EP, Harbour, the band played like they were happy to be in front of the hometown crowd again, and the audience-most of them three sheets to the wind due to celebrating the Mexican holiday in the traditional way-were in a frenzy for most of the evening.
The music started with The Great American Canyon Band, a fantastic duo who currently reside in Baltimore. I only caught the tail end of their set as I was at work when they went on. I’ve seen them here in Chicago before, though, and they do a great job. You can check out their new EP, Lost At Sea, in all the usual places. I recommend Bandcamp. I had a good talk with Paul Masson after the show, and it sounds like they may be back later this year so keep your eyes peeled.
David McMillin hit the stage with Aaron Kiser and Jeff Piper for what I assumed would be a barrage of songs from the new record and some older stuff sprinkled in. Quite the opposite, Fort Frances opened with a couple songs off their debut LP, The Atlas, before hitting us with “Truths I Used To Know” and my favorite song from Harbour, “Please Don’t Wait Up.” Surprisingly, they didn’t play the single that preceded the record, “City By The Sea.” I respect the decision though.
Since this was a Cinco de Mayo show, the crowd was a mix of folks there to hear some great music and some looking to party (and by party I mean talk about things that happened earlier in the day while sloppily “dancing”). There were two points where everyone in the crowd shut up and focused completely on what was going on in front of them. One was during “Please Don’t Wait Up,” thank goodness. The next was during the band’s famous cover of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince’s “Summertime.” The third occurred at the very end of the show, when the three gentlemen made their way to the middle of the floor to play the acoustic tune “The Wetlands.”
Fort Frances are easily one of the best Chicago bands working today, and I think before too long they’ll be known nationally as a critically praised fan favorite headlining festivals. For now, I’m happy to have them here playing at venues like Schubas where I can enjoy their music without having to battle my way through a thousand people. There will be tears when that day comes, but they will be tears of joy. There is no band more deserving of success than these guys. If you haven’t taken the time to listen, you better do it now before they start getting fun.-type radio play and you can’t stand them anymore.
Josh Ritter and The Royal City Band at The Vic 4/27/13
For a folk singer, Josh Ritter puts on one helluva rock and roll show. Actually, that statement doesn’t need a qualifier-he puts on a great show regardless of genre. Last night at The Vic was no different than the previous five times I’ve seen him. His show is around 90 minutes of unadulterated good times. Even when he’s singing a sad, slow ballad you feel so connected to him that it’s fun just to be in the same room. After a two year break from Chicago, the local fans were in a frenzy before the show.
Josh took the stage solo for the first song, thanking the sold out crowd for coming out before launching into a beautiful rendition of “Idaho.” We got an early look at one of his favorite show moves, which is to point the mic down and sing from his knees up toward the heavens. He pulled it out again later, but it wasn’t as effective as this moment.
After that he started playing “Southern Pacifica” acoustically. He was slowly joined by the rest of the band-first Sam Kassirer, then Austin Nevins, Zachariah Hickman, and Liam Hurley. The first three minutes of the song were a pretty faithful version of the album track, but toward the end it exploded into a trippy jam led by Nevins’ guitar solo. I don’t remember this one getting a big arrangement last time I saw the band, but it was a cool change that made the song about two minutes longer.
Next we got “Hopeful,” the first of eight songs in the set from the new album The Beast In Its Tracks. This is my favorite of the new songs, and the live version was perfectly executed. The crowd seemed to really respond to the latest tunes. Most of the people around me seemed to know all the words and wanted to belt them out.
There were a couple long talking periods where Josh would talk about the city of Chicago and its past (leading up to “Lillian, Egypt” and “The Curse”). Later he talked about the background of TBIIT and how angry he was at marriage for a while. He came to realize that it wasn’t marriage that was bad, it’s wonderful. And anyone who wants to get married should be able to. Well, if you know Chicago you know that those words went over very, very well.
This show was the band’s 14th in 15 days, but there were no signs of wearing down. They all looked like they were having a blast up there, and probably could have played all night if they were allowed. The set went back and forth between new and old. Four songs came from The Animal Years and three from Historical Conquests. “Harrisburg” was not played, which is a huge disappointment because that song is amazing live (if you haven’t seen it, they always segue in and out of a cover in the middle-”Tiny Cities Made Of Ashes” by Modest Mouse was a great one).
Josh Ritter might be the best performer in the world right now. His energy is so infectious he can make even the most stoic audience groove. The band, together now for close to a decade, is as tight as they come. And more importantly they are having fun. I can’t recommend catching a show enough. This was my sixth, and I already can’t wait for the seventh!
Setlist
Idaho (solo)
Southern Pacifica
Hopeful
Rumors
Evil Eye
Lillian Egypt
Curse
Joy To You
New Lover
Apple Blossom Rag (Ritter & Hickman)
Temptation Of Adam (solo)
In The Dark (solo-no lights)
Snow Is Gone
Nightmares
In Your Arms Again
Wolves
Right Moves
Kathleen
Lights
To The Dogs Or Whoever
For more pics from the show, including a few of the opener (Sea Wolf’s Alex Brown Church), head over to our Facebook page and check out the album.
Talib Kweli at Double Door, 4/13/13
Because I write about music a lot, I end up going to a ton of shows throughout the year. For the most part I enjoy it and try to have fun even if I don’t really know the music I’m hearing. Every once in a while, you see someone who is truly head and shoulders above everyone else. Last year it was Springsteen-this year it’s Talib Kweli. He’s been a shining example of what rap music should be since his collaboration with Mos Def, Black Star. Fifteen years later Kweli is lesser-known, but just as good or better than guys like Jay-Z or Nas. Last night he showed me that he can still bring the goods at live shows.
The whole concert was really impressive. I missed the first band because we had some issues with my press pass (fixed by Donna at Javotti-thanks!). I saw trumpets and heard some jazz/funk from outside. Sorry I missed it because I think they were a local Chicago band.
Next up was Santiago X The Natural, and they killed their set. The Natural is an attorney by day, but you can feel his love for the music in his voice. His flow is solid, and he had some really good lyrics that felt honest and heartfelt. That’s my kind of rapper. Santiago provided the singing, and he was hitting some impressive notes. The ladies definitely loved him, and I can totally see why-in his leather jacket and dark sunglasses he looks just like a Native American Julian Casablancas (who also happens to be an architect).
They played almost entirely new songs from their upcoming album, and the crowd loved it even without having anything familiar to relate to. Their very first song was rapped over a White Stripes track, which I really enjoyed. There was another one later that I think was a Beck track, but I could be wrong. These two currently have a song running on ESPN, and last year they played at a pep rally for Notre Dame-two strong pluses in my book.
The last act before Talib came out was Cory Mo. He just signed to Javotti, and his resume is pretty impressive already: he’s produced tracks for Bun B, Slim Thug, Geto Boys, and UGK. Now he’s coming out with his own music, and it sounds good so far. He played a really short set, three or four songs at most. He opened with an a capella rap to prove to us that he was for real-an it was fantastic. Probably the best thing he did on stage.
At this point it was only 11:15 and the main attraction wasn’t supposed to go on until 12. A few minutes later the band came out and asked if we were ready for some Talib Kweli (you can probably guess the answer). I was shocked-starting thirty minutes EARLY? This is a rap show, right? I assumed he wouldn’t hit the stage until at least 12:30. Happy to say I was wrong and by shortly after 11:30 we were off and running.
I haven’t been to a ton of hip-hop shows in my life, but seeing Talib Kweli is like taking a four-year masters course in rap artistry. Truly a legend, listening to him spit live is like watching Jackson Pollock splatter paint-there’s a frenetic urgency to it and the energy just swallows you up. Even if you don’t like his music there’s plenty to learn by watching him interact with the crowd.
He covered a lot of material from across his entire discography, including by my count four new songs from his soon-to-be-released Prisoner Of Consciousness. He also performed some mash ups of old school jams like Jigga’s “Money Cash Hoes,” some Beastie Boys and Kanye. The most awesome cover, of course, was “Lonely People,” Kweli’s take on The Beatles tune “Eleanor Rigby.” That one got the crowd singing along loudly for the first time and after that I think some of the reverence gave way to just having fun. The below video is from a show at Brooklyn Bowl last December-the reaction at Double Door was equally enthusiastic.
Kweli’s band is phenomenal. I didn’t catch all their names, but the bass player is from Boston, the drummer from Oakland, DJ from London, and Chicago’s own Chris Rob plays keys. How did I not know about Chris Rob?? He’s played every huge stage in the world, AND he’s gonna be on the new Lauryn Hill record! He’s a force behind his board, and his vocals are superb. After hyping up the crowd for some “hard” hip-hop, he laid down the Peanuts theme song by Vince Guaraldi Trio. It was funny at first, but as the band joined him it turned into an epic jam.
I’m really glad I got the opportunity to see Kweli in a space like Double Door. It’s a big enough venue to attract big names, but it’s still intimate enough that it feels like a small show. He seems to really appreciate his fans, and the way he raps and interacts, it’s like he’s talking directly to each person in the audience.
Prisoner Of Consciousness comes out May 7th, and Talib made it sound like he’ll be touring again this summer. If so, make it a point to get tickets early-I saw a lot of people get turned away because they didn’t buy in advance. If you’ve ever been a fan and stopped following him because you didn’t care for his last couple records, let me tell you that live, he hasn’t lost a step. Almost 20 years in, he’s still the best around.
Todd Kessler and The New Folk at Tonic Room 4/6/2013
Saturday night I took to my first trip to the Tonic Room. I was long overdue to hit this venue, but for whatever reason I’ve never made it. As usual there was a strong lineup for the evening, which definitely brought out a crowd. Tonic Room doesn’t have the greatest layout in the world, but the sound is really good and people tend to stick to their own business and get along cordially.
I got there a little late, so Mike Mangione and The Union were already playing. Upon entrance I ran into my first and only real problem with the bar-the door opens right in front of the stage. Great for bands loading in and out, not so much for latecomers who don’t want to walk in everyone’s way to get to the bar.
The show was running about thirty minutes behind schedule, which is fairly typical for a Chicago show. Nobody seemed to mind as Mangione led the band in a raucous set that I thought might literally bring the building down. Luckily the integrity of the building stayed in tact and the other two acts were allowed to play.
I was really impressed by Alexis And The Samurai. They’re natives of New Orleans, and like Todd Kessler, Alexis Marceaux was a contestant on The Voice season 3. The duo managed to create an extraordinary sound using dynamic shifts and arrangements-if you were listening with your eyes closed you would’ve thought it was a full band.
They played some songs off their 2011 album Orange Moon, and I was shocked that they hadn’t found more success so far. They harmonize brilliantly together, and both Alexis and Sam Craft are multi-instrumentalists who can achieve any sonic trick they can think up. My favorite song they did was actually an old Cajun standard about drinking called “Parlez-nous a boire.” It’s a Mardi Gras-worthy party song that really gets the crowd moving.
Todd Kessler’s band started to set up, and here’s where I thought there would be a problem. In The New Folk there are two guitars not counting Todd, bass, drums, and a keyboard. The stage at Tonic Room is about as long as a Honda Accord and as deep as a Vespa. Somehow they managed to get everyone up there and my concerns were for naught.
I saw Todd play a solo show at Uncommon Ground not too long ago, but this was a better show for me. He seems to be a more confident singer when he has a band behind him and some of the pressure is off. And I’m sure he writes most of his songs on acoustic guitar, but they’re meant to be played bigger.
Highlights for me included “First Sip,” which features Todd and backup vocalist Molly Kirk singing beautifully together, “Oh Brother,” (the lead track on the band’s 2012 release Sea Fever), and the sweet album closer “Put You In My Pocket.”
On top of being featured on a nationally televised singing competition, Kessler and Marceaux have something else in common: they care more about making music than being famous. So many people out there just want to hit the big time no matter the cost to their artistic ideals, but not these two. If you haven’t yet, give them both a shot.
