I wasn’t going to do a preview of the CMJ Festival starting tomorrow, but I know enough people that are going/playing that it felt like a disservice to them if I didn’t. That said, do not consider this a complete listing in the slightest. CMJ has about a billion bands playing all across New York City over the next few days. Let’s just call this … Continue reading Who To See At CMJ 2013
I first heard of Thomas Kivi when he was opening for Jason Myles Goss here in Chicago, alongside his bandmate Sarah Pray. They traded lead vocals back and forth, playing songs off both of their solo albums and a couple covers. They had good chemistry together, and their voices fit together very well. Kivi’s first album, Crying Child, is good-very precious at times. There’s a … Continue reading Thomas Kivi & The Immigrants
There are so many great places in Chicago to see live music that it is impossible to get to all of them. I generally try to stay around my neighborhood, which houses places like Metro, Schubas, and Lincoln Hall. Not too shabby. So last night seeing Jason Myles Goss was my first adventure way up north to Uncommon Ground, and I was surprised in more ways than one.
First of all, the venue itself is fantastic. Very intimate and quiet, like having a private concert for you and twenty to fifty close friends. The food was awesome and the drink I got came in a cup the size of a soup bowl. When I walked in there was a band already playing, so I said hello to Jason for a few minutes and then sat down with Kari to enjoy the set.
Thomas Kivi and Sarah Pray make up the folk duo Kivi & Pray, and they were awesome. I missed the first couple songs, but as I took my seat they started playing a cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless” that was as beautiful as any you’ve ever heard. The couple songs I heard while talking both featured Sarah on lead vocals, so I assumed that the deal was Thomas just sang backup. Then they played a Kivi original called “Wake Up, George!” that he sang lead on, and I realized it was much more of a back and forth.
That song is fairly Dylan-esque, and you can hear it on their bandcamp page, along with a few others they recorded at a live show in Georgia. They were a very fitting opener, and I’m glad I got there early to catch their pretty voices and strong chemistry.
A little before 9pm Jason took the stage with a small but engaged audience awaiting his voice. I think I can easily say that no one was dissapointed. Continue reading “Jason Myles Goss at Uncommon Ground”
A little over a month ago I had the honor of posting a wonderfully eloquent essay by Jason Myles Goss about his song “Hospital Shirt.” I had been listening to his album Radio Dial for a couple weeks at that point, and the song really stuck out as a beautiful showcase of his writing and singing abilities. What I didn’t mention at the beginning of that article is that the rest of the album is equally good.
The first time I listened to Radio Dial all the way through I thought there was something sonically askew. The way the vocals were sung, and the way the songs were structured, I thought that maybe someone had found a way to sneak me some unreleased early work by Josh Ritter. It reminded me so much of Ritter, in fact, that I wasn’t surprised in the least to find that Sam Kassirer and Austin Nevins (both members of The Royal City Band) appear on songs here.
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