On the eve of Cursive’s 1-year anniversary for their latest release, Mama, I’m Swollen, Cursive swung through Chicago to play one of my favorite venues in the city, the Metro. Playing two sold-out shows with Alkaline Trio and the Dear and Departed, this is the first time we have seen Cursive in the windy city in over 6 months, and the first time we have seen them not in the headlining position of a tour. Before the show on Sunday I had a chance to catch up with bassist Matt Maginn, a man who majored in environmental science but was quickly whisked away into the life of a touring musician.
FYW: Two years ago I caught your performance at Subterranean where you guys previewed your newest album to the crowd before it was even entirely recorded. Is this something you try to do with every release?
MM: Anytime we can we try and do that- we did it with Mama quite a bit. We did it with Ugly Organ, but with Happy Hollow not as much. Ideally yes, but with every record we don’t have to. Mama was the most thorough we’ve ever [road-tested the album]. We were playing songs live that we’d never even recorded. That’s good and bad, because then there’s a few fans out there that heard it, or have a YouTube clip of it and they’re like “you guys are jerks, why didn’t you put that song on the record?”
Portland-based band Portugal. The Man came through Chicago this weekend, rendering me speechless Friday night at their sold out Lincoln Hall show. In a stunning and seemingly effortless performance, the foursome delivered a taste of their 70’s soul, funk, and blues-inspired sound.
Monochromatically lit in alternating colors, Portugal. The Man warmed up the crowd with a long instrumental as smoke machines pumped enough fog that the stage took on a mystical quality from my vantage point in the balcony. When bassist Zachary Scott Carothers was spontaneously lit with red, blue and green polka dots and singer John Baldwin Gourley began crooning in unison with the enthusiastic audience I knew I was in for a spectacular night. Read more…
If it isn’t easy to tell by the majority of the content on this site, we are indie music fans. BUT, I am proud to say that none of the writers on this site limit themselves to one genre, even when it comes to stepping outside of our comfort zones to check out a show. Sometimes you surprise yourself and discover music you would never listen to twice online. This was the case with Los Angeles’s own People Under The Stairs when they headlined Chicago’s Subterranean rock club last week, entertaining a sold out crowd of music fans that love underground hip-hop.
Every once in awhile a band lands a gig in a major motion picture and is quickly forgotten after the movie-goer leaves the theater. In 2008 the major motion picture adaption of Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist is centered around the film’s two main stars, Michael Cera and Kat Dennings, searching for the band “Where’s Fluffy?” who just happens to be Brooklyn’s own Bishop Allen.
Bishop Allen began back in 2003 with Justin Rice and Christian Rudder, friends who met while attending Harvard University. Their name came from Bishop Allen Drive, the street where Rice and Rudder lived in Cambridge, MA while attending college. Rice and Rudder make up the core of Bishop Allen, but over the past seven years Rice and Rudder have been joined by various musicians to complete the Bishop Allen live lineup. Now, with three studio albums and 12 EPs under their belt, Bishop Allen’s live set could be endless. Read more…
At one time or another you were horribly embarrassed. You were picked last for a team, taunted based on the contents of your lunchbox, or tripped on the stairs causing your pants to rip in the most horrifying of places. It’s time to reclaim that memory and wear it as a badge of honor. As the Webelos say, “for those ready to embrace who [you] are, we salute you.”
The quartet hails from Chicago and represent both Columbia College and Northwestern University. The band’s philosophy boils down to being true who you are, no excuses, no apologies. They believe in the power of a solid hook and they do it well, drawing influences from the forefathers of pop: the Beatles, the Hollies, the Beach Boys, et al. Don’t be fooled though; the Webelos’ sound is not a throwback, nor are they a band based on nostalgia for a time in which none of the members lived. Their sound is at once modern and classic. As singer Danny Leavitt puts it, “you have to respect your roots, and those are pop rock’s roots.” The Webelos appreciate their inner dweeb and their inner pop star and once you get to know them, those are things you will appreciate, too.
Read on for my interview with Webelos lead vocalist Danny Leavitt.
Sub T is my favorite small venue in Chicago. There’s something about it. The sound isn’t particularly amazing, the lighting isn’t exactly perfect for photography, but it’s cozy and intimate and some super legit bands make their way through that place. On Friday I went to see my friends in Carbon Tigers play there. I was half expecting to head home after their performance but they convinced me the last band was worth sticking around for. Had the fellas in Carbon Tigers not been so insistent that the girls in the last band were bad fucking ass, I might have missed out on my new band du jour.
Claudia Meza, Lisa Schonberg and Heather Treadway of Explode Into Colors took the stage and ripped it. Gently. They didn’t get the crowd thrashing about but their music was infectious and for a first time listener, I was blown away and compelled to dance. Their minimal instrumentation of drum, guitar, some keys was just the scratch I’d been itching for. The guitar, which I later learned was a baritone guitar, sounded more like a bass and I loved every second of it. The sound was danceable but allured to something darker with the heavy guitar and two drums. It was to my disappointment that the audience decided to play it lame and merely bob their heads and sway their bodies.
It came as no surprise that the two standout tracks during the show from my perspective (Sharpen The Knife and Eyes Hands Mouth), also turned out to be two on their Myspace. They were standout tracks even among the live set and the energy of the audience seemed to peek when they were performed. While their stage presence wasn’t exactly exciting, you could tell they enjoyed being up there and their energy was completely on the music. It was a refreshing and satisfying show and my only regret is not having brought more cash to purchase a vinyl, a CD or some sort of merch. It’s safe to say that Explode Into Colors has made it past the du jour status and into my permanent library as they are just as riveting in their recordings as they are live.
About a week ago I took another adventure to visit The Wanton Looks, but this time to a safer neighborhood. The ladies were headlining the Girls Out Of The Garage showcase presented by NoVo Arts at Lincoln Hall. Having only seen them perform in their dimly lit practice space with some burnt out cables, and not quite to their full potential, I was excited to see them in all their glory.
For those of you looking to break into the music business, the best advice I can give you is to intern, intern, intern. Yes, you are working for free. Yes, they may take advantage of you, force you to work long hours, and not even buy you coffee, BUT every once in awhile you find an internship with perks. My last internship was at a PR company – the perk… a Starbucks machine. All the free hot chocolate I could ever drink in a day. My latest internship, one of my all-time favorite venues in the city of Chicago, Schubas. The perk? Lots of live music!
One of the bands that is playing the aforementioned venue this week is Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (SSLYBY). This band came highly recommended at last year’s CMJ Music Marathon, but unfortunately I was not lucky enough to catch a performance. I won’t make that same mistake this time around. Now with three studio albums under their belt, SSLYBY has captured my ears and made a new fan.
Although their Myspace gives you the ultimate discography of SSLYBY throughout the years, they are also nice enough to allow fans to stream all their albums for free online. On their latest 2008 release, Pershing, “Glue Girls” and “Modern Mystery,” have become two of my personal favorite tracks. Read more…
Late in the evening last week I ventured out into Humbolt Park to the practice space of the The Wanton Looks. They were all sitting around drinking PBR, except for Inga, who was a bit sick and was keeping her party face up with her bottle of throat spray. We sat and bullshitted for a little more than an hour, and I got to hear them practice some of their songs. It was quite clear why Greg Kot listed them as one of Chicago’s best indie bands of 2009. Our conversation drifted from getting kicked out of clubs, disgusting bathrooms, playing music and sex, drugs and rock & roll. Below is a PG version of it. Check it out and then check them out live at Lincoln Hall January 28 @ 9 PM.
It has come to my attention that I have yet to actually write about a Chicago band on here, which has made be kind of feel out of touch with the local scene a bit. So, I guess it is just my luck that I’ve recently been turned onto Castevet, who were actually recommended to me by a fan of the site. After a few listens of their debut full length Summer Fences, I was hooked on their unique, interesting style. If Castevet’s sound was a cocktail, it’d be a pretty easy recipe to follow:
Shake well. Served best in a crowded basement or art space.
Despite the simple ingredients, the four piece’s sound is complex as Summer Fences is quite instrumental based and all but one song exceeds the 5-minute mark. Their sonic dynamic was enough for Deckfight.com to called them “the balliest band in punk rock”.
