Live music – Page 23 – 7th Level Music

Live: Oh Sees, Prettiest Eyes, Jimmy Whispers – October 12, 2019 – Thalia Hall – Chicago, IL

It was the first of two sold-out shows at Chicago’s Thalia Hall for Thee Oh Sees and Prettiest Eyes. Joining them was Chicago’s Jimmy Whispers. I had yet to see Mr. Whispers, and I hadn’t seen Oh Sees since Levitation Austin last year in a small outdoor venue and Prettiest Eyes since Levitation France last year win a multi-purpose performance center.

Jimmy Whispers played a quirky set of bedroom / lounge rock that had one guy behind me saying, “I feel like I’m in a John Hughes movie.” Mr. Whispers sang songs about love and making love, taking on a sound and groove not unlike a Gary Wilson show.

Prettiest Eyes were up next and a complete switch from Jimmy Whispers’ set. They unleashed controlled chaos with wild tracks off their new album, Volume 3. Keyboards shrieked, bass thundered, and drums crashed. The Latino psych-rockers sang most of their tunes in English, unlike when we saw them in France and they kept the lyrics in Spanish for the most part. The songs are good either way, and they’re always energetic performers.

Speaking of energy, there’s always plenty of it during an Oh Sees show. You could probably power the air conditioning system in a Tucson ice cream parlor with the energy they create. They played a great mix of older and new material from their current album, Face Stabber. The mosh pit erupted immediately with “The Static God” and rarely stopped after that.

Other highlights included “The Dream,” “Tidal Wave,” “I Come from the Mountain,” and “Animated Violence.”

A treat and a surprise for me was when they played all twenty-plus minutes of “Henchlock” from the new album. It was even better than I hoped it would be.

It was another excellent performance. Both drummers played in unison and in different time signatures without tripping over each other. Frontman John Dwyer shredded the whole set. Beer was thrown, a lost shoe was held up by someone in the pit, I found an Oh Sees shirt that no one claimed as I held it up (and it was even my size), and I returned a man’s house keys to him I found in the pit during a brief break in the action.

As I said after I first saw them, everything you’ve heard about an Oh Sees show is 100% true. Don’t miss this tour.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Shonen Knife, Bev Rage and the Drinks, and Clickbait – Subterranean – Chicago, IL – October 01, 2019

This was a fun lineup that combined post-punk, queer core punk, and pop-punk in one show in a small venue in downtown Chicago. When I saw that Japan’s now-legendary Shonen Knife were playing alongside Chicago’s Bev Rage and the Drinks, I knew this would be a show to see.

Opening the show was another Chicago band – Clickbait. I hadn’t heard them before, but they put on a fun set of no wave post-punk that combined slick bass lines, precision drumming, and quirky guitar riffs with plenty of snarky attitude (in the best possible sense). They were intriguing and are definitely a band to watch. I have a feeling they could be going places soon.

Following them were fellow Chicagoans Bev Rage and the Drinks, who I’ve wanted to catch since hearing their first full-length album, Cockeyed, last year. It was a fun set, complete with free snacks, that tore through a lot of material. The guitarist mentioned they were too old to play songs longer than two minutes, but I suspect the truth is that Ms. Rage and her band are having so much fun and bringing so much fury that they don’t care if the audience can’t keep up with them. They also put out a lot of sound – there were three guitars, bass, and drums all going at once on multiple tunes while Ms. Rage raged about her dating life. They’re a must-see band if they’re near you.

I hadn’t seen Shonen Knife since I happened to be in Tucson the same night they were playing at 191 Toole. It was a blast to see them again. They came out shredding with “Konnichiwa” and then tore through new and classic material that covered some of their favorite subjects – candy, ice cream, furry animals, classic rock.

Shonen Knife were having a good time, as was the crowd. I’ve mentioned this many times to many people, but I believe it’s physically impossible to be blue when hearing a Shonen Knife song, and that’s certainly the case when seeing them live. They played at least four tracks from their new album, Sweet Candy Power (review coming soon), and all of them are good – especially the title track. Oh yeah, they played a Hardee’s in Springfield, Illinois the previous night and packed the parking lot and even scored free milkshakes after the show.

Sisters Atsuko (bass) and Naoko (guitar) always put out a stunning amount of power while singing songs about banana chips and capybaras, and their drummer Rosa is a powerhouse. It’s easy to get caught up in her adorable nature while she’s singing songs about cookie ice cream sandwiches, but she is a beast behind the kit.

They haven’t lost a step after so many tours and albums. Don’t miss them.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: The Black Keys and Modest Mouse – United Center – Chicago, IL – September 27, 2019

I had loaded three CD’s by the Black Keys into my car’s CD player (Remember those?) for the rainy trip to Chicago on September 27, 2019 to catch them live at the United Center. I had many other albums and EP’s of theirs in mp3 format that I didn’t bother to upload to my phone before the trip because I knew I couldn’t listen to all of them in the two and a half-hour drive to the Windy City. As I listened to Magic Potion, Thickfreakness, and Turn Blue, I couldn’t help but think, “Why has it taken me so long to see these guys live?”

They’d been on my “must-see” list since at least 2011, but I could never make it to any of their tour dates. Lead singer / guitarist Dan Auerbach‘s psychedelic side projects, the Arcs, was scheduled to play at the cancelled 2016 Levitation Austin festival, so I wasn’t even able to catch that band just three years ago.

The stars finally aligned and I was able to get a decent price ticket for a seat at this level of the United Center.

That seat cost just a little more than this bad ass show poster, which most people didn’t seem to be noticing at the merch table I visited.

Signed and numbered by the artist to boot!

I didn’t catch the opening band, or even find out who they were, because I was famished by the time I got into the United Center. I munched on a small stuffed pizza (only $8.75, compared to ten bucks for a bag of gourmet popcorn smaller than an average beer stein) while they played. They didn’t sound half-bad.

The second opener was indie rock fan-favorites Modest Mouse. I had no idea what to expect from them, and was surprised to learn they were an eight-person band that included two drummers and a violinist.

They had a lot of fans at the show. I only knew one song they played in their mix of Americana and quirky rock with interesting time signatures. It wasn’t my thing, but their fans loved their set and I saw many people dancing throughout it.

The Black Keys, Mr. Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, came out with two backing guitarists and a bass player. The bass player and one of the backing guitarists (who also sang backing vocals) were brothers Andrew and Zachary Gabbard, and the other backing guitarist was, much to my surprise and delight, Delicate Steve – whose album Till I Burn Up is one of my favorite discoveries of the year.

Opening with an oldie but goodie, “I Got Mine,” they put on a great show mixing stuff from their new record with plenty of cuts from their large back catalogue, like “Gold on the Ceiling” (a crowd favorite) and “Fever.”

“Next Girl” followed, which sounds much heavier live than it does on an album. I have to give a lot of respect to the Black Keys’ touring sound engineers. Dan Auerbach’s guitar tones were crisp and yet had all the right fuzz (and volume!). It sounded great in a large arena, almost like they were playing in a small club. I also love how Auerbach’s guitar is plugged directly into onstage amps instead of using a wireless rig.

“Howlin’ for You” was another crowd favorite, and I was happy to hear “Ten Cent Pistol.” They closed the set with another crowd-pleaser, “Lonely Boy” before heading off stage so their stage crew could set up a giant inflatable electric chair.

This was the set for most of their encore, which included “Lo / Hi,” new single “Go,” and ended with the loud, dirty “She’s Gone.

It was a fun show, and worth the wait. It’s also good to see these two goofy guys filling an arena with people who love rock and blues. They’re calling this the “Let’s Rock” tour. I’m glad. All of us need to rock more.

Keep your mind open.

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Elephant Stone premieres new single, “Land of the Dead,” ahead of fall tour.

Canadian psych-rockers Elephant Stone have released “Land of the Dead,” the first single from their upcoming 2020 album. The song was premiered at Brooklyn Vegan, where you can hear it now.

The track is surprisingly heavy for an Elephant Stone tune, and frontman Rishi Dhir has admitted it’s “much heavier than anything we’ve ever done. It wasn’t intentional. I just had this sitar riff and then it evolved / devolved from there.”

Stoner metal fans rejoice!

Elephant Stone are also soon to embark on their fall tour. Dates are below.

11/5 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah 11/6 Phoenix, AZ @ Yucca Tap Room 11/8 Austin, TX @ Barracuda/Levitation 11/9 Dallas, TX @ The Foundry (FREE SHOW) 11/11 Santa Fe, NM @ Rufina Tap Room (FREE SHOW) 11/12 Denver, CO @ Hi-Dive 11/13 Fort Collins, CO @ Surfside 7 11/15 Portland, OR @ Doug Fir 11/16 Seattle, WA @ Freakout Festival 11/17 Vancouver, BC @ Wise Hall 11/19 San Francisco, CA @ The Chapel 11/20 Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room

Keep your mind open.

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Pitchfork announces first Pitchfork Berlin Music Festival.

Pitchfork Magazine has announced its first ever Pitchfork Berlin music festival coming May 08 – 09, 2020. This makes the second European festival for them, with the other being Pitchfork Paris coming up Halloween weekend this year.

No artists have yet been announced for Pitchfork Berlin, but Pitchfork has written that the festival “will tap into the city’s electronic and progressive music culture.” That alone makes it sound pretty cool.

Keep your mind open.

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Levitation Austin adds three more shows to its 2019 lineup.

Never ones to rest on their laurels, the Reverb Appreciation Society (the group behind Austin, Texas’ Levitation Music Festival, as well as the Levitation France festival in Angers, France coming up this weekend) have added three more shows to their November 7 – 10, 2019 Texas lineup.

That Damo Suzuki Network show should be a trip. Nots put on a packed show the last time I saw them in Austin, and that Chelsea Wolfe / Ioanna Gika show is an added show because the first quickly sold out. I wouldn’t wait to get tickets to this second show if you missed the first one.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, ORB, and Stonefield – Aragon Ballroom – Chicago, IL – August 24, 2019

I’d read that the King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard / ORB / Stonefield show at Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom was on the verge of selling out. I’m pretty sure it did, judging by the line to get into the venue.

The line was so long that the Aragon had to put an employee (guy in white shirt behind car) in a parking lot two blocks away to manage it.

People were laughing in disbelief when they reached this corner and saw the line went on for another block and a half.

The top photo there is from the back of the line, which was over two blocks from the Aragon’s front door. The second photo shows the line along the Red Line El track wall on the west side of the Aragon. I’ve never seen a line this long to get into the Aragon. As one guy put it as he walked past me to get to the end of the line, “Take that all of you who say ‘Who?’ whenever I mention this band!”

The line was so long that, unfortunately, I missed Stonefield’s set. They were so loud, however, that you could hear them outside the venue when a Red Line train wasn’t passing by. I might get to see Stonefield at this year’s Levitation Austin festival, so it could still work out okay for me.

ORB, who have added a guitarist since I last saw them, put on a solid set of stoner-psych that included a lot of fuzz, metal riffs, and avalanche drumming.

I knew King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard’s set was going to be nuts when people were already chanting, clapping, and cheering during the soundcheck. Plus, KGATLW’s new album, Infest the Rat’s Nest, is a thrash metal record, and I was sure songs from it were going to cause a frenzied mosh pit.

Sure enough, they opened with “Self Immolate” and “Mars for the Rich” off the new record and the crowd immediately compressed by about thirty percent as two pits broke out – one on each side of the stage. I figured they wouldn’t play too much off the new record, as thrash metal is hard to play and they had an entire show to do that would probably cover everything from psychedelic hippie music to blues.

They proved me right by following the metal with the swing of “Plastic Boogie” off the first album they released this year, Fishing for Fishies, which is a blues record. Three cuts off Polygondwanaland followed – “Inner Cell,” “Loyalty,” and “Horology.”

“We’re gonna play an old one,” lead singer Stu Mackenzie said. “How old?” said the guy behind me. “Old for them is like an album from last year.” True, considering KGATLW put out five albums in 2018. The “oldies” turned out to be “I’m in Your Mind” and “I’m Not in Your Mind” from 2014’s I’m in Your Mind Fuzz. “The Balrog” from Murder of the Universe got everyone jumping again, and I was in the pit by the time they got to “Evil Death Roll” from Nonagon Infinity. The whole crowd was jumping during “Rattlesnake,” which lead to other cuts from Flying Microtonal Banana including “Sleep Drifter” and “Billabong Valley.”

Nonagon Infinity opens the door for infinite lizards.

They swung back into a boogie set with more cuts off Fishing for Fishies and even threw in their synth-single “Cyboogie” before ending the night with a wall of death-inducing “Planet B” and “Hell” from Infest the Rat’s Nest. They began the night with metal and ended the night with metal, leaving everyone sweaty and giddy.

“Thanks for coming. Thanks for getting crazy. You guys are fucking crazy. It’s great,” Mackenzie said at one point. It was a crazy crowd, probably the craziest I’ve been in since I saw Thee Oh Sees in Austin last year. The mosh pit was friendly, too. Twice the pit I was in stopped so people could turn on cell phone lights to look for, find, and hold up dropped stuff like someone’s glasses and a wallet. A woman walked by me wearing a shirt that read, “They only walls be build are walls of death.” on the back.

That’s metal, all right, as was this show.

Keep your mind open.

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Partner further prove how awesome they are by announcing massive tour and covering Rush.

Canadian rock duo Partner have announced a huge tour for this autumn spanning the globe from their home country to Czechoslovakia. The U.S. tour even teams them with Titus Andronicus. All the shows are sure to be a good time. Partner alone are killer live.

As if a new tour isn’t enough, Partner released their cover of Rush‘s “Limelight.” It’s great.

“We watched a documentary about RUSH and we fell in love with the band. They seem like such nice guys. It caused us to hear the music in a new way, with a much deeper appreciation. By doing the cover, we hoped to pay tribute to our newfound appreciation and to expand our horizons as musicians by learning these unique and complex arrangements.” – Partner

Partner’s cover of “Limelight” is available to watch on YouTube and stream on SoundCloud.

Keep your mind open.

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Elephant Stone announces November North American tour.

Canadian psych-rockers Elephant Stone have announced their first tour in a few years, hitting many west coast cities in the U.S. and their home country beginning November 5th. The tour includes two festival stops – Levitation Austin (November 8th) and Seattle’s Freakout Festival (November 16th). All tour dates are below.

Keep your mind open.

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Live: Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss, and Ida Mae – Memorial Coliseum – Ft. Wayne, In – August 05, 2019

2019 is turning out to be a year of legends in terms of my concert viewing. First there was Sir Paul McCartney, then Jeff Lynne and his latest version of ELO, and now Willie Nelson – one of the greatest songwriters and country music legends of all time.

Opening for him were a new British country / blues husband (Chris Turpin) and wife (Stephanie Jean) duo Ida Mae, who put on a simple and effective set of dark country tunes using nothing but a foot pedal electric bass drum, a guitar, a tambourine, and matching vocals. They were elated to be on the tour and playing in the biggest venue they’ve played so far. According to Jean, the only other time they’d been in an arena was to see a hockey game.

Ida Mae playing the largest venue they’ve played so far.

Up next was none other than multiple Grammy Award-winner Alison Krauss. She’d put on a great show the first time I saw her, and I was sure she’d put on another great performance. She didn’t disappoint. Performing on a stage decorated with antique lamps, doll houses, benches, and even a bicycle, Krauss and her band played a lovely set of Americana, gospel, country, and blues that had everyone in the palm of her hand. Among the highlights were “River in the Rain,” “Forget About It,” “Ghost in This House,” “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground,” and “Down to the River to Pray.”

Alison Krauss and her lovely voice hypnotizing the place.

The Red Headed Stranger was up next, and he came out belting “Whiskey River.” He had the crowd laughing and singing during his cover of Toby Keith’s “Beer for my Horses.” Nelson’s singing was a little quiet at first, but his acoustic guitar shredding made up for it. His voice was warmed up by the time he reached “If You’ve Got the Money, I’ve Got the Time” and crowd favorites like “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” “On the Road Again,” and “You Were Always on My Mind.” He also made me giddy by doing three Hank Williams covers (“Jambalaya,” “Hey Good Lookin’,” and “Move It on Over.”).

He ended the show with a fourth Williams cover, “I Saw the Light,” as well as the classic “I’ll Fly Away” – both sung with Ms. Krauss who came back onstage wearing a jacket because it was chilly throughout the whole coliseum. It was nice to see them having fun and you could tell Krauss was joyfully singing with one of her idols.

Nelson has since cancelled his tour due to him experiencing “breathing problems.” I hope he recovers soon and get back on the road. Don’t miss him. He’s still touring at age 86, but I can’t imagine he’ll be doing it much longer.

Keep your mind open.

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