Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Boban Marković Blows (The Boban i Marko Marković Orkestar - Martyrs', 21 July)

Imagine a mariachi band, oompah band, drum and bugle corp and punk band, rolled into one. Now cast a Danny Devito doppleganger with the voice of Mario Lanza and some serious horn skills, and you've got Boban Marković and his band of merry men.

Coming off a weekend of Chicagoland performances that included the likes of the Pitchfork Festival and the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival, this troupe wrapped up their stand in our city with a raucous set at Martyr's on Lincoln Avenue. The sold-out show started (over an hour late...) with a couple of instant crowd pleasers, including a rendition of Hava Nagila before moving into even more crowd pleasers, that continued to please the crowed even more and more as the evening wore on. The played for a couple of hours, working the crowd into a soggy frenzy with each number. The finally ended just after 11 with the barreling "Kalashnikov," which had the entire audience, from 70-year-old Serbian men to world-music-savvy token hispters clapping and dancing along.

If you like loud brass and watching musicians who love their jobs, this band's for you, partiularly if you can catch them live. The Boban i Marko Marković Orkestar is a blast, and even though I don't know what the heck they're saying, everyone around me did know, and they were elated about it, so I was too.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Meanwhile, Back at the Manse.... (Shearwater with Frog Eyes and Evangelicals @ The Mansion - 24 June)

After a nice bike ride down to my old stomping grounds in Logan Square, my friend Joe and I enjoyed a bite at El Cid (featuring a new upstairs tequila lounge and too-loud music on the patio - gone are the days of the plum tree dropping rotting fruit around the strolling guitarist, I suppose) before peddling down to "The Mansion." Located just north of Fullerton and Kedzie, this venue is a former "asylum" of the masonic organization, the Knights Templar. Hence, I think "the asylum" would have been a better name than "the mansion," but who am I?

We arrived two songs from the end of the the Evangelicals' set. They may have potential, but I can't really judge them on that brief performance.

Frog Eyes was just awful. I've listened to a few of their tracks, and though that maybe, like Animal Collective, they were something that would grow on me... but no such luck. I've tried, but apparently it's not my thing. I do not like Frog Eyes, Sam I Am. And after an insufferably long soundcheck that had the vocalist warbling and wailing into the microphone ad nauseum, I was almost regretting the trip down there.

I was glad when Shearwater came out. They have a strong sound, and that guy (I don't feel like looking up his his name right now) has an amazing voice. The first two songs - with banjo and a nice rhythm were good, but then I think more of their longer pieces suffered from the sketchy acoustics in the room. It's got these really high ceilings, and this tiny little stage, and I don't think too much though has gone of what this combination does to the sound yet. So, I felt a little cheated out of the Shearwater experience, and will wait patiently for their next engagement, and hope that it's at Schubas.

mismatched pair - Jennifer O'Connor and Jamie Lidell @ The Abbey Pub, 4 June 2008

I had heard good things about Jamie Lidell. And I'd been wanting to see Jennifer O'Connor live for quite some time. However, the Abbey being a little out of the way, I often forget it's there. And when I read about this show, I kind of thought about going, but then changed my mind... until, my friend Shannon suggested going, and I marched right over to her cube and DEMANDED she buy the tickets right away.

It was a funny coupling. Jennifer O'Connor - a normal looking singer-songwriter, who can really rock out when she wants, and Jamie Lidell.... the British soul sensation, who has been riding easy on the Grey's Anatomy gravy train ever since one of his songs ("Multiply") was featured on a soundtrack.

There was no question that everyone was there to see the latter. Jennifer almost had the audience at the beginning. She and her band started with a couple of her sophisticated rock tunes, but then she made this fatal mistake of playing quiet slow songs from her forthcoming album. That might have succeeded if she were headlining at Schubas (which she did earlier this week, but I didn't go) but when you're opening for a character like Jim at a late late show, you've got to bring it a little more. Everyone was talking over her, and by the time she finished, I was pretty relieved.

Jamie on the other hand, had he crowd eating out of his goofy palm. He had a full band, which is apparently a treat for him, and I particularly liked the pants-less sax player, who could play two saxes at once. I had a stomach ache. I was exhausted from working long hours, and it was really warm in there... but I still had an awesome time, and I hope to catch him at Lollapalooza, though I don't know who he's up against there.