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| From | "Durben, Steven" <Steven.Durben@cignabehavioral.com> |
| Subject | CHIPO |
| Date | Mon, 28 Apr 2003 14:00:58 -0500 |
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I made it to Chicago for Friday and Saturday night.
First off thanks to David Bash, Bruce aka: Not Lame and Parasol for two very
cool nights.
Also, both venues were outstanding places for live music (Schubas and Abbeys
Pub).
My impressions...
Friday night:
Jonathon Scott. Start things off with one of the true highlights of the
week-end. Otherworldly good! What a way to start the night! I was in a
trance like state listening to this quiet, lovely set of songs. I finally
bought "Out Like A Lamb" and it's the best yet that I've heard from them.
I'm gonna continue to keep an eye on this band. I would love to see him live
with the full band.
Next up Chris Dorn of the Beatifics. Ying and Yang experience for me in
comparison to Jonathon Scott. Out of tune playing, voice cracking, too loud
of a mix... I'll leave it at that. I took a break.
Neilson Hubbard: Very nice. Played a few favs of mine from "Why Men Fail"
and he did a Lou Reed cover that was excellent. His "sidekick" played bass
and the accordion (the latter instrument in particular, set just the right
mood for Neilson's songs).
Dolly Varden: I had never heard them prior to this night. Great stage
presence and tight playing. Very solid "rootsy" rock and roll. The lead
singer seems to have a genuine joy in performing that I found to be very
appealing. An unexpected highlight for me.
The People: Not my cup of tea. I left per to tired to pop.
Didn't see Menthol.
Saturday:
A sidebar related to my Saturday afternoon:
Speaking of tired (I probably whined about this to anyone I met at Chicago
IPO). I was dead tired on this trip (for many reasons, including a
screaming man at 4am in the hotel I was staying in). Anyway, I attended a
conference on Saturday afternoon. One of the presenters talked about our
neurorecptors being like squirrels running from tree branch to tree branch.
In sum, the more branches you have the better for the squirrel (message) to
get to where it's intending to get to (message retrieval). Per sleep
deprivation, I couldn't help but think of my brain being a squirrel strung
out on No Dose with out a tree in site.
OK, back to the music:
I missed Doug Bobenhouse
Joe Giddings: put on a very winning set. Joe has a nice easy charm on stage
and a great voice to boot. He threw in a bit of George Harrison too.
The Blakes: Many in the audience seemed very into these guys per they were
"rockin". They didn't do anything for me other then they did wake me up a
bit. They are young and they were very enthusiastic. However, for me they
had too many on stage moves that seemed to mine rock star clichés. I just
didn't hear it in the songs either. I'm not wanting to sound to harsh, I'm
sure they were having a great time, as were many others in the audience.
CVS: I always love CVS. Remember the state of my brain? Well, when he said
he was going to play a request from "an old lover from Minneapolis" my brain
was "thinking". I wonder who else is here from Minneapolis and also gave him
a song request? When he played the song that I had earlier requested, the
squirrel in my brain finally got it's footing, and giggles were evoked. It
was just a fun little moment for me. He did his usual nice set, including a
few off the "Wild Horse". He also offered to sign any Sun Sawed in Half
discs back at the merchandise table.
King Radio: I missed about half of this set and wish I hadn't. Nice soft
pop sound with strings. This did mark the first time I saw someone "play" a
typewriter on stage.
Terry Anderson & the Ass Kickin' Team: These guys just kicked, had a ball
playing and I loved em. They sounded great. Very entertaining. One little
example of a funny moment. The lead guitarist had accidentally trashed his
set list, per stomping all over it, I think. Terry went on an on with faux
despair "Oh, man we were gonna have a seamless set, no talking, just blow
them away and then you went and f@cked it all up".....
MagnaPhonic: OK, a very cute lead singer but I just didn't dig them. Fatigue
may have been setting in but I just watched a few songs and took a stroll
outside to my car and listened to The Monks.
Shoes: I enjoyed them very much. I did get frustrated with the early sound
issues and feedback problems. However, I was thrilled to be seeing them
again and I thought they were just fine. Maybe I was high on No Dose? Nah,
it was the Shoes.
Shazam: They did their usual go for broke killer show. Very nice. I wanted
to leave per fatigue but couldn't per they were just to much fun to watch.
A great way to end the night.
Lastly, it was very fun to run into people on the list. Whether it was
someone I'd met before or someone new (Hey, John). Or, even someone I
didn't really meet at all (Shawn Campbell, so was I right to recommend the
steak special at Schubas?). I hope you all continue to have fun at IPO and
keep us posted.
best, Steve
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