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| From | Bob Hutton <bobhutton@btinternet.com> |
| Subject | IPO Chicago 2006 |
| Date | Thu, 18 May 2006 22:27:07 +0100 |
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My latest springtime jaunt to Chicago was bristling with adventure. And
beef. Lots of beef.
Acts I enjoyed:
Barry Holdship (with Bob Kelly) and their retro-bop. Rock on, Barry.
Kelly's Heels - I know Bob Kelly is a mate of mine, but this band put on
a tight show every year, this was one of their best yet.
Bruise - Kelly's Heels with vox and instruments swapped around a bit.
Isobel plays guitar in an unconventional way , the songs are moody and
atmospheric.
The Greenwoods - older guys but they did the power-trio thing well.
They reminded me of the Shazam in some ways.
Trolley - psych pop, they did a great Gene Pitney cover, can't remember
the name of it.
The Bradburys - they did a S-L-O-W cover of Behind the Wall of Sleep
Sketch Middle - great Material Issue style power-pop
The Sonnets- garage pop, played left handed on a 12-string guitar strung
upside down. Phew!
The Millions- their usual brand of pop-rawk, man they were loud.
Braam - folk-rock with nice harmonies
Foster Walker Complex - Weezer meets the Jags, great stuff
Bandcamp - These guys annoyed me at first with their back-combed hair
and sneers totally at odds with their overstocked T-shirt chest of
drawers. However when they played, their pop smarts belied their phoney
punk looks and they won me over.
The Handcuffs - always great to see Brad Elvis drumming and the lovely
Chloe Orwell prowling the stage. The songs were good too.
Pezband - This was the first reunion show from a semi-legendary band
from the late 70s. I had only heard a couple of tracks on compilations,
then recently picked up one of their albums on Jap. import. I was
looking forward to seeing them and they did not disappoint me, plenty
blues influences, a clear love of the Kinks and Yardbirds + great
original pop tunes of their own. It was a pleasure to "stick around"
(as Mr Bash might say) for their set.
Things that made me smile:
Dolly Varden's awfully earnest cover of Big Star's '13'
Marizen's breathless between-song banter
The singer from 9-50's facial contortions when singing
Dave Bash's pronunciation of the word fertile (rhyme's with turtle).
OK, OK I know I can't really comment on anyone else's pronunciation!!
Epicycle's attempts to ape the sound of Smile-era Beach Boys while
simultaneously ripping off the melody of Thirteen by Big Star.
The Follow, who brought all their own gear (and light-show), insisted
they use it and took so long to get set up that they ended playing to a
handful of people. Great light show though.
Things that made me go Mmmmmmm.... :
Mr Beef (more times than was good for me)
Heaven on Seven
Wishbone
Boston Blackies
Golden Nugget
Things that slightly bugged me:
The lack of publicity on the night of a gig, that bands had cancelled
(eg the Churchills). Maybe this could be flagged up on a blackboard at
the clubs' entrances or something similar.
The lack of toilet facilities in the Loop in the wee small hours.
The fact that Krispy Kreme Donuts (on Jackson) was no longer there.
That's all folks!
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