CHICD: Dogs at Large and Cass Cwik & the Small Gas Engines at Cole's Bar

My goal is to see one show per week. Yes, I might be that annoying friend that just has to tell you about the thing you missed, but I’m also catching every great show in the city of Chicago–with plenty more ahead of me. Welcome to the Chicago Concert Dispatch.

At the time of this show, it is 4 weeks into the year and I have seen 14 shows.

The sound check smoothly morphed into a little jam session, which was a great way for Cass Cwik and the Small Gas Engines to start the set. It drew in the audience, so when Cass spoke, he already had their attention. The music was rock with a bit of a country infusion from Nick Usalis on the pedal steel guitar. When he switched to a standard electric guitar, he kept the downhome sound going with killer riffs. Kyle Crager played his bass high and tight with a confident smile. Cameron Cowles on drums was concentrating very hard, or maybe not hard enough. Cass’s vocals were almost mumbled, edged with a bit of a whine. I dug the overall feeling of relaxed melancholy.

<a href="http://casscwik.bandcamp.com/album/back-of-the-bus-its-all-right">Back of the Bus // It’s All Right by Cass Cwik</a>

As Dogs at Large starts playing, I am immediately taken by the clear strong vocals by Sam Pirruccello. This is amplified when they occasionally give us vocal harmonies with bass player, Adam Gilmour. Most of the musicians are laid back, except guitarist Jamie Yanda; he has a kind of physical sensibility I would expect in a metal or punk musician, which he is obviously holding in, but it is good, it creates a kind of tense, coiled feeling that keeps you watching. Chris Kolodziej on drums is precise. Together with the bass, the rhythm section is completely cool, relaxed into the beat. I’ve always thought of the pedal steel guitar as having a twang, but under the command of Steve Malito, at times it turns psychedelic. I was struck in the moment by the lyrics, for instance “Reality is a moving target, reality is a slap in the face.” The music is contemplative and transportive. “Fame Archetype” evoked a grassy field, running barefoot in the sun. On that song, the whole audience started moving, and that energy kept up for the rest of the set, whole bodies undulating to the music. It felt like it was over too soon, the party was just getting started.