CHICD: LATE, Sayers, Sugarpulp, and Low Swans at Schubas

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 27 weeks into the year and I have seen 55 shows.

“It’s just that I’m restless. I just wanna go to sleep. I can’t take my mind off you. It’s just that I’m lonely. Why am I the only one?”

I hope I got those lyrics right, I just had to scrawl it down because it cut me to the core. The lead singer of LATE, Lauren, has a clear, sweet voice for many of the songs, but it’s when she turns it to a primal yell that the emotion really takes over her performance. When the guitarist, Tom, matches hers with his own guttural yelling, the two of them singing together takes the songs to another level.

The four members of SAYERS gave us “something to make you jump around,” bringing the audience the closest to the stage they’d be over the course of the evening. I found myself right there with them, wanting to soak it all in. I had been enjoying listening to their latest album, Horror Stories, and was thrilled that their live performance lived up to the recording. They have a ton of energy, even doing a little Talking Heads style running at one point, which completely thrilled this Byrne/Stop Making Sense devotee. SAYERS is definitely worth checking out again.

Sugarpulp is exhibitionism in its best form–unrestrained emotion completely without inhibition. Watching Deb embody the songs, I felt swept away by her performance. There is raw strength and feminism in her stage presence. The rest of the band is fierce as well, feeding Deb’s energy with their rhythms and melodies, the support to her voice that cuts through the music. I like them best when the song is a bit uptempo and maybe a little angry; check out “U Suck.”

<a href="http://sugarpulpmusic.bandcamp.com/album/open-yr-mouth-ep">Open yr Mouth EP by Sugarpulp</a>

When listening to the studio album of Low Swans, I had no idea what instrumentation to expect in person (sometimes, it’s nice to show up and be surprised [aka I lacked prep time]). With such complex electronic music, I wondered if there would be a guy or two with some tracks and keys. We are treated to not just one, but five band members: drummer, guitar/lead vocal, keys/violin, guy with computer, and a malletkat. I had never heard of or seen a malletkat before, so that was a bit of a treat.

Scott obviously has some serious percussion training and plays his electronic instrument exactly as he would a xylophone-type instrument, except he also changes the settings and controls it all with a computer. As they thrum out their music, everyone in the band feels the music deeply. They ride the electronic waves, which is given added depth by virtue of the live instrumentation. And, the vocals–Jon has a truly beautiful voice, able to carry even the highest soaring notes with clarity on stage. It was thrilling to watch them and experience the complex music as it was produced by these passionate performers.