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 6 weeks into the year and I have seen 21 shows.
It was immediately evident that the happy Saturday night audience was there to let loose and have fun. All smiles and body moving enthusiasm, which mirrored what our three bands gave us perfectly. One of those all to rare moments when all seems to be vibrating on the same wavelength.
The Evening Attraction gave us rock ‘n’ roll from go. What you love about 1960s rock brought into today. Beautiful harmonies. Guitar that ranges from jangly to trippy. Tambourine! That perfect soundtrack for walking down the street. Lead singer, Miles Malin, didn’t just stand or walk, he strutted. Every loose movement in emphasis of the music, he threw off his glasses with his thrashing. Drummer Nick Tumminello, gave us crunchy fills galore. Things really came together for me when they jammed out on “Tea Party.” Paul Ansani on bass had a searching for that perfect note look on his face, like trying to scratch an itch. Bliss when he got it. Their 2018 album, “The End, Again” is a gem from start to finish. Not to be missed. That Saturday night, they were celebrating the release of a new EP, “Kill for Love / Swiftly” which makes for a nice quick dip into what The Evening Attraction has to offer.
The muscular drumming by Jeff Crenshaw grounded Twen, but everything else about their performance was otherworldly. The washes of guitar and bass. The reverb on the vocals so spacious, they floated. Just peeked down through the music. Guitarist Ian Jones, moved in ways I find impossible to describe. When he started prancing with his knees jutting out either direction, I felt like I’d spotted a leprechaun. The band was like a group of fae that had come to party with us. Singer Jane Fitzsimmons, came down into the audience and told us she wants to be among us. Jane was elastic, unselfconscious, but very aware. She would strike twee poses that were at once charming and a little off-putting. It could be more of that fae magic. But it also felt like a commentary on performers that try to be sexy and cute while on stage. Either way, I was completely sold.
This was Naked Giants‘ third time in Chicago. Their first was less than a year ago. I was at that Schubas show, and I was blown away by their energy. So as I watched guitarist, Grant Mullen, methodically fiddle with his pedal effects to make sure all was in working order, I was thinking back and getting hyped. But the real magic, the bouncing, I cannot wait because this is going to be sooooo good energy came from drummer, Henry LaVallee. H had taped his fingers like an athlete. Then, once he had set up his kit, he gave it a quick test. A complex fill that lasted mere seconds. Drummers. The really good ones are immediately evident. This guy is a monster. The band delivered on what that drum fill promised us. They moved in extreme ways. They shredded. They melted our faces off with their music. I love their brand of punchy art rock. Some bands you marvel at the craftsmanship. The skill. This was more than that. These guys experiment. With the songs we know from the recordings, but their songs are also experimenting with established genres. When they started playing their new single, “Green Fuzz,” my first impression was that they were nailing the Chicago blues sound, but they slowly twisted it, adding many other influences until it was wholly theirs. I asked bass player Gianni Aiello if they set out to explore the blues in the song:
I think a lot of that just came from the early days of our musical journeys – when we were just learning how to play music in our early teens, we were all pretty inspired by classic rock and blues – bands like Black Sabbath and The Who as well as earlier artists like John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters. By the time we started writing “Green Fuzz” a couple years ago, I think we had all developed and started getting into different styles of music – I started listening to a lot of psychedelic and experimental music, Grant was pretty into garage rock and Henry was listening to more contemporary indie and hip hop. So I think a lot of that stuff spilled into “Green Fuzz,” and we kept just adding parts to the song. We still keep updating the live version on our current interests!
That continual evolution is what will bring me back again and again to see them play. Every performance is a journey. Just when the audience thought we knew where they are going they shifted direction. Their energy didn’t let up, either. Gianni did a standing split. Henry couldn’t be contained to his seat, or even his kit. He demanded the audience clap–he wanted us to give them our energy. Grant ended up on the ground. By the end of the show, I think most of the audience were puddles of vibrating happiness. I know I was.
The Evening Attraction Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Twen Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Naked Giants Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
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