CHICD: Rubblebucket, Thick Paint, and Tōth at Bottom Lounge – 11/17

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 47 weeks into the year and I have seen 115 shows.

“Thank you, you guys are so nice to be really listening.”

After the first song, Tōth was pretty happy with the crowd. As an opening band, I’m sure that can’t always be the case. They had earned our attention with their body-moving music. The trio is led by Alex Toth, who’s also half of the duo that leads Rubblebucket. We’d later discover that the bassist and drummer play in Rubblebucket, too. Here, the drummer was playing much looser, more erratic. He moved his long arms fluidly and created unusual rhythms. The bassist, Ryan, was rhythmic, his fingers ran up and down the neck. Both sang really lovely harmonies to Alex’s lead vocals. Speaking of, I loved his voice, especially when he took it into falsetto. I dug their style of music which was a modern, languid groove with folk and world music influences.

Thick Paint are a rag tag bunch that hail from Omaha, Nebraska. They play the kind of jangly rock that makes you want to let your hair down and move your whole body in free wavy glory. They emanate love and wellbeing as they play. But the music isn’t slow, it is driven forward by the tight aggressive drumming. I loved the way the lead vocals cut through the mix. The guitarist kicked off his Birkenstocks after the first song and really got into the groove. Feeling the music with the shake of his head, he bounced from the knees and had a joyful smile on his face. The whole group had a kind of happy hippie vibe.

From the moment they began playing, Rubblebucket was having a dance party on stage. Even though Cal and Alex are the leaders of this group, it really was an ensemble performance. So, I want to take a moment to lay out the credits:

Kalmia Traver: vocals, baritone sax, and more
Alex Toth: trumpet, vocals, and more
Sean Smith: trumpet, backup vocals, and sweet moves
Noga Shefi: bass
Ryan Dugre: guitar
Jeremy Gustin: drums

Jeremy took on a much tighter and more aggressive style of drumming than he had for the Tōth set. Ryan and Noga stepped in time, often moved in unison while playing smooth, coolly, and to perfection–just the right amount of fun. Alex and Sean really brought the party with their synchronized dance moves. Kalmia was beautiful and strong. She moved around the stage in a way that was confident and perfectly weird; it brought David Byrne to mind. This is exactly the kind of fully envisioned artistic expression that I can see him producing. The lights, the set, the dance moves, all in support of the music. The whole piece was practiced and yet improvisational. They moved with individual authenticity that was engaging, graceful, and joyful. They were feeling the music and pushed their emotions out to us. That authentic emotion created a connection to the audience that was palpable.

But even all the amazing energy they gave the audience from the stage wasn’t enough for them. They brought the party to the audience and brought the audience into the performance in ways that were simple and memorable.

Tōth Official |FacebookBandcamp | Instagram
Thick Paint Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Rubblebucket Official | FacebookBandcamp | Instagram