Chicago rock outfit, The Cairo Gang, are back in the Midwest this weekend for a string of local shows, which the band says will be “our last for a little while”.
Two of the shows were yesterday at Bric-A-Brac Records and The Burlington Bar. If you were there, I’m sure you had a blast tapping your feet to their ’60s-influenced jangly pop tunes. If you weren’t, worry not, you’ll have one more chance to catch their shimmering 12-string guitar melodies before they take a break from the spotlights.
While they may not be San Francisco natives, they’ve been heavily influenced by the sounds of the city where psychedelic rock was born, raised, and give a healthy dose of mind altering drugs. The Cairo Gang continue the tradition of ’60s rock as if they formed right out of the very same primordial psychedelic stew.
The band are most well-known for their 2010/2011 collaborations with Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, but hold their own just fine without the folk singer at their side. With their debut self-titled LP having been released a few years earlier, they have had plenty of time to refine their sound.
Fast forward to July 2013, and The Cairo Gang are back with a 6-song mini-LP Tiny Rebels. Recorded in just one week, the band says the songs are “about awareness”. Working quickly and economically to craft this new material, band leader Emmett Kelly has tapped into a formula for well-defined psychedelic rock that is delicate yet extremely personal at times.
The album is a fantastic mix of Byrds-esque psychedelic pop songs that you may get lost in if played loud enough. Listen for free via Bandcamp, buy the digital album for just $6, or get the real listening experience and purchase the vinyl LP for only $10 (limited to 500 copies).
In case you dropped the ball on those first two Chicago shows (just as we dropped the ball informing you of them) The Cairo Gang are playing one more Chicago gig this Monday, September 9th, at Roxaboxen Exhibitions in Pilsen (2130 W 21st St). The show starts promptly at 8pm.