The crowd had no problem waiting around until after 11pm on this Thursday evening to catch The Sleepy Sun playing Chicago’s venerable Double Door. Having work the next day is no proper thought when one has the opportunity to catch such skilled psychedelic rock n’ roll.

The Sleepy Sun are a six-piece band that plays a very interesting style of psychedelic blues-rock. It is entirely, and unabashedly, based on the fundamentals of hallucinatory rock established in San Francisco in the 1960’s. And yet they are of today’s indie movement. It’s not easy to pinpoint down how-or-why that is, but this author finds that while their music is rooted wholly in the past – they way they move (and at time jump) through their music is entirely contemporary.

The Sleepy Sun commenced their show with Marina, off of their second – as well recently released – album, “Fever.” Immediately their male + female vocals stand out as a central, and powerful, live musical tool. By having a fierce, yet wispily angelic, female vocalist – in addition to the guitar wielding male lead-singer – is how this band creates “their sound.” Her microphone was laden with heavy & wide reverb, as well as being incredibly sensitive (this was evident between songs when any noise made near this mic would echoe out into the audience). So by altering how close she sang to the mic, or how on-axis her voice was to the front of the mic; she could control with great minutia how her “verby voice” sounded. It was marvelous to watch her swing her head, and change her distance from the microphone, and hear how it would change the sound of even sustained-echo-wails.

The Sleepy Sun also put on display their ability to present quite loud rock n’ roll that was utterly crisp and also so much an apparent product of honed teamwork. They employ a multitude of quick, at time sudden, transitions between energy, tempo and sometimes genre altogether. Even when these movements happen abruptly, they played through them so calmly and with such little notice, that you become numb to the musical talent being displayed in front of you. In fact the band members often had their eyes closed, or would stare off into nothing, needing not to eye each other whatsoever as they played through their elaborate psychedelic expressions.

The Sleepy Sun, while just having released a new LP, played a few new unreleased tracks. Yet they were best on this night on their 9 min song Sandstorm Woman, which they ended with. Simply put, they played this bewildering blues rock number – that consists of what feels like 4 distinct “movements” of sorts – absolutely sensationally. It’s how they end their album, “Fever” and it was a solid show ender as well.

They played only 9 songs, and while their songs are longer than the average, this author was left wanting much more music; a bittersweet feeling to leave an audience member with. More focus could have been given to the male lead singer, his vocals often being drowned out – which was the sole aspect of the performance that felt unbalanced. So while maybe one of those opening bands could have been sacrificed for more Sleepy Sun time, it was overall a thoroughly satisfying rock experience for all who attended. The Sleepy Sun have an latter-day haight-ashbury attitude, and channel it through potent & dominant blues-rock; and seeing them live assures you it’s a sincere and awesome amalgam from this San-Francisco band. Can’t wait to catch them again.

By Sean Brna

It’s always a boisterous bunch that attends a Chicago show by The Brian Jonestown Massacre.

This last one at the Metro, on the Sunday night of Memorial Day weekend, was no exception. BJM plays to a niche audience indeed, but within that niche they can reach demigod-like status that surprises those unfamiliar with the group.

For the most part BJM brings to the table – and has for about 15 years – a brand of edgy, yet mostly traditional, psychedelic rock that has its roots in the mind-altered attitude & energy of the 60’s. Yet the following they have received is not “hippy’ish” in anyway, the people at BJM shows come to rock n’ roll, not to celebrate love. There was a heightened enthusiasm in the crowd that was hard not to feed off of. (Luckily that energy didn’t spill over into an intense fight between spectators, which occurred the last time they played Chicago.)

BJM mostly stuck to that which they have become very well known for, actually steering clear of all the music from their last album (more on this later). They opened with “Super Sonic”, letting the crowd get very used to a dreamy drone-like guitar tone produced by Antwon, the lead singer, continually strumming on 3 guitar strings. Then the swift beat, vocals, tambourine, bass and multiple guitars all surface – but the drone does not cease. BJM leaned heavy upon these hallucinatory whirrs, giving their music a heavy surreal base – upon which they gladly build wonderful rock songs. Yet this technique is not one to be suggested to many bands, for it usually results poorly. But like some sort of weird batting stance that you let slide because the guy can hit – BJM is repeatedly successful in this trippy musical technique.

The Massacre played a lot of their material off of “Strung out in Heaven” and “Give it Back.” Those songs showcase BJM’s ability to create music with ever-present wailing guitars that are put aside a strutting rock n’ roll rhythm section, that sometimes emerges from or into hallucinatory effects. They really shinned on their song “Got my Eye on You”, where their energy really hit a crescendo, and the background talking added by tambourine player Joel Gion created for an kick-ass sonic effect which was verified by an immediate spike in the excitement of the audience. “Not if you were the last Dandy on earth” was another quickly paced song in which BJM really seemed to click and delivered the goods like the weathered pros that they are.

One thing that was conspicuously absent from this show was songs off of BJMs latest album, “Who Killed Sgt Pepper?” – which was a detour of sorts in that it is comprised of mostly electronically-influenced, “rave’ier”, pysch music. Yet it was also a stunning album with a number of stirring songs. True, the full band present on stage may not have been involved in all the recordings of that album, but some of them were… Needless to say it was perplexing and disappointing not to hear how those songs, different as they may be for the band, would have been played and sounded this evening at the Metro. It also marks the first time I have witnessed a band disregard their latest material in a large live show. But then again – it is BJM, and I shouldn’t be surprised at being surprised by them, by now.

Notwithstanding that absence of their freshest material, this show was still a triumph of psychedelic rock n’ roll. The Brian Jonestown Massacre has a way of being unpredictably consistent that few bands can pull off. The sincerity of their rock n’ roll aura, the depth of their desire for a mind-altered state, is tangible when you absorb their live show. It’s why they are one of the most-respected and followed bands – that most haven’t heard of.

By Sean Brna

Sean.brna@OurVinyl.com

The performance commenced with great style. It’s not often that lights and audio begin prior to a band’s appearance, but that’s how Metric took to the stage at Chicago’s Vic Theater. As blue lights pulsed and white ones danced the members of Metric took the slow building hallucinogenic sounds that were already being played and transitioned it into their song “twilight galaxy.” This was a solid show starter that was part electro-psych, part pop/rock, but all class.

Metric is a band that continually attempts to walk the line between rave and rock n’ roll. Of course, their version of rock n’ roll is highly supplemented by the contemporarily popular electrification of indie rock. Their crowd on this spring evening also reflected that balance; it was a very crowded event full of fist-pumping, quasi-dancing “ravers” as well as the more stoic, devil-finger flashing, “rockers.”

Metric then went into 3 of their well-liked numbers from their album; Satellite Mind, Front Row and Help I’m Alive. During these numbers Metric really showed off the capability of their lighting scheme. For being within a mid-size venue it really was top notch, both is the manner the lights were emotionally in-sync with the music and with the way they employed strobes and light curtains to keep their audience intrigued. This greatly added to the atmosphere of their show and definitely helped edge the audience into a heightened level of participation.

Yet musically, these anticipated songs came off slightly sterile. I enjoyed Emily Haines’ voice the most when she sang in a manner that was, for lack of a better term “noticeably live.” Only during Front Row did her voice seem to deviate even slightly from what’s heard on the album. And while this can be viewed as a feat by the vocalist, which it is, it just came off slightly as slightly vapid (though this could have also been due to their being at the end of their American tour, or that the show started considerably early in the evening).

But they also killed. For this author, Metric was at their best when they walked the line between rock and rave completely balanced, or leaned slightly into their rock side. Now don’t misunderstand; because Metric employs swift, strict-in-time, dance-friendly beats in most all of their songs (indeed, it’s what they are known for). Yet they have quite a knack for constructing catchy rock-riffs that interact with the dancing beats in such a frolic-friendly manner, it’s when they are most gripping.

For this reason it was on such songs as Gimme Sympathy, Gold Guns Girls, Stadium Love and a new song (name unknown, was the 5^th one of their set) in which they unleashed their most potent batch of live musical entertainment onto the Chicago crowd. These songs focused more on the guitar and usage of song progression, it addition to incorporating some psychedelic sounds.  On these songs was when Metric stimulated and connected with their audience the most – or at least this particular audience.

Metric does not have an easy job; they are a Canadian indie rock band that plays music which is of similar character to stadium-friendly pop music. They walk that line well, bringing together people of different ages and genre loyalties together in Chicago for a raucously good time. Yet should they discover that sounding sheik can quickly lead to sterility, and that their at their best when they honor their rock side, this is a band that has the talent and the know-how to ride the current wave of interests in glamorously electrified indie music for some time.

By Sean Brna

sean.brna@gmail.com

Reservoir is the newest full-length release from the Chicago band Great Divide. If one desired to generalize the their type of music it could be deemed ‘roots music’, because they seem to amalgamate blues, rock, soul, R & B and funk into something all their own.

The band consists of 7 musicians, so they have no lack of sonic potential. Yet this album’s sound is very crisp & clean, as they employ little effects or reverb and give each of their instruments proper space from each other. They like to play dynamic & toe-tapping blues-rock that takes much from R & B and southern-funk, often infusing their music with that coveted Creole ‘side-step’ groove. In addition they also play few “traditional” blues numbers. In these they seem to focus on slowly building their energy towards the end of the song, really letting their instruments wail in the mean time, before they move together en route to stylish crescendos.

They kick off the album with one of their best, the song Waiting. Here we encounter that energetic funky-blues-rock. The emotive guitar says Chicago, the voice says Nashville, and the rhythm section/horn interaction says New Orleans. And it works. For Fleetwood, another album highlight, we find an upbeat number that transitions from funky R & B to subdued soul and back again, before a great reggae breakdown replete with witty and fun brass involvement. It is clear that song progression is a focus, and a talent, of this band. The average song length is close to 5 minutes, but usually they don’t ever sound the same throughout as they rely on distinct and clear progression/alteration to keep things fresh.

Another song off Reservoir that showcases their talents, and actually counters their usual use of song progression, is Rainy Bethea Blues. This one is more of a straight through Chicago blues number with a fantastic dancing piano and walking rhythm line. On this song we can really hear the lead-singer, Teddy, show off his pipes. They don’t try to re-invent the wheel with this song, its nothing new – just damn good blues music.

Teddy’s voice fits his band’s sound well. It sounds, at times, like a younger and thinner John Popper. It is clean sounding naturally, but he has the ability to get highly emotive and raspy – without sounding too trained or strained.

But what really makes the album even more-so, is the way in which they use their varied instruments. The brass and guitars are the emotional expressers, sometimes in call-and-response, sometimes in tandem, or in contrast. But they are always supplementing each other positively and improving the musical communication of the songs – letting Teddy tell the story (which is what a good blues vocalist does). What also adds positively to the sound is their attention to detail, specifically in always separating their two guitarists – one of whom usually played more yowling sounds while the other kept it more straightforward and “solo-like” – always keeping one completely in the left channel and the other in the right channel.

Giving each instrument a place in the stereo field gave the resulting music a wonderfully uncluttered feeling, even with 7 musicians. This actually is a good description for the album in general; even though there is blending of many genres, with numerous musicians, the result is a nuanced – yet somehow relatively minimal and crisp – collection of roots music songs (let’s just hope the next time they delve into more reggae, as this author really enjoyed the reggae switch-ups in both Fleetwood and in Waters Roll In). Nevertheless, if you are into roots-music, soul, rock or the blues then consider adding Great Divide’s Reservoir to your musical repertoire.

by Sean Brna

seanbrna@gmail.com

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What do you get when you mix a high intensity, heavy bass dubstep legion with an entertaining sing-along act and a backing powerhouse DJ? The crowd at the local Chicago venue, The Metro, can answer just as well as anyone, so why don’t you ask them? With the UK dubstep act, Rusko opening for the highly entertaining electro/hip hop act, Major Lazer, the anticipation was exciting. It was a sold out show and a line stretched halfway down the block. The crowd was in good spirits, awaiting what was sure to be a night to remember.
With patrons pouring in from every doorway and hallway, a full venue it became; and just when it seemed impossible to accommodate another person, the show began. The crowd was constantly pushing for the opportunity to get close enough to see the sweat on Ruskos face and the jump in his step. The energy charged DJ sent the crowd into a dubstep coma of fist pumping and head banging to the heavy bass style of music known as dubstep. There were buildups that gave the crowd just as much energy as the UK DJ did himself, as he is known for his high energy and fast-paced touring schedule. His track choices and transitions left both Rusko lovers and the faint of heart content, and all that remained was the smiles on their faces as they awaited the sexually charged Major Lazer debut.
Major Lazers world wide touring DJ, Diplo, approached the turntables with confidence and ease as he prepared his equipment and the crowd with what was sure to be a show just as energetic as the previous. Major Lazer himself, followed by his two female companions, approached the stage to the mixed sounds of high-pitched screaming and loud roars of excitement. It was their first Chicago appearance since August. They are known for mixing multiple genres that appeal to the diverse crowds looking to dance. Whether your among the crowd that enjoys or despises the generalization of what once used to be an underground genre, and is now taking the shape of big label acts trying to fill arenas, its hard not to bob your head and move your feet to the rhythm. If you’re skeptical, it’s not all bad. With some quality mixes and a well-known DJ backing up the act, there is anything but the lack of talent and energy in this duo.
Whether you’re the electronic/hip hop type, or a heavy bass driven personality, the show was truly a great mix that satisfied both crowds, and their hunger for music. Chicago, drawing inspiration from both the east and west coasts and luring talent from all over the globe, is truly the Mecca of all things music, adding a flavor of its own. Welcome to the true, Taste of Chicago.

Story by, Chris Hemstreet

For more info about the artists playing at the April 10th Metro showcase, check out their MySpace’s for exclusive tracks and future touring dates.

Rusko: Myspace.com/Rusko

Major Lazer: Myspace.com/MajorLazer

It was a wet spring evening in Chicago, one of many in the early months of the spring season. Chicago has extremely unpredictable weather, and gruesome winter months as well. It would be an understatement to say that April 5th was any exception. With even the gloomy weather in account, this did not stop the Swedish three piece, Miike Snow, and their endless amount of supporters from lining up in the rain for what was to be the second day in a sold out visit to Chicago’s Metro.
Some bands have a hard time filling a single venue, while others, as in the case of more recent showcase, sold out 2 back-to-back days of the Swedish group’s most recent and arguably most successful tour to date. With the up and coming group, Delorean starting out the night with a bang, the lineup was an obvious reason for the tours success. “Amazing”, “epic”, “visually spectacular” were just some of the responses to the group’s live show that left spectators wanting more. With multiple live instrumentations and the overall performance mixed with what seemed like an absurd amount of lighting, their live show had a unique feel that is rarely seen in, “smaller scale” venues and more so in arena style performances.
It began with the entrance of each individual band member in white artisan masks that showed anything but any sort of expression. The blank emotions on each of the band member’s faces started the show off with a theatrical bang. Heading up the rear was front man Andrew Wyatt, shoeless, and ready to get down to business, the musically talented singer/song writer/pianist/guitarist wasn’t going to settle for a mediocre show. Seeing him singing his heart filled lines into the microphone like it was the first time playing in front of a live audience was a refreshing change of pace compared to mass touring bands that lose interest and emotion after performing the same songs night after night.
With a talented drummer, and multi faceted dj, their night didn’t end with the end of the show at the Metro as they went on to play a late night DJ set at The Metro’s adjacent nightclub, Smart Bar. This gave the unfortunate Miike Snow fans that were unable to purchase tickets to the sold out show, as well as die hard fans, an epic encore to end the night on. Never leaving the fans feeling as if they didn’t get their moneys worth, yet still leaving them wanting more was the perfect combination for any music fan. Its fairly obvious to see why the group has formed such a strong bond between fan and performer, drawing the line much closer than you would think as they drew off energy from the crowd to fuel their seemingly never ending supply of vigor and the drive to create something musically unique.

Story by, Chris Hemstreet

For a list of shows, and touring schedule and a peek at their tunes, check out the artists MySpace’s:

Miike Snow: MySpace.com/MiikeSnow
Delorean: MySpace.com/DeloreanDanz

Train Company was the first act of three, behind 28 North and Blues Traveler, this past Thursday night at Chicago’s House Of Blues. Many artists might not like it when they are the ones chosen to be the first band on the bill – not Train Company. As their lead signer John Zozarro explained, they “sincerely appreciate the opportunity (and task), of setting the mood for the night, of lifting the tone.”

Well, mission accomplished, set the mood they did. Train Company played a brand of rock that is highly influenced by the blues and jazz. That is a vague description at best, and is one that could be applied to many bands. Yet Train Company’s uniqueness lies in how they amalgamate these genres into their style of rock in such a seamless manner.

Train Company is comprised of 5 Chicagoans, containing one keyboardist and one saxophonist. The additions of these instruments allows them the ability to have the aforesaid blues and jazz undertones present in their music (more times blues than jazz, they are from Chicago), without ever overtly stepping into blues or jazz. On stage it was apparent that as a band, they can really ‘walk together in step’. They are emotionally in sync, all the subtle ebbs and flows are executed in synchronization. This can be accomplished through relentless practicing, sure, but their musical-emotion-congruity came off as a natural occurrence – a product of the musicians really enjoying their music and playing with each other.

On this night it was the songs Leaving and Change in which one could really hear them at their best. Leaving had a fantastic sauntering bass line that was placed within what is a highly energetic blues-rock song; it created for a song with a rock n’ roll drive –yet with a bluesy philosophy. It was also deceptively dynamic as towards the end it even took on a slight jam band groove. Change had more of a funky, slightly R & B flavor to its blues-rock base. There were ear-catching harmonies and a classy, well-executed crescendo.

For this author though, their talent shone through best on their song, Conquistador, which is a smooth and subdued blues number with great sax highlights. And while the rhythm was simple and all 5 musicians were playing, it still held onto a pleasant minimalist sound. And then near the end as the energy picked up momentarily a Hendrix blues riff was discreetly brought into the song, played with briefly, and let go before most people could notice it. It felt like a short-lived inside joke that only the most thorough of rock fans in the audience perceived, and undoubtedly enjoyed.

In their own words Train Company’s philosophy is to play a “new kind of old,” they “like to play the same story, but told a different way.” But there in lies the art of skillfully playing blues-rock; it’s not about being revolutionary, it’s about infusing your unique emotions, outlook or story into established musical frameworks. This is what Train Company understands, and in doing so they definitely set the right mood for the evening, just as they wanted to.

By Sean Brna

Seanbrna@gmail.com

One’s gotta love taking in a Sunday night concert while sipping on draft beer and nibbling on good chicken fingers. Solid Gold was the headliner that evening at Subterranean. Solid Gold is a band that you could accurately deem falls under the umbrella of “glam-rock”, although this author has mixed feelings about that moniker.

They kicked off with two tracks from their album “Bodies of Water”, Calm Down, and Bible Thumper. In both, the beat is unchanging in the slightest, almost unflinching and bordering on sounding quantinized and computer-generated. It’s interesting to take in a band whose appearance is something like 1974, but plays this contemporary electro-rock. It shows you the manner in which the contemporary musical generation has chosen to come full-circle. On both of these tracks the dance sensation their music emitted was palpable, even for those who normally don’t succumb to such sensations, and this is one of their strongest attributes.

Another positive characteristic of their sound was that they seem to understand how one should fit more relaxed, and at times relatively drawn out lyrics, within the pounding or quick beats that lie in the background – it’s that slight sonic juxtaposition which gives them a high level of accessibility.

Another highlight of their set was when they played on of their best songs, Get Over It, but subdued the pace slightly and infused more a rock’ier sound – relative to the album version. It culminated in a great sound, especially as one member had his guitar on his lap infusing a slightly psychedelic slide-guitar sound into the song.

However, the energy and momentum that was established within the first handful of songs did begin to wane as seemingly the tempo and emphasis within the following songs too closely matched those at the beginning. A different track ordering, or some tracks with more noticeable alternating in pace would have been beneficial for them. Also, ending a set with a cover song (Top Gun’s Danger Zone), no matter how well done, was probably a bit kitschy.

That being said, this author still enjoyed taking in Solid Gold’s glam-rock stlyings. They have a grasp of making highly enjoyable electro-rock without it becoming oppressively pop-like. They have an understanding of how to amalgamate yowling, ear-and-mind-catching sounds, with fully danceable percussion. Eventually this band is going to release the right single and their careers will instantly ascend, because they can be extremely catchy while still remaining genuine to this sonic philosophy.

By Sean Brna

seanbrna@gmail.com

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For some peculiar reason it was quite vacant when The Willowz took to the stage this past Thursday evening. Playing at the Double Door, a renowned place to nightly catch good music in Chicago, this seemed an odd occurrence. The weather wasn’t to blame, so it must have been that two other very popular indie-rock bands were playing in Chicago that same night, an unfortunate circumstance for this Californian band just stopping in for the night.

The Willowz are a four-piece band that play what could be considered an contemporary indie version of quasi-southern, blues-based classic rock, although one can also sense a slight punk influence at times. One of the first things this author noticed was their drummer (Loren Humphrey), both because he employed two floor toms – giving their sound extra ‘pounding potential’ – and because with his long hair coupled with an energetic style of play one couldn’t help but be reminded of Animal from the Muppets (who, as we all remember, also played drums).

After taking in the manner in which they played their first few songs it seems that this band has an almost Lynard Skynard feel to their sound, yet with an avid focus on each musician being in perfect emotional time with each other. This means they would add emphasis, deduct energy, or even pause momentarily in perfect syncopation. Also, they use dynamic progression within the course of many of their songs, all the while seemingly staying rooted in the fundamentals of rock n’ roll. This author thought this made them come off as a band with an almost British rock-song sensibility when it comes the writing, which was then coupled with a purely American sound once played.

Richie Follin is the lead singer and he furnishes his band with a very distinct sound. His voice is withdrawn and narrow but full of vigor. It’s almost like a young, excited and more punk’ish version of Neil Young’s voice. It’s one thing that helps to make them distinctly indie. However, it would have helped on this night had the vocals been louder and one been able to discern the words being sung. This is a lesser point with this band than others though, because The Willowz seem to use their vocals more as an instrumental/emotional addition as opposed to a storytelling/explanatory tool within their music.

The Willowz were at their best on such songs as Repetition, Making Certain and Evil Son when they incorporate a good amount of dynamisms within their song progression. Furthermore, they seem to have a superior control over the ability to musically start-and-stop in unison, using momentary silence or a quick reversion to a minimalist sound as a powerful musical tool. Like few other bands I have seen, they have mastered the art of using abruptness to their musical advantage.

Another manner of rock-song The Willowz seem to have a grasp of is that of concise blues-rock songs. Their opener I Know off their most recent album, and the two subsequent songs were great examples of this. In these songs progressive modification wasn’t employed as much, instead they delivered solid blues-rock songs in which this band sat perfectly in the proverbial “pocket”. And best of all they knew when to end these songs, keeping them under 3 min, leaving the audience wanting more before the sound became repetitive.

Where The Willowz were less successful was in a few songs in the middle of their set that didn’t have enough transition within them and then just ran a little long – becoming slightly tiresome to the ears. When they kept to a consistent sound throughout an entire, longer song, it felt like they were getting away from what they do best and their sound was endowed with less of a true rock feel. This author also felt they should have played more than just one song off their album Chautaqua, which might be their best release to date. In addition, using their great lady-bassist (Jessica Reynoza) as a back-up vocalist is something that should be added to more songs, especially when playing live.

Nevertheless, The Willowz overall played a great show with much more energy and gusto than paltry crowds usually receive. It is not easy to get excited and play almost the same music nightly, let alone when you don’t have any audience energy to feed off of. Kudos to them for still providing for a rockin’ good time to the handful of fans in attendance. So if you are a fan of good ole’ rock n’ roll, then please join this author the next time The Willowz grace a Chicago stage – because they deserve your attention and maybe the next time we can earn an encore out of them!

By Sean Brna

Seanbrna@gmail.com

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