SEPT. 9, 2005
THE SIGHTS
Subterranean

With a strong influence from the Faces (check out their cover of "Stay With Me" on the new CD), the Sights stand out as a little different from the rest of the current crop of garage bands. Interesting lineup, too: Guitar, organ and drums, with no bass (unless you count the bass keyboard). Guitarist-singer Eddie Baranek also throws an occasional bit of gospel holler into the songs. Well, white-boy imitation of gospel holler, but it's nice anyway.

The most melodic song on the Sights' self-titled 2005 album is "Scratch My Name in Sin," and it sounded just as great in concert tonight as it does on record. The Sights could stand to broaden their style and sound a little, but they're a very fine band nonetheless.

They were not actually the headliners at this concert. The Makers were the main act, but I can't say I was too thrilled with what I heard. A couple of decent songs were evident, but the glamminess (and hamminess) of their overall act tended toward the annoying.

The first band to play was Thunderwing. Although the name makes them sound like hockey-playing heavy-metal rockers, they were more in the vein of glam-rock-meets-garage. Not bad, worth another listen.

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE SIGHTS.

SEPT. 8, 2005
ANTIBALAS AFROBEAT ORCHESTRA
The HotHouse

Antibalas sounded glorious all night long at the HotHouse, reviving the funky sounds of Fela Kuti  and driving them into the future with their own twists on the Afrobeat tradition. It's a rare joy to see such a great horn section in action, and Antibalas also has one of the coolest keyboard players around, Victor Axelrod. Those solos on the electric piano are dynamite. It was also cool watching the guitarists and bassist getting into grooves that you just wanted to go on and on. Whether he was having his way with congos or leading the band (and audience) in a chant, Amayo was an entertaining frontman.

Make sure to check out the new EP, Government Magic, which has five very strong tracks. It's for sale only at www.antibalas.com.

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF ANTIBALAS.

SEPT. 3, 2005
THE DIRTBOMBS
Double Door

The Dirtbombs were phenoms tonight... unlike opening band the Phenoms, who were far from phenomenal. In fact, this very long night (part of the "Electric City Rock Fest") had no less than five opening bands, most of which was highly skippable. Popsick played some good music, and Big Whisky and M.O.T.O. had their moments, but the Decibators and Phenoms were sheer drudgery to watch, punk bands without any noticeable merit other than energy and attitude.

By contrast, the Dirtbombs have good songs, as well as a great sense of dynamics and drama. I'm still not sure why they need two bass players and two drummers, but, hey, whatever works for them.

SEE MORE PHOTOS OF THE DIRTBOMBS.

AUG. 17, 2005
ONEIDA et al
Empty Bottle

You'd think from the coverage that appeared in the Trib this week that tonight's headliner was Kinski, but that was just the opening act.

Plastic Crimewave Sound got things started with their typically noise-filled rave-ups... definitely in the old droning tradition of the Velvet Underground. Not bad. Kudos for including a harmonica solo.

Kinski is a mostly instrumental (or is that "instrumetal"?) band, sounding great when it locks in on a heavy riff. I'm not quite as convinced about Kinski's quieter and more experimental passages, but it is certainly an interesting and enjoyable group.

Oneida's one of the most underrated bands around — or at least unheralded. I don't understand why Oneida doesn't get more ink. Maybe it's the band's deliberate use of repetition. Maybe it's their reputation as an "underground" band. In any case, Oneida plays songs that are both accessible in terms of melody as well as insanely energetic. Oneida takes those little instrumental passages that other bands play and stretches them to the breaking point — sometimes past the breaking point — until they became something like mesmerizing mantras. You're hearing the same thing over and over until it starts to sound different. Or maybe it is different?

Oneida pulls off its musical tricks with a minimum of technology. The trio (organ, drums, guitar/bass) plays music that is both tightly controlled, in the tradition of Krautrock bands like Can, while sounding like it could spin out of control at any moment, thanks to the amazing drumming.

JULY 30, 2005
WICKER PARK FESTIVAL

This was the best lineup for a street festival this summer in Chicago, probably because the nearby Subterranean nightclub booked the music. Sunday featured the esteemed Reigning Sound, but deciding to attend one day only, Saturday was the obvious choice.

I missed Catfish Haven and Baby Teeth, but showed up in time for the Scotland Yard Gospel Choir. The band practically invited comparisons to Belle & Sebastian with its name, and its orchestrally twee pop music featuring alternating male and female vocals. But, hey, the songs are strong, so who cares if it's not totally original? The band fits in well with the other big, quasi-orchestral ensembles of the moment, like Head of Femur (who played next on the same stage) or even the Arcade Fire.

Head of Femur was also very good, bringing its big-sounding set to a raucous conclusion.

Turing Machine, from Brooklyn, will certainly not be everyone's cup of tea, but for instrumental heavy-guitar rock music, it was pretty impressive.

Okkervil River was just as excellent as it was in May at Schubas, bringing fierce passion to its music. It's interesting to see how much the nonsinging band members sing along with the lyrics off-mike. Even if they're not contributing to the vocals, the songs obviously mean a lot more to them than a paying instrumental gig. I wonder what the people standing up on the nearby Blue Line el platform thought about the music they were hearing and seeing from a distance.

Olivia Tremor Control hasn't toured for quite some time, so the group's arrival in Chicago for two shows was pretty noteworthy. I was hoping the band's live show would trump some of the problems with its studio recordings — which have a lot of good melodies and playing, but way too much lo-fi psychedelic wankery. It was fairly exciting and humorous to see Olivia Tremor Control going through its sound check, with a bewildering variety of instruments and noise makers: tuba, saw, banjo, reel-to-reel tape machine ... even a typewriter???

Unfortunately, the set started off with a surprise mini-concert by the Tall Dwarves. Their songs might be fine, but this was the wrong time to hear them, and one of them went badly awry with off-key guitar playing and/or singing (by one of the OTC horn players).

When Olivia Tremor Control finally took the stage, it became clear the band's pretty much the same in concert as it is on record: brilliant at moments, annoying at others, a shambling mess with bits of beauty.

JULY 27, 2005
ELVIS COSTELLO
with EMMYLOU HARRIS
Ravinia Festival, Highland Park

See Pioneer Press for my review.