I:Scintilla at Reggies...again.

I never tire of seeing I:Scintilla. I can safely say about them is that their songs don't fall into ruts, when songs start to resemble one another, a certain predictability. I:Scintilla does not do that. They also don't just have one awesome song. When you like this band it's for many songs or at least so it is with me. I can hear that entire album "Optics". My impression of the new album is coming up but first I must marvel at that first CD. You got that crunchy but dance- worthy industrial beats and guitar, only with songs that don't sound all that alike. I can't say that about Blutengel. They can't seem to get out of this same rhyme scheme, it works for them for about three songs per album. Their beats are aggressive but it's that songwriting. I gotta say the same for L'ame Immortelle only not to that same extreme.
Is I:S strictly a subcultural industrial band? That question always brings up in my mind their appearance on JBTV. Look that up on youtube. The show is a regional pulse on all that is subcultural and some that emerges from that. This show introduced me to grunge. Fed into an already existing familiarity with industrial with bands like Front 242, Ministry, and then left turn with a Material Issue video and interview. And now I:Scintilla gets airplay and an interview with Jerry Bryant. This guy likes it all. Will they find a wider audience? I believe they carry the torch effectively within the gothic/industrial enough to sustain a loyal audience.

Hearing the CD feeds the need to see them live, because once again, it's not about one single song. It becomes about all of them. And so I'm happy to have them play here locally. They have done so a lot in support of their debut and now I'm happy to see them work from the new album. You see, some impressions only sink in after hearing them repeatedly. It's good fortune to say that about seeing bands as well. Live performances count for a lot of the dominant common identity, part of what they will be remembered for. If you live far, then you just have that one iconic time, after that it's the CD in the car or on your itunes. I've seen I:Scintilla a lot of different times. And so this post reflects that.

On Saturday 23 October I saw I:Scintilla at Reggies, our local female fronted industrial band that is well on it's way to have a national touring presence. They have already done at least one national tour supporting their debut CD "Optics". I believe they have played California, New Jersey, Iowa. "Optics" is a solid CD to go touring on. I like nearly all the songs, industrial dance-floor classics the lot of them, and they sound awesome live. Upon hearing "Optics" I believed the band had much more in the tank. The well is deep indeed. This past Saturday at Reggies they played mostly from their new CD "Falling And Dying" and that shows to me that this is what the band will bank on. It shows that they trust their new material, as great as the old was. "Falling And Dying" is great. The debut CD has all these songs that are not formulaic. One song does not telegraph how they will write the other. Some bands find themselves in a rut where you can spot a mile away what they will say, or where the music is going. Things start to sound alike. Not so with I:Scintilla. The only thing that was telegraphed is their consistent ability to write resonant music for the industrial subculture. This is not saying that I:Scintilla panders to that subculture. They belong to it. The more I listen to "Falling", the more I like it. Even them slow songs are awesome. Normally I just skip the slow songs like they're infomercials, but Ms Brittney sold it like Hooverphonic. This contemplation has more to do with repeated listening of the new CD. The concert experience is separate.

So, they could have leaned heavily on "Optics", but they did not. Good for them. I think they played very few from that first CD. But they seemed to know when to place them, almost to renew the crowd with something familiar. 2007 is not that long ago, but it really feels that way. In that year I was barely in my awareness of the band. One of their most unusual gigs in October 2007 was at Brauerhouse in Hillside, Il., right near a cemetery. It was my only visit to the place. It burned down in 2008. When I:Scintilla played there I assumed it would be packed. I counted less than 10 people there. The venue was probably too far away for most. It felt like I was witnessing an exclusive performance. Anyway back to last Saturday. Britney and the band had amassed a good local crowd to perform for. I had no problem reaching the front. The casual porous fans hanging around the middle, or everywhere else but the front. It was not difficult to move around, which was nice. I don't like a packed, packed crowd.

Zig

Ami Saraiya

Alright so I saw Ami at Jerry's I believe. I arrived there thinking that I missed her whole set but in fact I was right on time. I was always impressed with Ami's backing band, precisely honed for her. The entire band (Ami included) once were called Radiant Darling. They put out the CD "Cryptomnesia" under that name. I always thought that was appropriate since one can tell how truly this was a collective thing. Then they dropped the name and it was just Ami Saraiya, but still with all the same wonderful backing band. Now we are back to naming the band. They are now known as Ami Saraiya and The Outcome. A reference to one of their songs. And it is right that the band be named. Ami tells an interesting story behind the songs "Familiar", and "By Jove". The songs answer one another in this immortal conversation between the gods, and so the name 'Jove".

There is music that you like because somehow you have been conditioned to like because of the times, and your surroundings. You liked it then but not now, you've outgrown it. Then there is music that you will like forever, no matter when or how it hits. It strikes as timeless personally. This is Ami and The Outcome. To me they evoke the 1920's,30's,40's . They wear the rust of blues. They don't wear costumes that evoke the times. The vivid period pictures are painted with sound alone. I don't know if this sound is deliberate, or even if this description is purely subjective....only in my head. They can easily headline a steam-punk event. Yet, I don't know if they are aware of such a vast potential fanbase. Projekt would love them, but that's speculating on a national level. If you live here, it's not enough that you buy the CD at Reckless Records. You have to see Ami play "Up, Down, and Charmed" right in front of you. On CD the music you never get tired of, a movie, story, play that somehow even as it stands still in time, is relevant for years. The official, static version of the breathing, live performance is what plays in the car, or ipod. And man, does the music breathe when they are live. I feel fortunate to call Ami local, and so I go see her live. It's a good time to see them because they play such small, intimate venues. The band is playing new songs. I recall at least three new songs. "Cattle-Prod Hands" I like a lot in part because I feel so well prepped by Ami's last two albums that I have something to anticipate from her. The new songs enhance the appreciation of the old songs while forging ahead. She...Ami and The Outcome are scheduled to play The Hungry Brain I think. Look up her myspace page. I still have to figure out where is this place and when she is playing. I have so many pictures of all the performances that I can pick and choose which ones to show.

Zig

Aleks and The Drummer

So I saw Aleks and The Drummer last September on a Free Monday at Empty Bottle. I know this is already October and so the fuck what. Why am I regurgitating this now or at all. A live performance in general lasts for me far beyond the fraction of time it occupies, a long shelf-life for me. This band is pumping out new songs in each of their live sets. The 5 song ep is now only a fraction of the foundation, a scene in a much anticipated movie with characters and storylines yet to be revealed. More and more, what they choose to present live is the most dominant trait, and yet their most delicate 'cause it's not recorded. Part of the experience is seeing how differently Ms Aleks dresses up. On top of that you don't know what she will play for that night. For this night at the 'Bottle she indeed was a sight to behold. And now most of the duties of playing the instruments were all delegated to her band members, including keyboard, freeing her to be at the front of the stage. When Natalie Grace had a full backing band, that unshackled her to deliver her full performance on stage. And so we let someone take over keyboard, to let Aleks bring to us with costume and sound the wonder of her world and work. And it was all new music. Any way, so Aleks is now free to move about the stage. In red, black, orange and gold, she was a glam rock villainess from Buck Rogers. Just like her music, her outfit must imply a narrative beyond the snap shot of the performance. And so Aleks seemed to be out of a sci-fi subcultural legend. Her hands and wrists were bound in black tape like a boxer. The music was all new with more instruments; a cello, another keyboard I believe. It was an awesome performance. I captured maybe one song on camera, and then I turned into a fucking deer to wonder and marvel at the incoming light. I loved all of it. The new combinations of instruments and voice. All this for the moment we can only see live. It's all yet to be recorded. And Chicago is home to this! It was put together here, and influenced by being here. The whole time as I listen I want this down on CD. I'm already missing the fleeting performance. There was one other performance after this one. Aleks' opened for Shonen Knife at Schubas. I could not go to that.

Zig