Eliza Rickman!

  Behold how near seamlessly she places you in a vague Other period. In three songs I feel like a prop with fucking Christopher Reeve in Somewhere In Time. The music of Eliza Rickman is impacting and then she leaves you on a late 19th/early20th Century train station. I was reminded of the old Mexican ballads I can recall as a child. Over Cold Shoulders already was a sweet killer when it came out in the EP. On the LP that Jedi training is complete. There's raw suffering thinly veiled behind the text.   I think I heard her say how some of her songs are about shitty guys. And so there is suffering behind them words. And as so, once you are a fan you cannot help but to listen Eliza's words, her lyrics and aspire not to be as shitty as those she writes about. You can't turn away now. There is no abstract space to hide behind. She is not singing about someone else, somewhere else.  To really listen is to examine yourself......not to be that kind of a bastard. But what has us even visit that kind of tension, and self-reflection?  In whatever the fucking metaphor, self-reflection eventually seeps into the process of listening.   O You Sinners has some fucking weight on top of the Alice In fucking Wonderland vertigo. Coming Up Roses is an absolute killer-.....they all hit like that to be honest.
  You are placed slightly out of time. Each track automatically represents more than itself, a separate Other world implied. There are artists that naturally just do that place you in a pre-rock state. Natalie Ribbons, Ami Saraiya, Hmmm, right in front of me...Rasputina.
  For this Chicago visit Eliza traveled with Rasputina! Eliza opened for Rasputina!  I walked into Double Door unsure if she had started but happy with the concept of her in front of a wider audience. Eliza is about to be a made girl. Eliza basically had first crack at this big crowd, and they seemed present and willing to listen to her. And I'm in this crowd as happy as De Niro on Good Fellas and this is Eliza, traveling queen of the fucking house show about to be a made Outfit girl, a boss.

  The audience that was waiting for Rasputina really liked her, and I was happy about that. She seemed at ease in front of this crowd enough to say a few things in between songs. This is where she talked about shitty men. I cannot remember which songs she actually played. I was just happy that she came in the first place. I came home with her shirt, a black tank top. Its gonna be the rarest thing, a black tank top with a band logo. The last two pictures are of Eliza at the Whistler, a nice little closet of a venue when the crowd there is not indifferent and noisy.

 When I'm talking to friends about Eliza, its always a hard time telling them the part of toy piano being her primary instrument. "Toy Piano"? Its like they got her figured out or something. And I hope thats enough to invite them to listen........true I must try harder.  For a long time it was just the EP Gild The Lily I had to devour. And now that I can lay off it because there is this new work and more to anticipate. O You Sinners is a powerhouse. And there is more work on the way from her, and she is touring Europe this fall. And I am glad for her for because I believe this is a happy and productive time for her.
Zig