Jennifer Hall/Kings of Spade

 
  So both these bands I was blown away by. Jennifer Hall and Kings of Spade, I still think about them. Kings of Spade come all the way from Hawaii. I think this is the first time I ever had to write that word on this blog. And they toured together, even performing a song together. They genuinely supported each other and that was sweet to see. Kings of Spade are far, far away from home, that means something for me to see Jennifer Hall to have them on tour with her. Having said that, I was barely getting to know both of them at the same time. I knew of JH....kinda sorta. I would notice her name when I would look up venues to see who was performing there...its hard to miss her when she's covered in gold paint in her pictures, but I was lazy and did not come around until this show at Emporium. That's when I looked them up for real this time on Youtube. Some of the videos there are from 2011, that's a long time not looking up a person. I'm fucking embarrassed.
  Jennifer Hall is from Chicago, and I'm barely finding out now. And so this time I look her up and then out of nowhere....well somewhere, Hawaii, well completely unexpected here is this powerhouse Kings of Spade that come with her. And they like each other, the mutual support is obvious and it is sweet to witness.
  Kings of Spade are away from home, vulnerable. Most of the videos I have seen were filmed in Hawaii, so this trip I imagine to be significant and imprinting to their experience. I hope Chicago left a positive imprint. KC sings and her voice is powerful, deep, bluesy and smokey. Her, and the rest of the band, they operate seamlessly with a single mind. That is always fascinating to see. Oh, Oh, and at some point, they were giving away CDs on stage right there! So yeah! I want one, and later I bought from them the coolest, blackest, XXL shirt from them. Yeah, oversized is awesome!! So in the end I came home with shirts and music from both bands, and that is so rare. There did seem to be among the crowd people for both bands and that was cool, but not everyone knew. Most, like me, were blindsided by how great they were.  It was a good modest sized crowd.
  Jennifer Hall also has a powerful voice, like a boxer that punches with the full weight of her body. I mean...I can see veins. Its awesome when someone delivers with that much passion. It sells the music that much more effectively and you become a believer as well. Its like I drank the Kool....you had me at "hello".....and you said it like Lionel Riche. Oh, yeah, more of this fucking Kool Aid. JH is....bold and romantic, she weaponizes vulnerability to work for her  like when Nick Cave sings "Do You Love Me". You want someone to feel this for you. And that is the power of Jennifer Hall, open veins and without bleeding out. Its rollerskating on fucking water. You want to slow dance to this with a significant other in a prom like moment.
   To Be Close To You I find myself listening multiple times.   And I watch the Wicker Park show of 2012, all four fucking segments, with a wonder of how it is only now.....And Kings of Spade are on the other side....power blues. That old blues dominant confidence is the radiation I felt from Kings Of Spade. Both bands capture for me this timeless and old sense modernity. Like....modernity itself is now old.
  And from these eternal periods comes Jennifer Hall. I feel swooned into a romantic oasis within a noir-ish world. Fuck the eclipse, this was the eclipse I was looking for.
Zig