Ryat at Reggies

I saw and heard the organic, beat heavy, electronic sounds of Ryat last fall I believe when they played Reggies. They were promoting the CD "Street Noise orKestra". That title right there tells you what they sound like live. And it was just two of them, and they both had drums on the side. They had their way of making each show a finger-print different from the last. In part its how they use the live drums to site just one thing. That first Chicago visit had them on the cheaper side of Reggies, long tables for people to eat as they kinda pay attention to you. So the crowd was luke-warm to indifferent as I recall. Well, the long tables and booths kind of discourage dancing. They encourage passive observation. So that makes the crowd hard to read. There was one other person as into them as I was. I've been into them since. I am a fan. After that visit to Chicago they toured Europe I think. Well, I know Italy and Spain and...perhaps London. I wonder at how well they were received. I feel real lucky to have gone on a whim to see Ryat instead of what I originally planned. Ryat I discovered by accident. This second time 13 September after touring Europe and The States I saw them purposefully. There is something very original in terms of how they use beats, keyboard, and guitar; where and how they produce them. When I say organic, that means that all the elements seem to land where they may, not where expected. I don't mean that the music sounds like disorganized noise-jazz or something. Everything that we are familiar with are renewed here in how they are used. Like in a dream. Dreams twist and reinvent what is familiar to one's experience. Ryat does that with the guitar, keyboard and drums, .......the drums. They use their instruments in unconventional ways without really wanting to alienating an audience, and also without pandering to expectations. Remember how original and resonant Portishead sounded. How they sounded just came naturally, and internally, and yet it resonated worldwide. Most music that aims to make you dance I believe panders to expectations, and so can strike the music snob (yes me, I admit) as corny. That is not the case with Ryat in both CDs they now have out. I do speak more about the new CD "Avant Gold" as it sinks into my mental landscape and becomes permanent.

Ryat was fun to watch because they do all the percussion live, and that invites the unexpected. Ms Ryat herself beat her drum so savagely it broke apart. That was fun to watch. Oh, yeah Ms Ryat is also quite the attractive lass. The CD "Avant Gold" is awesome and hints at what they are capable live. From the first song "In Your Face" you want the space to dance. I knew from that song that I would stay broke, 'cause I had to buy the CD and shirt. And as you are feeling the effects of that first song, the rest come at you like a Wing Chun chain punch. They can make beats out of anything in front of them. The first time there were just two of them and both multi-tasked their instruments with live drums. Now they have a live drummer and he has to add more drums to his drums. Everyone beats on something and it makes for an awesome live organic show. They were here promoting the beat-driven electronic trip-hop leaning "Avant Gold" CD this time to a hard to read crowd that mostly stayed back at the booths. I was glad Reggies had them again but it was awkward to see such a dance-inducing band in a place that has tables to sit, and booths to hide in, and tacos that make you sit. If this was the Empty Bottle people would be dancing, or at least would have the space to. This post has been sitting and fermenting for ever it seems in search of more words to put into it. Sometimes it's just best to kill the beast of the process and post the bastard already

Zig

Tiny Concept

I forgot exactly when I saw Tiny Concept or Ms Leticia. I missed most of her show but hell I caught a piece of it at Empty Bottle. Somehow this curious rock minimalist had and continues to hold my attention well after the show, and it's not just her endearing French accent. Her voice had a slight husk to it, almost boyish......almost. Solo artists fascinate me. Their ability to go it alone I find admirable. This time at the Bottle there was almost no crowd for Tiny Concept. Few people to bounce her voice from. I saw her set up and loop each part for her cover of Devo's Mongoloid. I have to say my first impression of the song is from her and not Devo. So that long term relationship with this song I do not have. Devo's Mongoloid is indeed a time capsule, youthful and energetic. The song is a product of its time and yet it stands the test of it. On its own it's timeless. Yet Hers is the first version I hear of the song. I had to look up the original later to see the kind of leap I took. Since there was very little audience it almost felt like I was watching a private jam session. I really like the Tiny Concept cover. She makes it a defiant candle in the dark, with it's own power to haunt. Something to accompany you in deep thought. The archaic early electronic madness of the original Leticia strips down, and reveals the lean muscle it's always had, never lost. The song is longer than the original and you don't even feel it, because she does not slow it down. That original impatient bounce she retains, and in the end makes this song her own. As minimal as Tiny Concept is, she is not slow, and that helps when it's just the one person. I had to buy her CD. You can say that her own songs are minimal, but as a lot of such artists, she does all the instruments herself. The guitar loops and drums. That's fascinating to watch when it's only one person. On CD especially her voice and French accent and even more endearing less than perfect use of English is clear. Tiny Concept grows on me for some reason that I can't fully understand or control.

Zig

Julie Meckler

This feels like a while ago, but the impact of it I can still feel. Julie Meckler is originally an actress from France, hmm I mean she did acting in theater, she's still from France. 2008 finds her in New York. Normally I would expect her story to just stay there. It's New York City, no one leaves. Many midwestern bands have moved there. But no. Ms Julie picks up a guitar (Strindberg reference unavoidable) continues to travel west and settles in Chicago. That is so cool! Sometimes I believe that people think Chicago is not exotic enough, not interesting enough to move here. I'm happy to be proved wrong. Ms Julie shared the bill with Moritat. I was so glad to be there to see both bands perform at The Whistler. Part of what sticks out to me about Julie is what she sings about. Her myspace page has two songs, "Mexico" and "Deportation Blues" that speak directly to me. I'm Mexican and words like "deportation" hit a raw nerve with me. You almost want to believe there is an active affinity for Mexican immigrants, or at least immigrants in general. I felt it at least. And it feels more and more unusual in this new age of anti- immigrant sentiment. Assholes even want to fuck with the 14th Amendment. They want to stop the Dream Act that is up for a vote in Congress, the Senate I believe as I write this. You have to be a real asshole and know that you are an asshole to vote against that. I don't want to leave behind DADT in this rant. I have a massive respect for Lady Gaga for taking her stand. Damn it, where the fuck was I with this? Oh, yeah.....

Songs like the ones that Julie wrote I normally expect out of people like Lila Downs. It was really that good. Lila Downs tends to really own the different styles she plays in and Julie here has her blues down with these songs. The blues are not whiney but manly, or dominant. You can sound shrill and irritating if what you complain about comes out....wrong. Your method can kill the message,( if indeed you have a message). Julie puts on and flexes the muscle in every instrument. The three song CD holds down what you will want to hear live. She has more but it's those that I heard on her myspace page, and it was what I anticipated at the live show. Julie Meckler will play this Friday 24 September I believe with the absolutely awesome Man is Man at The Viaduct Theater in Chicago, and thank you Julie, you have no idea how your music positively inspires the tribe.

Zig

Agent Ribbons!!!

Early in 2009 this band played Beat Kitchen and I barely caught the last song and I had nothing left to buy their CDs. Life is rough indeed! Alright so I'm seeing the last song and I can't really enjoy it 'cause....it's the last song, and I just got there. In every respect I could only blame myself for not saving enough and for not being on time. So I knew to watch out for this band again. The name Agent Ribbons needed not to be written down in a note. The sting of missing them was reminder enough. As it hurt less, I researched them more. There's a lot of youtube videos on them that here and there I watched. From youtube's distance I can tell these girls have a playful, sharp wit.

So I finally saw them at Subt's this past Tuesday 7 September. They were here to promote the release of the Chateau Crone. Their second release after On Time Travel And Romances. This band is a chameleon, colorful and elusive to describe. To be familiar with them is to come in direct contact to many styles and cultures that Agent Ribbons owns in the gut. Travel or the idea of it is implied in the guts of Agent Ribbons as evidence this vaudeville/rockabilly streak that surfaces then opens you to unexpected doors like to old Mexican folk songs, as in "Le Noche" on the Travel' CD. The accordion is a recognized passport to the southwest, Tex-Mex, they also go East with it as well like in "I'll Let You Be My Baby" on "Chateau". All this can strike as a gimmick if it were not for the wit and intelligence behind the songwriting. They know how to write some very endearing songs. They avoid all the trip wires that would strike one as common. They don't go for the easy rhyme. If you already discovered Amanda Palmer, refocus your attention. There is weight and resonance to be found for one who listens to all shades of dark. They have a way of disarming you with out tripping the sappy trip wire. Natalie plays guitar mostly, Lauren plays drums, and Naomi plays violin. There are more instruments played than I just mentioned. They are the kind of band that makes you feel good in your own eccentric skin without feeling like they are pandering to it. The band does what it does, is what it is out of impulse. Indeed it's as if I found myself all over again when beholding this band. I wish I could have told them that when I met them.

Zig

The Rosen Association

Friday 20 August I saw The Rosen Association for about the third time. When I saw weeks ago that they were playing Darkroom I was so glad. The first time still is fresh in my mind. I know I've been using the shoegaze crayon a lot. Still, they wear it very well. I can really see Ms Erin this time. At the Mutiny you just could not see her or the rest of the band, the stage was so dark. I wondered if that was a deliberate display of mystery. That was a year ago. Their music was not yet available, but memorable. The week before that night I saw at Empty Bottle, School Of Seven Bells, WarPaint, and Panda Riot. Alright I was mostly on time for SVIIB but my point is that I place The Rosen Association firmly in their company, and yet as distinct as a fingerprint. The fans that go to see WarPaint and SVIIB I believe can be just as ravenous about Rosen Association. I feel it's just a matter of putting them in front of them. There is substance to listen, and substance to dance. I'm happy to see Panda Riot always playing Empty Bottle so many times after that one time Scary Lady Sarah introduced them to me. I believe firmly that Rosen Association deserve that same attention, that same chance to grow a local fan base that is not exclusive to the local goth culture. And as far as I can tell in all three times that I saw them, the audience was mostly goth, but as I said they deserve a wider subcultural audience just like Panda Riot. Well for this live performance at Darkroom that Friday I don't recall as many dancing, but they were not being ignored. They were indeed the headliner. The other bands were great as well but alas I only had enough to get the CD and shirt of Rosen'. The songs on the ep that has like 8 songs.

Erin's voice has a womanly depth, eerily older than she appears. In all the songs she sounds relaxed and innocently mysterious. Her voice does not go too high or too low. It does not take too much focus to tell what she is saying, at least in the context of the recorded work. Fragments of "Emergency Broadcast" and "Disco Lullaby of Titan" made me wish I had lyrics to read still. I don't tire of hearing these songs. Both are spacey but it's "Titan" that explicitly mentions riding the solar wind and Hyperion. They are what imprinted first live, and they are not slow. The real work of moving the songs is done by the guitars and drums, and they do so in a way that does not feel common, or pandering to....something. They don't squander your attention by taking you off to some tangent. The songs are not self indulgently long. For the goth that goes to Nocturna or Shimmer this will put you on the floor. You are going to need space for those that trained their movements to mid-tempo 90's goth. It's always in the back of my mind how delicate an existence it is to be in a band. That's why these live shows mean so much. The Rosens' where set to play Michigan, Kalamazoo I believe the very next day and had all their equipment stolen before the even left. I winced when I heard about that. I felt that hurt with them. They are our local answer to Brooklyn's School Of Seven Bells. It's my great hope that they survive this terrible blow.

Zig

Moritat

I was really happy when I saw Moritat on The Whistler schedule with Julie Meckler. More on her later. Moritat stayed in my mind in large part because of the CD with the song Yellow House. That song just would not leave me alone. Or I could not leave it alone, and it was the one song that I could recall easily. A part of my mind knew to get the free Yellow House demo CD after that first time at Quenchers and hear it in the car on the way back. I missed them a bunch of times since and then I finally saw them again at Cole's on Milwaukee Ave, just north of Whistler. There is something to like now and something to love later. The piano part just reminded me of the theme to The Peanuts, and then you have Ms Venus' voice on top of that. It's like Schroeder and Lucy had themselves a jam session with everyone. I know that's not what it actually is or what actually inspired the song. It's just my own neurons trying to explain to the world what they beheld. It's like I walked in with the classic Charlie brown shirt on my forehead. Anyway, off I go to Whistler with my sister and her husband.

My mission was to finally buy the CD and support this local band that I like and identify with. Yet this whole time I was too shy to actually meet them. I could have at Cole's but my timid nature puts an awkward moat to cross, takes all the smart words from my vocabulary and reduces me to being this deer-in-the-headlights. I'll get the shirt later. Now the band actually saw my entry about them on my blog. All kinds of questions crash all around me.....did they like it? Did they dislike it....Really? Oh, my God. Just as I was ok being this little mouse about it. I think we arrive at Whistler on time 'cause Moritat was already playing. I don't remember the order of the songs but I do recall hearing Yellow House at some point. I believe I recall Pregnant Ladies as well. Hearing these songs live is awesome 'cause they renew themselves and makes you like the captured work even more. You just notice things in the live breathing performance that you will look for when you're hearing it in the car later.

Yellow House is really relaxed and kind of starry-eyed on CD, and that works. In this song they are closer to a happy Portishead, no delicate tension, but wonder. What I mean is that it draws one's attention without seeming to want it. In the Yellow House Venus is in no rush, but we are relaxed with the wonder of what she describes, or at least in how she describes. I'm not diving deep into the lyrics at this point. All that deeper reading will occur on its own, unless things really jump out. Well perhaps that Peanuts theme comparison didn't really explain them as well as my own neurons at the time of seeing the band. You don't think that live it will make a different imprint. You almost don't consider how loud and powerful and urgent it will sound live. There is muscle where you didn't know they had.

Ah yes, Pregnant Ladies. I like it 'cause of the unexpected turns it makes. Perhaps as I get more familiar with them the more comfortable I feel in going on about them. Pregnant Ladies starts off with the guitar front and center and the whole band chiming in with Venus. They chant their words like slogans at a rally. I'm struck by the wonder of how the lyrics are said. This is just as I'm identifying them in my mind as a keyboard driven band. In mid thought this band changes and as they do, so must my words to describe them. The song goes along in this sweet way and then left turn now. It does that a few times and that's on top of everyone singing in this one. I only highlighted two songs here 'cause this post will never be if I go on and on about the rest. I love this band and I'm glad they live here. They renew this civic Chicago pride.

Zig

Natalie Grace Alford

So I saw Ms Natalie Grace this Monday 16 August at Reggies. She has a thing for wigs and so I go to see which one she wears, and she busts out a full band, and the new wig. And all these songs that are grand as they are, were given complexity that was suggested in the subtext of it's minimalism. I got her demo of some of her songs and they have her mostly with the keyboard. Now live and with the full band she is free to flap her arms and really drive her songs with her performance. My first time seeing her, it was just her taking on the tasks of many band members. Ms Natalie was not waiting for anyone to join. There are few performers I can think of that sound great with other musicians and as solo artists. Like Katie Jane Garside/Queen Adreena/Ruby Throat. And Katie Jane is a good loose comparison to Natalie Grace. Katie Jane can command your attention with just her voice and acoustic guitar. There is something very compelling about her. It's the same with Ms Nat. Careless and effortless is her stage presence. She can and has gone it alone and held attention that way. When you see her with a band, her songs finally can fully express their interior. Each instrument, each musician, removes a task that she would have to do, almost. With the band she is unchained. Free to pour it out. I can just tell how each performance will differ from the next. The songs talk back to her and then she talks back to you. Her voice is deep and womanly. You got to see how she bosses her band around. They play this messy kind of jazz that fit her songs nicely. The drummer plays a beat and she instructs him to play it faster. She clearly runs the band. Here and there she has to dig in the spurs to make the horse trot a little more elegantly. You got to send the message that you run the show even in mid performance. I can see her shows being real different every time. Ms Natalie is one to observe closely. Ms Nat is a bold performer. Her music has more to reveal, more breaths to take. If we as local Chicago natives are privileged enough to have this artist here, observe we should because it is a mirror to us. It's really fun to observe the different lives her songs have with each new performance. Everyone should absolutely stop observing Amy Winewhoo, I mean look at who we got here damn it!