Van Hunt’s latest record, What Were You Hoping For?, came out at the end of September. Hunt is one of those performers who have a lot of different genre labels hung on him. His music is part soul, a large part rock and even larger part old-school 1970s style funkiness. Hints of psychedelia can be whiffed here and there as well. And he is a songwriter par excellence.

The live show is a hundred kinds of good; enthralling vocals, blazing guitars and the rhythm half of the band (including Hunt himself on bass) do not know how to miss a beat. This is a true updating of 70s rock/funk/soul crossover. Think Delfonics (maybe) but this band rock more than Delfonics (who were, in their defense, not tryint to rock. You can even hear a little Marvin Gaye when they dial it down a bit. The thing is, you could name a lot of acts from the 70s trying to create this mix and get it right—most of them didn’t do it nearly this good. The band's press mentioned a bit of "punk" in the music. I doubted that but, especially on the record, there is no doubt. Van Hunt and band are not imitative but they take whatever they need for a given song from whatever genre is appropriate.

This isn’t nostalgia music; it is music for right now.

Van Hunt is one of a number of recent acts that I've seen with opening acts that were top notch. It usually bodes well when a band is touring with an opener who is really good; it means they have no fear of being upstaged.  New Orleans' Empress Hotel are a band in a similar vein to Hunt's. They emphasize different aspects of the music which make the two acts a good fit on the same bill.

Empress Hotel photos will be up soon.

Finding out more about Van Hunt and buying What Were You Hoping For? are both highly recommended. You can both at www.vanhunt.com.

The first time I went to a concert Jimmy Carter was President.  In the intervening years I have seen an enormous number of acts in venues from tiny holes in the wall to stadiums. I hesitate to even try to calculate the number of bands I have seen over the years.

But I haven’t seen a single one any better than Mekons.

Why is that? Is it songwriting? Is it performance? Is it how it seems effortless and as if you were sitting with the band in your living room? It is likely all those things and more. It is just a fact. Other bands that write great songs (and I shall mention no names) will bore you right to sleep live. Likewise I have continuously heard bands whose musical efforts, when confined to a shiny metal disc or an mp3, fall flat. They only come alive on stage. Mekons' live show may be different from the recordings but it would be difficult to say either was superior.

My admitting my age (I was very young when I went to see those Carter Administration shows, in fact, I was 3) I may make it seem as if the Mekons will appeal only to geezers. Far from it. The audience was a mix of ages. A couple of weeks before this show I attended the Hideout Block Party with my 14 year old son (he was born when I was 15). When all was said and done I asked him which act he liked best from the day’s performers. He responded, “The Welsh guy.”

The Welshman in question, in this case, was Jon Langford.

Sally Timms discussed how the band were given incentives to learn the new songs—from the just released record, Ancient & Modern. Usually she said they learned them on tour so it took three or four weeks beyond the first date before they had the songs down.

“Those poor people in Boston,” said Langford.

Lu Edmonds is playng a saz in this picture, as he usually is with Mekons. If you want to know more about the saz you can ask Edmonds when you see the band, shout at him about it between songs, I am sure he will appreciate that. OR maybe you can just go check out this video HERE.

Another great thing about a band like Mekons is that if you see them a couple of times over years you are liable to hear them playing mostly different tunes. From the last time I saw them a few years back they played only a handful of the same songs. They played Thee Olde Trip To Jerusalem early in this set and their second encore began with Ghosts of American Astronauts.

Their new record and material is as strong as anything they've ever done and it is amazing how music made over so long a period and of such variations in style, fits together cohesively in a set. Their shows are time capsules but with past, present and a little future all tossed in together.

Who says indie rock and dance music cannot mix? Who sayeth never the twain shall meet? Probably no one really but if anyone were to so blaspheme they would be proven abruptly wrong at a Cut Copy show. The band are heavy on the dance but they mix in the indie rock quite nicely as well. There is instrumentation in the midst of all the electronics and they are never lost, never missing in the mix. Australians seem to be taking the lead in this genre of dance music that rocks a little and more power to them.

Make no mistake, however, this is much more dance music than anything else. It never gets repetitive or dull or loses energy or bases that energy on something recorded months ago. The live performance provides the energy. I have seen some dance bands whose performance is about hired on guys playing in the background (and wardrobe...yawwwn). No worries about that being the case with Cut Copy. You may even notice an ACOUSTIC guitar in the photos.

Cut Copy’s third, and probably most ambitious record, Zonoscope, came out in early 2011. The band made a name for themselves with 2008’s In Ghost Colours (or Colors for those of us not in the Commonwealth). The band also tour like crazy. This is their third trip to Chicago, including a date at Pitchfork 2011.

Cut Copy hail from Melbourne and the current tour ends in Paris at the Pitchfork Festival in the City Lights after numerous October dates in the USA or at least that is the last date currently scheduled. Find out more on current dates HERE.

Caveman are a...man..I have a hard time describing them, not because they are so oddball or out there but because all the descriptions and genres sort of mean nothing these days. I could say "low-fi" because they have that vaguely noisy, almost ambient tinge that some bands who "did battle" under that moniker had.  They could also be called "indie rock" but that has never really meant anything when it comes to sound has it?

So I suppose I will call it melodic indie lo-fi. From now on, that is what I am doing, making up fake genres. Wait..I do that already. You can find out what the band sounds like on your own when they physically release CoCo Beware on November 15, 2011 (September 13 digitally). You can also check out a track below.

Caveman lost their drummer before this gig. They did not misplace him. He had to head to the hospital for some reason. I am betting no one would have know, they brought in someone else from NYC and had The War On Drugs drummer sit in on the last several songs. It isn't an accident that that is when the set really took off. The last two songs might have been the evening's highlight.

OK so I do actually SHOOT photos at places OTHER than Schubas. It just seems to work out that bands I shoot seem to always PLAY there. I am not complaining. Schubas is a pretty good place to see, and hear, a show. It is not always the most fun place to try to take photos, Other people seem to get decent shots. I wonder what the problem is? Hmmm.

Amy Lavere isn’t a household name. But she should be. Really, you should go out and knock on your neighbor’s doors and when they open, just say “Amy Lavere” and run off to the next house.  Eventually you will be arrested, possibly tased, but it is all in a good cause.

Before hanging a genre label on Lavere, there should be a great deal of thought. The rather meaningless label of Americana (aka country music by Yankees or people from big cities who have never seen a decent sized patch of grass, let alone the country) might be applied. Lavere is from Louisiana so no need for that Americana crap. You could then move on. But for some reason Lavere, in her subtle defiance of genre, almost craves some label, some box to place her in. Is it swing? Nah, not nearly dancy enough. Sometimes there are hints of “jazz combo” but isn’t dust covered, hidebound and mind numbingly mathematical. It isn’t revivalist Old Time Country. It is all sorts of things brought together with skill and excellent playing and, on her record, production.

Her new record, Stranger Me, has a Captain Beefheart song, Candle Mambo, on it. Think of a swing cum country cum Americana (ugh) cum jazz band playing THAT. Lavere also cannot be compared to the plethora of other--often good- women singer/songwriters out there. Sometimes in ability but not in unorthodox musical choices that are not limited only to covers.

You know…there may even be some rockabilly in there but the non-terrible kind. Maybe Zydeco? She is from Louisiana. So how about swingoldtimejazzcountryzydecorockabillybutnotreallyanyofthatstopwiththelabels. It is a cumbersome name for a new genre but it may catch on.

When you first hear Lavere’s voice live you might thing it sounds sort of “baby doll" almost fragile but keep listening. She could probably sing everything from death metal to Chinese opera. It is likely she won’t. But she could.

Some folks will compare her to Patsy Cline. It isn’t totally apt nor totally wrong but Lavere has a better voice, a voice capable of more (let the country music purist death threats begin!).

But the point isn’t to belittle an icon and a legend. Lavere can sing and the impression of fragility is a fitting counter-point, using the non-musical sense of the term, to that moment in the show when the audience hears the power in her voice.

Another issue is this; Lavere is an attractive woman. There is a tendency (and this is true of women as well as men) to have a prejudice against attractive female musicians—at least in the “take them serious” way. It is as if a woman can be TOO pretty to be good. This is stupid. She is good. She is better than good. She can play like a no one’s business and she doesn’t miss a note when she sings. And she is playing a stand up bass. So if you have this in your head, get it out. If you didn’t? Good or you (seriously, good for you).

Now, that said, there seemed to be a large number of smitten men in the audience—of a wide range of ages. Before one song she said “There is a very cheap trick with this song and it requires whiskey.” She got her drink and she could have likely asked for the bottle. Half the audience would have left their wives (or husbands) right then, even if they were with their wives. Some of the wives/husbands would have said, “Ok. I totally understand.”

Lavere’s tour continues. You can find out more about her on her website, amylavere.com. If you are on the West Coast? Her tour picks up there in September, 2011. Well, it starts CLOSE to the West Coast in Arizona. Get out to see her.

David Cousar (more on Cousar HERE) played with Lavere and opened the set with three solo songs. He demonstrated that he has a right hand like a metronome but a metronome with soul. A solo set by Cousar would be something to see as well. Shawn Zorn (drums) and Krista Wroten  (violin/keyboards) round out Lavere's band. Wonderful musicianship.

James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem and deejay Marcus Lambkin, aka Shit Robot, founded a deejay partnership in 2000 while working in New York City.  It was rather short-lived, however, as Lambkin, left New York for Germany in 2004.

Friday night the pair was together again, performing individual deejay sets at Chicago’s The Mid. The experience was, well, not exactly what I expected.  (Note to naysayers: I am not nay-saying.)

First, I hadn’t anticipated a midnight opener, Shit Robot, followed by a 1:30 a.m. headliner, James Murphy. Let’s just say it’s been a long time since my idea of nightlife involved more morning hours than evening. 

Second, I’d braced myself for a full-blown “club kid” scene, brimming with pretty young things sporting flashy attire and dilated pupils. The Mid is, after all, an unapologetic, late-night dance club that regularly hosts some of the world’s most popular deejays. 

I was wrong about the scene. It was more a typical concert-going crowd than club-kid crowd. But you’ll get no complaints from me in that department.  Folks were almost exclusively civilized, despite the place being jam-packed.

The moments leading up to Shit Robot taking the stage the main dance floor and balcony were busy, but in no way crowded. As soon as he arrived the entire club rushed the main floor and were hanging over every available inch of the 2nd floor balconies. It was a ShitFest!

And okay fine:  I was also wrong about the music.  

Mind you, it isn’t that the show wasn’t good; it was. Solidly so. It’s just that--Well, in the interest of full disclosure, I love LCD Soundsystem. I was briefly angry – very angry – at James Murphy when he announced LCD’s handful of April shows in New York City would be their last. From the moment I bought it, I have greedily drunk the dance-pop Kool-Aid that is This Is Happening, LCD’s final (and truly brilliant) recording.  

So the reality is I’d hoped to hear large chunks of LCD Soundsystem admittedly unfair to ask, particularly of Shit Robot. But failing that, I’d hoped to hear a wide array of DFA sounds. DFA Records is the label co-founded by Murphy and Tim Goldsworthy. After all, there are plenty to choose from: DFA has produced and/or remixed such artists as Gorillaz, Chemical Brothers, N.E.R.D., Hot Chip, UNKLE, LeTigre, The Juan MacLean and M.I.A. Impressively, DFA’s remix of M.I.A.’s popular Paper Planes appeared on the Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack.

Nevertheless, both Shit Robot and James Murphy – who briefly spun together, which was a lot of fun – kept the beats going and the crowd moving. I’m happy with that. 

For better or worse, today is a new day. LCD Soundsystem is no more.  But I’m just glad James Murphy hasn’t, as they say, gone back to his day job. At age 22, he toyed with the idea of working as a writer for the sitcom, Seinfeld. 

Murph is still in the music biz. And DFA Records continues to attract and collaborate with compelling artists, Shit Robot among them. 

Yes, as it turns out, all is good is DFA-Murphland.

Marissa Nadler has a lovely voice and she writes songs that almost induce a dream state--or would if Nadler's demeanor were not so down to earth. It isn't surprising her press release calls her music "dream folk." And as much as labels and sub-genres are just marketing , this description of Nadler holds some water at least.

You can start pulling vocal or stylistic comparisons out of a hat for Nadler if you have to. There is an ethereal quality that calls to mind Hope Sandoval. Likewise there is the oddball other-worldliness that might make some think, "Kate Bush" (but certainly not ALL of the eras of Bush's career). Even one of the early, pre-dress-up-like- pirates, Heart albums spring to mind (Dog And Butterfly). One thing you won't think, you won't entertain, is that Nadler is a run of the mill folksinger.

It is hard to imagine her airy vocals "polluted" by any non acoustic instrument. You want nothing to drown them. Not to sound like a hippie but this is music of clean skies and magic, not wires and diodes (and yes they Faces on Film did bring out an electric and accompanied and it sounded fine). This is totally wrong. It isn't fact. You just want to hear Nadler. And the introduction of a cello certainly added to the set. The added instrumentation wasn't abused either. They felt no need to use it on every single song.

Her voice is vulnerable and strong in the same instance and it is what soars in the music. The word "otherworldly" comes to mind again but this is not True Blood-annoying-fairy-otherworldly.

Nadler said, from the stage, that the audience was a great one--and that not all were. Some people do not know how to go see a band with understated, soft music. Often the bands are too polite to say it but I am not; Shut the fuck up. No one wants to hear you, not even the dimwits you came with. Go out into the street to talk about the Cubs game.

The Postelles play what I call, in my head, New York City Rock. The bands that fall into this category cut a wide swath and probably are not a single genre. It really is in my head....or is it?  Anyway, from now on I am making up my own genres to confuse the hell out of everyone. The Postelles play a type of rock that is 50s-tinged (they covered Hound Dog), inoffensive and a lot of fun.  Inoffensive is meant as a compliment. I do not always need a song to be about genital mutilation or murder to get my attention.

I just really don't need to be made angry ALL the time. And these guys also covered a Ramones song. Before that, however, I had a strange sense of Déjà Vu. A number of years ago I saw the late Willy Deville play the same stage. The Postelles would have fit in well on that bill way back when.

The audience at the show was short, at least shorter than normal. How did I notice this? Standing in the back during the opening act I could see without obstruction. Then I looked around and saw most of the crowd was young women. THAT is a good thing for a band to have. It bodes well for your career if you rock and have women fans. Men like the rock but if women like it too then more men come because of the women.

Before you know it, you are playing stadiums.

Later some Sasquatches did come in and stand in front of me. So the crowd did even out.

The Dig are riffy NYC rock with a 80s synth sound, quirky driving rhythms and a 90s rock meets Buddy Holly feel (or something like that). It works all the way through the set. Watching them I thought, "The Postelles have balls having a band this good opening for them."

The synth wash over a lot of the tracks really brings it together. They are also a band where the bass figures big, not just the instrument but the bass frequency. They are worth going to see wherever they are on the bill--keeping in mind; this is old-school bar rock n roll.

You may notice that there are fewer pictures of the wonderful Amor de Dias than of some other folks I have aimed a camera at. There is a good reason for this (no, I was not drunk). The band plays such subtle, beautiful and soft music I could hear my shutter going off every time I pressed the button. It sounded as loud as a fuckin' avalanche to me and I just couldn't take all the photos I needed to to get a decent number. I am not ruining a show for other folks.

They really play beautiful music though. When your band consists of two classical acoustic guitars and a cello you sort of have to play well as you have only your playing and your voices to rely on.

Amor de Dias is Alasdair MacLean & Lupe Núñez-Fernández. MacLean is from the band The Clientele and Núñez-Fernández is from Pipas, both bands worth checking out in their own right. I am having a dreadful time coming up with words to describe this music; it is

Another thing to mention is that I bought the band's just release CD, Street of the Love of Days. I make a habit of not buying CDs at shows because, well, I go to a lot of shows. But I had to have this one.

Good Night & Good Morning were the first band on a three band show. They were very ambient (look, I worked for Projekt Records for 4.5 years in the 90s, hard to impress me with the ambient). But they are actually fine and will probably get much better if they experiment more.

Would make an unsolicited suggestion; they have a xylophone and that is cool but it would be more unique if it sounded more like a xylophone. Also? Turn down the reverb on the vocals.

Cake is one of those rare bands that release a CD every 4 years but don’t seem to lose fans. In fact, judging by the audience at the Riviera in Chicago, they seem to gain them. The age range was from 10 to 50-something, there were people there with a kid who looked about nine. The kid was drinking a Red Bull.

Parents of the year!

Reminds me of a show I was working at in New Hampshire years ago. Some hippie chick wanted to bring her baby into the show.  I told her a) this is a bar b) do you have any idea how loud this is going to be? She started to babble some hemp-induced gibberish about shoving napkins into the baby’s ears.

But I digress.

There are other bands that do it. But a lot of those are U2, Rolling Stones and Eagles-sorts of bands who people will blindly totter out to see just so they can say they went. Some of the more old geezery acts don’t even bother with releasing music. Not dissing the bands here necessarily. Just pointing out that Cake was not playing at Soldier Field but at a venue that holds a few thousand people at a sold out Riviera Theater.  

But back to Cake specifically; when you hear a cake song you know it is Cake. Sometimes when you say this about a band it means all the band’s songs sound the same.  In this case it means they have a style that is hard to rip off, a sort of musical personality, character that is theirs alone. It might be a bit of a dysfunctional personality, like a crazy uncle sort of thing, but that is neither here nor there.

There were songs they played I had forgotten about. How Do You Afford Your Rock-N Roll Lifestyle? made me look around at the audience. In some cases it I thought…”Well…that guy looks like an accountant. So that is how he affords it” or ”That dude probably robs 7-11s…” etcetera.

I’m So Sick of You, from the band’s new record Showroom of Compassion, ended the first set.  The new record is, honestly and no bullshit, as good as anything they’ve done in their career. I guess you can get rid of the filler when you take years to put a record together.

There was a little too much audience participation for me. But that is because I am a cranky person who does not wish to participate. The rest of the people seemed very into it. And you sense (this could be me I suppose) that McCrea is being a little mocking in his interaction with the audience. I find mockery impressive.

If you are the type to ponder about why a band is unique there are a few things that stand out about Cake. McCrea has a unique voice obviously. But they also use the trumpet well. They use it a lot but avoid being redundant. Bassist, Gabriel Nelson moves from straight up unnoticed rock n roll background bass to funky, active lines that take over a song. Even little things like the percussion thing-a-ma-bob McCrea whacks in front of the mic on numerous songs is a signature.

OK, so they give away a tree to an audience member at each show. You have to guess the type of tree (in this case nectarine…a type of tree I do not think will survive in Chicago). The band website apparently has a map where you can see the people who have won previous trees and how they grow old and the trees grow up over time. It is an interesting sociology experiment, totally uncontrolled and providing no usable data--a sort of Surrealist sociology experiment. McCrea notes he gets angry email from fans about how the tree thing brings the show to a grinding halt. It does. I mean it is a freight train slamming on the breaks sort of halt.  He could read a couple of chapters of the Great Gatsby and it would move things along better. But so what? It is different. I want to see different.

Right near the end of the show I watched a guy get tossed out for taking a picture with his camera phone. Yes, they announced you shouldn’t do it. No, I do not understand why people MUST do it--to the point where they barely pay attention to the show, but, let’s face it; hundreds of people at every show are doing it. There is no way to control access to your image and it is so easy to record a show now it is impossible to stop the determined fan, only the guileless ones.

If Cake come to your town go to see them, unless the show is sold out. Don’t buy tickets from a broker. Brokers are evil.