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.

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.

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.

Acrylics are not good.

Acrylics are great. Yes, a tad hyperbolic but have you READ anything else I write? I go on about hitting people with shovels for listening to Billy Joel. In this case I actually mean what I am writing, however.

If someone is listening to Uptown Girl? I still say you should hit them with a shovel.

But back to Acrylics, a Brooklyn band that I had heard bits and pieces of and liked quite a bit. But I didn't get the full measure until this live show. While I watched I thought; Acrylics sound like 10,000 Maniacs meet Roxy Music at Sharon Van Etten's house. Then the keyboard player from Split Enz shows up with a pizza.

I am not sure I believe that as literal or even figurative truth but it is what sprung to mind. The band has whiffs of "new wave" but also of jazz (not meant as a pejorative in this instance). They put on a good show, even sitting down. They noted that this was their first ever show sitting down.

Without hyperbole I would use the word "transportative" to describe their performance. They send you someplace else when you listen. It may be briefly but you are gone for a bit. And that should be the aim of every live act in every genre--from techno to death metal.

Initially the plan was to shoot photos of the band at Chicago's Empty Bottle. That show turned out to be an early all ages affair that I headed out to ex post facto. I felt bad at using up a guest list slot on a sold out show as a no-show. Then, up in Evanston on Easter, I noticed Acrylics and Junip were playing that evening. I will ramble more about Junip shortly.

I put a crowbar in my threadbare wallet, pulled out $20 and didn't regret it for a second (except when I had to run out for more money to buy the band's 10" vinyl and CD)

Junip are also a wonderful band. I didn't come up with a cutesy-poo description of the band, however. I did, at some points think that singer Jose Gonzalez sounds like a Swedish Jim Croce. But the music is less straight forward and morose than the late Croce.  But not as morose as Red House Painters (although the fans of that band would certainly appreciate Junip even though they have actual bass-lines.

There are whiffs of trip and trance and even Dead Can Dance. Hey! That rhymes! My third grade writing teacher would be proud. Ok, probably not. She would be ashamed. I apologize for using the word "whiffs" twice too.

These two bands, Acrylics and Junip, are an illustration about the state of music; it has never been better in my lifetime. Anyone who says otherwise is one of three basic things:

-wrong.
-ill informed ( and really miss Supertramp ).
-Worked for a record label (most likely in the 70s).

I have had discussions with two former record company types from the 70s. When you mention all the good music out there today they shake their heads sadly and say "No, there isn't." What they are really talking about is that big record companies can no longer make a shit load of money off tired trend copping. No one, in their right mind, misses the rule of the major labels (not that indie labels are much better but that is a tirade for another time).

To be sure, they are still around. Right now a bunch of guys in suits are talking about where to find the next Katy Perry, Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber. They are still there but they just matter a lot less. Their tools in radio matter less too. We do not need them or want them dictating what we listen to anymore.

Artists matter more and it is beginning to show. Neither of these bands is a household name. But neither of them, despite their high end songwriting, originality and musicianship is inaccessable to the general public.  The underground isn't GG Allen throwing a bucket of shit into the audience. It is a broad cross section of music and it is expanding exponentially.

I am not going to use STRFKR. That is stupid. The band is Starfucker. I am thinking of starting a band called the ccksckng mthrfckrs though. Anyway Starfucker, of Portland, played in Chicago at Lincoln Hall with fellow Pacific Northwesterners, Champagne Champagne (who hail from Seattle).

If you happen to see Champagne Champagne you will never forget their name. They chant it in every song and try, with less success as the set goes on, to get the audience to chant it too. You will remember their name on your death bed if you see them. They are, I suppose, a hip hop band with 80s and 90s references thrown in; songs about Molly Ringwald appear and they have a tune where they mix in part of Sonic Youth's Bull in the Heather (the additional lyrics for that song, if I recall correctly, were something about "sucking my dick). They mention dicks and fuck, fuckers, etc with frequency. If it had been 1977 I would have been shocked, SHOCKED I tell you.

BUT they are energetic and engaging and, I bet, judging from the finale they joined in with Starfucker, that if it were more than a trio they would feed of the extra energy. They need to have a big ass band with a horn section. Buy their music so they can afford that, ok?

Starfucker themselves are part of a new trend that old people will whine about. They do mash up style music and they wear all their references on their sleeve and own them.  When they first started the vocals made me a little queasy. They are not strong vocally but if they were it would be a totally different vibe.

And this is all about vibe. One minute you are thinking "Bright Eyes!" and the next "lo-fi dance" and the one after that you forget because you are hopping up and down and humming to yourself.

The crowd featured a guy who vomited before the show started. And I stood briefly next to two girls who got into a shoving match with another girl. I mention this because both are totally incongruous with the music and the polite, almost mellow hippie sensibility that permeated most of the evening. I doubt the guys in Starfucker start many bar fights.

Champange Champagne!!! Champange Champagne!!! Champagne Champagne!!!

The English Beat was the band people into hardcore punk and those who like Joe Jackson could agree about back in the 1980s. The band broke up in 1983 and a UK and USA version apparently both exist (the UK version is The Beat). Personally I want them to tour together. Another curious thing is that when the band split they reformed as General Public and Fine Young Cannibals (both pretty memorable in their own right).

Especially General Public. I bought that one twice as a kid. I literally wore it out (and I would have objected to being called a kid too).

Dave Wakeling lives out in California these days and The English Beat are pretty much constantly touring.  They go out for three weeks and play 17 shows and then take three weeks to a month off. Then they do it again. They are working on a new record as well which includes new material and covers. I was curious how The English Beat 2011 would sound next to The English Beat of 1978.

“I think things do evolve, by the influences around you. When we started we wanted to mix punk and reggae. I didn’t want to sound like Jamaica in 1963,” says Wakeling. “I wanted to sound like Birmingham in 1979. I am proud the new stuff sounds like California in 2011.”

He says the live music also adapts to the times and to how individuals change.

“People say it sounds just like the record live but it doesn’t. A song moves with the times and with the spirit of the times like we do. I like people to think it sounds like it sounded on the record.” he says.

We meandered into discussing the nature of influences and how Wakeling says the Chinese don’t pay copyright and publishing.

“You were just the sum of your influences. How can you claim that?” he says.

He doesn’t necessarily AGREE with artists not deserving these royalties of course. But it is something to think on. As is making excuses for not making music.

At one point he talked about how Robert Johnson played on a horrible guitar. But he still played. When I talked about all the record company people who ripped off Johnson Wakeling commented “But who remembers them now?”

That is dead on. Who does? I am heading down to the crossroads…

But what does Wakeling listen to now? He says he doesn’t much listen to other folks’ music.

“If I turn on the radio I am likely to turn on talk radio. I am more interested in ideas than music. I am only slightly interested in other people’s music.” says Wakeling.

In the past he says he has been influenced by the chemicals in his system. But that has changed.

“Now I am a fairly sober character as opposed to the firebrand I was.” he says.

He says he carried his hangovers like a badge of honor and acknowledges that a hangover can help you write something that reaches other people—especially those with hangovers of their own. But says such songs are more liable to be like a soap opera than an Oscar winning movie.

“Without booze a different set of things comes up. You can still be dismissive and sarcastic.” Says Wakeling.

“One of the biggest influences is time. I am certainly in the second half of my songwriting career, maybe in the last third, hopefully not in the last quarter.” he says.

He says he listens to music on the radio, the Sirius stations from the 60s or the 80s.

“I think albums are an anachronism. They talked us all into thinking what we liked was six good songs and six not so good songs. I like singles more.” says Wakeling.

But there is one record he calls the “holy grail”,  Heart of the Congos by The Congos (released in 1977).

“It is the only record I ever play and it always effects me.” he says.

Curiously, I do listen to a lot of music but one record that always effects ME, is Special Beat Service. Sure there are those who like the more Ska flavor of the first two English Beat records but they are wrong.

If you go to see The English Beat, and you should, keep an eye out for something. Wakeling brought up Carl Jung’s theory of “mass consciousness” and talked about noticing, at shows, how the crowd begins to behave as one.

“You notice that the crowd does this thing, they start moving in time with each other but don’t know it. It is the best part of a concert.” he says.

I thought—“yeah sure…hippie” but then at the show, around the time they played Save It For Later, it happened. Before that middle aged Ska enthusiasts lurched around looking for the beat and then, suddenly, they all seemed to find it as one.

The English Beat, in addition to Dave Wakeling, are; Rhythmm Epkins (Drums/Vocals),Wayne Lothian (Bass/Vocals ), Antonee First Class (Toaster), Raynier Jacildo (Keys/Vocals) and Matt Morrish (Sax/Vocals).

Usually I get pictures of everyone but this time out…they all move too much for my dubious photo skills!

Tim Larson & The Owner Operators first record together, A New Deal, comes out April 15, 2011. This record follows Larson's earlier release, No Weapons, No Allies, a largely solo effort. The band will play the new record in its entirety at a record release show at The Beat Kitchen in Chicago (also April 15). The opening band on that bill is also worth a listen, Wolf Ram Heart. In addition to touring bands (like those below these photos) there will beChicago bands featured here from now on. All you folks who live elsewhere should hear about the bands from the area--there are lots of good ones. You can say you heard of them first here.

Reggies is a venue on South State Street in Chicago. People who live on the North side of the city will not go here. They act like anything south of the loop is on the dark side of the moon, and utterly impossible to get to without assistance from NASA. Reggies has a 17+ venue, Reggie's Rock Club and a 21 and up venue as well. There is also a super cool record store on site too. It is well worth putting on your G-suit and blasting off.

Tim Larson & The Owner Operators will likely be playing shows outside Chicago to support the record. Larson will also play solo in support around the country. Check the band website (linked above) for updates.

Tony Lucca played a show on March 1st at Space in Evanston, a small, but not too small, venue in one of the few Chicago suburbs worth visiting (no offense Schaumburg!). Lucca has six studio records out and his latest is, Rendezvous With The Angels, features Sara Bareilles. Lucca opened for her on a recent tour.

Lucca's three-piece band are not going to appeal to all you punk rockers out there. They are a three piece who infuse a great deal of acoustic (be it guitar or piano) songs into the set and have an almost bluesy tinge.

Lucca also did something many might think impossible; He played a cover of Billy Joel's Vienna and I didn't run screaming from the room. His version was so  emotive it made me think not only "Billy Joel did actually write some good songs" but "I should listen to some old Billy Joel records."  NOW, if you do not want to go back to the works of Joel, fair enough, but Lucca's new record also includes his version of, Vienna.

A little tidbit of information Tony Lucca is probably sick to death of having disseminated is that, as a kid, he was on the Mickey Mouse Club, sharing the stage with the likes of Justin Timberlake. The thing is, there really is no connection between Lucca and that any more than there is between Tom Hanks being the co-star on that show where he had to wear a dress with Peter Scolari (who now does ED commercials).

I did some interviews with a clean-shaven Lucca a few years back about his music gear. He was pleased to be talking about gear and not all the starlets he'd dated or known.

Space is a non-profit (The Society For The Preservation of Art & Culture in Evanston). The venue is all ages and caters to a pretty wide variety of bands but with a definite slant to the singer/songwriter, folksy, blues and lighter rock varieties. It isn't a good bet for Death Metal.

Fences are really worth seeing if you are into slightly, SLIGHTLY morose, indie rock n roll. Initially I thought to myself, “They  remind me of the better parts of latter day Bright Eyes.”  But as the set went on I started thinking about Red House Painters, Sun Kil Moon or even Mark Eitzel. Certainly they are not as morose as the first few on that list hence the emphasis on the word “slightly.” Their show at Beat Kitchen was an extended "opening band" set.

They are certainly a band to watch and if they were to get some exposure, let’s say at a big festival in a large city like Chicago, they could be a band you will hear a lot about in a few months.

Remaining tour dates-
2/18 Hoboken @ Maxwell's
2/19 NYC @ Mercury Lounge
2/20 Washington, DC @ Red Palace
2/21 Philadelphia @ KungFu Necktie
2/23 Boston, Ma @ Middle East Upstairs
3/16, Mission, TX @ Las Palmas Race Park
3/17-3-19 SXSW 

Black and white worked better in the light conditions, although maybe not all that well. The last three color photos are pics I thought were interesting accidents.  I have a large number of variants on these pics, most of these were chosen in the usual Zen way.

Why is it that people, especially during artists who are not playing speed metal, feel the need to talk incessantly? I saw several people, small groups, two together--TALKING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS. And, since I could hear the conversations as I circled around I could also tell that they were TALKING ABOUT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. If you want to talk, go out to the bar. Otherwise, shut the fuck up, you self-absorbed idiots. Under different circumstances I might feel pity that you have such a hole in your soul that you cannot, under any circumstances, shut UP. That you have to gibber constantly about nothing to remind people you are there.  

But when other people are trying to listen to musicians? I withhold my pity. I am sure these same people, some of whom didn’t pay any attention whatever to the band, will tell people they saw a “great” show.

The Church's latest tour consists of the band playing three albums in their entirety.  First they play their latest record, Untitled #23, and follow it, in succession, with Priest=Aura and Starfish. The latter two are arguably the bands two classic recordings (although Remote Luxury or Gold Afternoon Fix might be in the mis for this too). This does them a bit of a disservice as The Church have produced thoughtful and engaging music all through their career.

This is part of a trend, a lot of artists are playing complete albums, from Lucinda Williams to Cheap Trick. It isn't a bad idea but there is something to seeing a show where you don't know what record the next song is from. It also excludes a lot of great material from a band as prolific and as long standing as The Church.

On a non-musical note, the folks at Park West in Chicago, the staff, are the most pleasant at any venue in the city. Sure, most of the venues have professional staff (and some, who shall remain unnamed, have staff that act is if patrons are a terrible inconvenience) but it is noticeably a step above even the good ones at Park West.

Above I include pictures of drummer, Tim Powles, because everyone always ignores the drummer. Which is totally unfair and even though I have been known to tell the odd drummer joke (What do you call someone who likes to hang out with musicians? A drummer!) I have great respect for our stick wielding brethren.

As a note on the photography, there was no flash used on any of these, just a monopod, varied shutter speeds and ISO. Why is this? I would like to say it is totally an aesthetic thing. BUT there is one, purely inartistic, reason--It is obnoxious to blast someone in the face with a flash at close quarters while they are working.  And while I may be obnoxious, I am not that obnoxious.

One of the records, often overlooked, by The Church, that will stand as a classic, as some years pass, is After Everything, Now This. To hear songs live you will have to wait until another tour.

REMAINING DATES
Feb 15 - Philadelphia, PA. - The Trocadero
Feb 16 - New York, NY. - Highline Ballroom
Feb 17 - New York, NY. - B.B. King's
Feb 18 - Foxboro, MA. - Showcase Live
Feb 21 - Greenville, SC - Handlebar (acoustic)
Feb 22 - Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse