1. Archer Prewitt,
Papa M, Jim O’Rourke, The Sam Prekop Band
at the Bottom of the Hill (San Francisco)
|
|
|
It is
a rare show indeed when I own multiple albums by
every band playing in a four band set, but that was the case here.
So, I had a feeling this was going to be something special; however,
apparently many others had the same feeling.
According to the doorman, this show was one of the fastest
shows to sell out at the Bottom of the Hill.
Doors opened at 6:00 for the 9:00 PM show, and was sold out by 6:10
(advance
tickets were sold at ticketweb). Anyway,
I showed up around 7:00, not knowing that this Chicago musician consortium would
be so popular in the Bay area. Luckily
for me, some guy showed up with an extra ticket before Archer ever came on and
sold it to me for a beer and $10. This
meager price was clearly worth it. Archer
played many songs of his upcoming album White Sky.
Papa M played one 25 minute song with massive amounts of delay.
The last five minutes of the set he was no longer on the stage, the
guitar layers we watched him create were simply cycling for the audience
enjoyment. Next, Jim
O’Rourke entered the stage. Jim
a Chicago native who only accompanied this group at this show (interestingly
enough he did not even join them at the Lounge Ax) and it was certainly a bonus.
He played 5 strong songs - one
from Bad timing and 4 from Eureka. Jim’s
set was probably the second best of the night.
Then, Sam and the boys took the stage.
They played a superb set, almost exclusively from Sam’s latest self
titled album. They were
definitely tight, hitting many stops perfectly.
They closed with two Sea and Cake songs.
This was a great show.
|
2.
Supreme
Dicks, Anomoanan, Bonnie Prince Billy
at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco) |
|
|
The two San Francisco shows (the other at the Starry
Plough) were the only shows to feature Will’s brother Ned and his band
Anomoanan. And it was
definitely a bonus. The
Supreme Dicks aren’t for me their goofball pop and odd instruments while
mildly intriguing begin to grate on you after 15 minutes.
Anomoanan is pretty good stuff,
they play the poppier side of Palace Brothers.
However, the show was clearly made by Bonnie Prince Billy.
Will was in charge for this show.
He played about half Palace and half solo stuff.
His brother joining him on vocals for many of the songs.
This song would have made a believer out of anyone, even if you were
“Drunk at the Pulpit”
|
3.
Jack Logan, The Handsome Family
at the
Schubas (Chicago)
|
  |
Jack was touring in support of his two new albums:
Tinker and Buzz Me In. New
stuff, old stuff; Jack likes playing and is consistently good.
He performed a strong mix of new stuff and old stuff, winning over the
crowd at Schubas once again. Handsome
Family was up to their usual antics, arguing on stage, joking with the audience,
and playing old school country. Handsome
Family is consistently the opening
act for top shows. This show
ranked number three despite the fact I broke my elbow on the way home from the
show.
|
4.
Sonna, Two Dollar Guitar, Papa M
at the Mercury Lounge (NY)
|
|
|
One of the primary reasons, I went to this show was that
I could not get tickets to see Papa M opening for Stereo Lab the night before at
Irving Plaza. Blessings
come in many disguises. The show
got off to a great start when Sonna took the stage.
Their melodic slow-core post rock grabbed the audience’s attention.
It was their first time playing in NY, but judging by their performance
this will certainly not be their last.
Since Two Dollar Guitar was
playing between two post rock bands, I thought they would play more stuff from
their Train Songs album; but I was wrong.
They came out with their Lemonheadish pop.
Not a great set, but a good set.
Dave Pajo walked up to the stage, wearing a Stereo Lab T-shirt from the
night before. They took the
stage to a rap song centering around the concept, “Your Music Sucks You Sell
Out.” I am not sure who the rap artist was, but it may have been
All Natural. It was damn
comical. This paved the way, for a
kick ass show, Pajo and gang
rocked.
|
5.
Papa M, Archer Prewitt, Sam Prekop Band
at the Lounge Ax (Chicago)
|
|
|
I cannot believe Papa M, played in three of my top five
shows. I was standing next to
Jeff Parker, the guitar player from Tortoise for this show.
Jeff was really excited to see ex-Tortoise guitarist Dave Pajo perform
his new stuff. This show however
was dominated by the Sam Prekop Band (much like my favorite concert of the
year).
|
6.
The
Pickets, Old 97s
at Slim’s (San Francisco)
|
|
|
I saw these two play together on the original No
Depression Tour (with Whiskey Town, and the Hazeldines)
almost three years earlier. A
lot has changed since then, but one thing remained the same – the Old 97s blew
the Pickets off the stage. The
pickets are one of two bands that I know that have their drummer closest to the
front of stage (the other being A Minor Forest).
Their music is watered down alt country, not that impressive.
The Old 97s ,on the other hand, are one of my favorite live acts.
Their high energy delivery of pop, punk, and country translates great to
the stage. This particular
night was punctuated by the normally quiet Murray Hammond ripping on pretty boy
now rock star, Rhett Miller.
|
7. Sixto, Sweeder, June of 44
at the Lounge Ax (Chicago)
|
|
|
June of 44’s amazing tight set was one of the best
performances of the year, its too bad the opening acts were weak.
This tour was just before they released Anahata.
So, we got a good mix of 1998's superb Four Great Points and Anahata.
|
8.
Kelly
Hogan, Old 97s
at the Lounge Ax (Chicago)
|
|
|
Another spectacular show by the Old 97s.
I think it is hard to leave a show sober watching these guys, and I mean
that as compliment. They are a great live band.
|
9.
Superchunk, Beulah
at the Great American Music Hall (San Francisco)
|
|
|
I never really bought into Superchunk’s straight up
rock and roll delivered through indie veins, so Beulah stole the show for me.
Watching the massive amount of instruments played (they had over 16
musicians play on their last album) by this quality act is impressive enough.
Not to mention, they are the best thing to happen to the Elephant Six
since Neutral Milk Hotel. They
played with poise, noise, style, and guile ... and man did they sound good.
|
10.
The Eternals, Brokeback, Chicago Underground
Duo
at the Empty Bottle (Chicago)
|
|
|
|
The Eternals are one of the latest local talents to sign
to Thrill Jockey Records. The play
reggae and rock. A solid high
energy show that I would like to see again.
It shifted into a slow jazzy bass extravaganza.
Tonight McCombs was in full force playing the double bass, with
occasional accompaniment by Mazurak.
Chicago Underground Duo was actually a foursome tonight, with the usual
cast (Mazurak and Taylor) accompanied by Jeff Parker and Doug McCombs.
Their show was great Jazz set.
|
