If you're the kind of person that uses their non-football-season-Sundays for resting your 5 Hour Energy and whiskey riddled soul, The Whistler has a show that ought to be right up your alley. WCR readers might know Julie Meckler as the one pretty thing about local junkyard rockers Rambos, but that band's horror-tinged garage stylings are a far cry from Meckler's solo work. The French-turned-Chicagoan chanteuse lives closer to Mazzy Star than to the morgue, drifting through travel-weary ballads with a haunting lilt and somber charm. Songs like "Mexico" are vaguely reminiscent of The Children's Hour, a magnetic combination of fragile guitar work and eidolic swooning. What makes Meckler's music captivating is the deliberate delivery of her words. Even in moments of romantic lament there isn't a syllable lost in excess or hyperbole- or to paraphrase Phillip Lamantia, there is never "a spoken word caught in its own meat saying nothing." If that doesn't have you interested enough to check out this free show, here's the video for "Manhattan."
Showing posts with label the whistler. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the whistler. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Show preview: Julie Meckler, 4/15 at The Whistler
By Gene Wagendorf III
If you're the kind of person that uses their non-football-season-Sundays for resting your 5 Hour Energy and whiskey riddled soul, The Whistler has a show that ought to be right up your alley. WCR readers might know Julie Meckler as the one pretty thing about local junkyard rockers Rambos, but that band's horror-tinged garage stylings are a far cry from Meckler's solo work. The French-turned-Chicagoan chanteuse lives closer to Mazzy Star than to the morgue, drifting through travel-weary ballads with a haunting lilt and somber charm. Songs like "Mexico" are vaguely reminiscent of The Children's Hour, a magnetic combination of fragile guitar work and eidolic swooning. What makes Meckler's music captivating is the deliberate delivery of her words. Even in moments of romantic lament there isn't a syllable lost in excess or hyperbole- or to paraphrase Phillip Lamantia, there is never "a spoken word caught in its own meat saying nothing." If that doesn't have you interested enough to check out this free show, here's the video for "Manhattan."
If you're the kind of person that uses their non-football-season-Sundays for resting your 5 Hour Energy and whiskey riddled soul, The Whistler has a show that ought to be right up your alley. WCR readers might know Julie Meckler as the one pretty thing about local junkyard rockers Rambos, but that band's horror-tinged garage stylings are a far cry from Meckler's solo work. The French-turned-Chicagoan chanteuse lives closer to Mazzy Star than to the morgue, drifting through travel-weary ballads with a haunting lilt and somber charm. Songs like "Mexico" are vaguely reminiscent of The Children's Hour, a magnetic combination of fragile guitar work and eidolic swooning. What makes Meckler's music captivating is the deliberate delivery of her words. Even in moments of romantic lament there isn't a syllable lost in excess or hyperbole- or to paraphrase Phillip Lamantia, there is never "a spoken word caught in its own meat saying nothing." If that doesn't have you interested enough to check out this free show, here's the video for "Manhattan."
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Show review: The Rosen Association, Chants at The Whistler, 7/7
By Gene Wagendorf III
For a brief period on the 7th of July The Whistler was transformed into what my friend aptly dubbed "The Green Mill in the future"- quality cocktails in a slightly snooty atmosphere with music that both leans on and eviscerates jazz. That music came courtesy of Chants, an outfit from Madison, WI whose musical influences would just read like an annoying list of genres. Throughout the entire set Chant's sound seemed to challenge the audience's expectation of what was coming next. Scuttling percussion bounced all around The Whistler, tricking the crowd into bobbing and dancing before breaking down or blowing up. Tense, hypnotic melodies whimpered furiously, at times creating that neo-jazz sound my companion was so fixated with, and at other times seeping Nintendo-inspired tornadoes from the speakers. Each elegant hook and catchy beat was countered by drum and bass whirls and the occasional plodding, introspective detour. Where Chants excelled live was in their refusal to submit to simple pop arrangements, instead choosing to create and populate entire worlds with each number.
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| Chants |
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Show review: Rambos, The Woes at The Whistler, 5/22
By Gene Wagendorf III
Sunday night is normally my least favorite night to go to shows. With any luck I've been tearing it up all weekend and I no doubt have to work Monday morning. This Sunday was different, though. We, as a species, needed to celebrate. The world didn't end on Saturday. What did the lack of a rapture get us? A great free show at The Whistler.
The Woes took the stage to a humming and seemingly disinterested crowd. That changed quickly. The band from Brooklyn launched into an upbeat country-blues number that immediately shut everyone up. Lead singer Osei Essed has one of those striking presences on-stage that makes you look like a fool as you grope the bar blindly searching for your drink. Much of the music came from their November EP, The Bird & The Bear, which fluidly moves from between soul, bluegrass, country and rock. Essed's voice has a kind of Tom Waits twinge and an indelible sincerity that fits perfectly into the banjos, pedal guitars and horns that the rest of The Woes expertly manipulate. “World of Stone” moved with the determination of a Baby Huey & The Babysitters slow-jam while “There are Fields” called the audience to slap their knees and sing along. That The Woes come from Brooklyn seems a bit of an oddity considering how authentically southern their stylings are, but that they were playing in Chicago Sunday night was nothing short of a gift.
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| Rambos |
The Woes took the stage to a humming and seemingly disinterested crowd. That changed quickly. The band from Brooklyn launched into an upbeat country-blues number that immediately shut everyone up. Lead singer Osei Essed has one of those striking presences on-stage that makes you look like a fool as you grope the bar blindly searching for your drink. Much of the music came from their November EP, The Bird & The Bear, which fluidly moves from between soul, bluegrass, country and rock. Essed's voice has a kind of Tom Waits twinge and an indelible sincerity that fits perfectly into the banjos, pedal guitars and horns that the rest of The Woes expertly manipulate. “World of Stone” moved with the determination of a Baby Huey & The Babysitters slow-jam while “There are Fields” called the audience to slap their knees and sing along. That The Woes come from Brooklyn seems a bit of an oddity considering how authentically southern their stylings are, but that they were playing in Chicago Sunday night was nothing short of a gift.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Show review: Netherfriends at the Whistler, 1/4
Posted by Bobby
I had been peripherally exposed to Netherfriends through others’ enthusiasm, including within the digital halls of our make believe WCR office because fellow staffer Andrew is a big fan (check out his artist spotlight/interview here). So after settling in to the ol’ apartment Tuesday night and escaping the balls cold outside, I decided, “nope, not staying in,” and called a cab to take me to the Whistler so I could check out Netherfriends myself.
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| Shawn Rosenblatt of Netherfriends |
I am glad I did that. Shawn Rosenblatt, the man behind the curtain, performed a solo set but it sounded like the Beach Boys had just returned from some sort of Flight of the Navigator type journey through spacetime and had come back as haunted versions of their younger, eager selves, and with better technology (whew). I have seen a lot of work with loop pedals and self-harmony, but Netherfriends’ melodies were what made the technicality so fun to listen to. While that type of song rendering can often only build to a final cacophony with little in the way of dynamic shift, Shawn's songs moved up, down and all over the damn room like it was its own tiny little universe. Throwing lyrics from late ‘80s/early ’90s popular rap songs in there didn't hurt either.
I bought the record, I'll be at SubT when they play as a full band tonight, and Andrew: good call.
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Check out more show reviews:
Cursive at Subterranean
James Chance at Beauty Bar
Peaches Christ Superstar at the Portage Theater
The 1900s at Empty Bottle
Archie Powell & the Exports at Darkroom
November show recap: Molehill, Magic Kids, White Mystery
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Check out more show reviews:
Cursive at Subterranean
James Chance at Beauty Bar
Peaches Christ Superstar at the Portage Theater
The 1900s at Empty Bottle
Archie Powell & the Exports at Darkroom
November show recap: Molehill, Magic Kids, White Mystery
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tonight: Shapers, Chants at the Whistler
Posted by Andrew
My first experience with Shapers was back in October when they opened for the 1900s (review here). I hadn’t listened to them ahead of time so the tabula rasa experience is one I regret I’ll never be able to have again. To say the least, Shapers is on the opposite side of the musical spectrum from the Chicago indie-pop stalwarts that would follow them. Dynamics and conventions are simultaneously adhered to and disassembled. The band experiments with experimentation. The two basic (rather, complex) principles the band adheres to are dissonance and entropy. I know it all sounds a bit confusing but you have two options to pursue: 1) Experience Shapers like I did and let them swallow you whole. 2) Click here, here, or here for videos to be more prepared. Note: listening ahead of time can still really only prepare you in as much as you’ll be bringing a knife to a shootout.
Opening for Shapers is Chants, the one-man multi-instrumental alias of Jordan Cohen. Similarly anarchic to Shapers, but with more beats and decipherable melody. This all goes down at the Whistler tonight, December 16 (10 p.m., FREE, 21+) as the official release for Shapers' Virginia Reel 7” out on (no kidding?) Whistler Records.
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| Photo Credit: Joe Carsello |
Opening for Shapers is Chants, the one-man multi-instrumental alias of Jordan Cohen. Similarly anarchic to Shapers, but with more beats and decipherable melody. This all goes down at the Whistler tonight, December 16 (10 p.m., FREE, 21+) as the official release for Shapers' Virginia Reel 7” out on (no kidding?) Whistler Records.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Show preview: Icarus Himself at The Whistler, 12/2
Posted by Sasha
Icarus Himself's newest EP Mexico has been garnering some nice press since its release in May, and rightfully so, as it's a marked step up for these Wisconsin locals. Not only have they added a third member, they've let their electronic predelictions take more control, allowing themselves to tangle their guitars with waves of synth. IH advertise as psychedelic, but there's more urgency here than that label usually suggests. Their sound is more hammered into the earth than it is floating on the air, fully driven and edged with angst. Mexico slaloms between carnival whirls and hard folk squalls, carving a groove that's equal parts Beirut and Bright Eyes. It's convincingly weird, a darkened shade of folktronica comfortable in its eccentricity.
Newly touring as a three-piece, Icarus Himself will be playing The Whistler on Thursday, December 2nd. Chicago's The Single Helix will open. The show starts at 10 p.m. and it's a 21 and over venue.
Icarus Himself's newest EP Mexico has been garnering some nice press since its release in May, and rightfully so, as it's a marked step up for these Wisconsin locals. Not only have they added a third member, they've let their electronic predelictions take more control, allowing themselves to tangle their guitars with waves of synth. IH advertise as psychedelic, but there's more urgency here than that label usually suggests. Their sound is more hammered into the earth than it is floating on the air, fully driven and edged with angst. Mexico slaloms between carnival whirls and hard folk squalls, carving a groove that's equal parts Beirut and Bright Eyes. It's convincingly weird, a darkened shade of folktronica comfortable in its eccentricity.
Newly touring as a three-piece, Icarus Himself will be playing The Whistler on Thursday, December 2nd. Chicago's The Single Helix will open. The show starts at 10 p.m. and it's a 21 and over venue.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Show preview: Dick Wolf! at the Whistler, 10/11
Posted by Andrew
When the term math-rock is thrown around, I get apprehensive at the notion of another over-indulgent descendant of their prog-rock progenitors. That is why when hearing a band coined as thus demonstrate the ability to avoid the common pitfalls of the genre, I am particularly quick to take notice. Chicago band Dick Wolf! attract and sustain your attention throughout their set, primarily by doing just that. With what must be a fine knowledge of the Kinsella catalogue, the trio proves their technical proficiency with stimulating juxtapositions between melodic and dissonant sections. Concision is key as well, with no recorded material reaching over the four-and-a-half-minute mark.
Currently, the band have seven songs up for free download and have just finished up mastering two tracks for a 7” they will be releasing within the next couple of months, with a music video planned for “Death Ain't Nothin' But Birth In Reverse.” They have a donation site set up to help fund the project, with some damn fine incentive to pitch in. In the meantime, hear what all the fuss and noise is about for free at the Whistler on Monday, October 11 at 9:30 p.m. Sabertooth Cavity and Bogus open. Click here for more information on the show.
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