District 97 / Silvie's Lounge

AUGUST 27, 08 - District 97: prog rock meets American Idol.

Truth be told, that's all there is to it.

Picture this: a television-pretty girl in short-shorts stands before a keyboard player with a jewfro and glasses, a bassist playing his guitar high enough that he could tweak his own nipple with a flick of the wrist, a guitarist who didn't make the Panic at the Disco! audition because he's got acne scars, and a drummer who needed a signed permission slip to stay out late enough for the show. You could almost visualize him loading his kit into the back of his mom's Civic. And there ain't no city sticker, that's for sure.

Vocalist Leslie Hunt (a recent American Idol reject who has a far more palatable solo career) fronts this five-piece ensemble of Dungeons and Dragons math rock. Hunt's voice is obviously the highlight of this quintet, but due to some very questionable logic, her talents are only utilized in every other song (by my count, four in the set - hey, it is prog rock), and at that, only every 24 bars or so.

Each song featured a barrage of light-speed triplets from the bassist (which is admirable for someone who plays without a pick), but after it kept on (and on and on), I started to get that nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach that only happens when I get to the last castle in Super Mario. That could, however, be the effect of listening to King Koopa's own personal soundtrack for 30 minutes straight. The drummer, while capable of what he was trying to accomplish, seemed to be forcing each time change. While math rock is just that, there is a lot to be said for feeling and understanding a groove, even if it's in 7/8. The keyboard player was a source of much amusement - and not just because of his overwhelming Semitic image. He seemed to be on top of his game, leading the band towards a more tangible sound. He could still use a few years playing with someone over the age of 25 before he can play a worthy role in a prog rock band, but the kid has potential.

Insert Intoxikatie's favourite joke ever:

Q. What are the two kinds of keyboard players?
A. Jewish and bad.

Math rock is one of those dishes best served lukewarm. There has to be a balance with current popular music trends in order to remain relevant and, frankly, listenable. District 97, while appearing to be very talented players individually (and likely all freaky jazz majors at any number of local institutions I've dropped out of), have very little chemistry on stage - musically or aesthetically. Perhaps that 20-sided die should be saved for their roleplaying, not choosing the next change in time signature.

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The Glorious Vapors / Ronny's

AUGUST 1, 2008 - Any rock show at Ronny's is a tragedy. What used to be a cute neighborhood hole-in-the-wall filled with Latino gayboys and the bolder strands of the initial Logan Square artist invasion dancing cheek-to-cheek (think lower) to Los Fabulosos Cadillacs on the jukebox and swigging canned beer 'til the wee hours of the morning has become just another shitty rock dive. But we'll save my self-exempting rant on gentrification for another day.

For a band whose members obviously have a bit of experience performing, The Glorious Vapors should certainly know better than to open their set with a seven-minute ambient jam. Whether this was an orchestrated "piece" or a bunch of otherwise adequate musicians attempting improvisational "noise art" I'll never know, but it was an offensive and exhausting introduction to a show that didn't end up being much better. Maybe they were giving the crowd a chance to escape, who knows.

The band's second song was exponentially more promising, with a defined beat and melody - who could have guessed these things would make music more palatable? The drummer, equipped with a set of brushes and a receding widow's peak, initially reminded me of a young Victor DeLorenzo. That is, until he picked up a set of sticks for their next number. One has to wonder how a percussionist capable of playing with such dramatic dynamics on one tune has no perception of when he is playing too loud. In a cement room. On every other song.

The guitarist and lead vocalist actually has a unique timbre to his voice which could be quite appealing if he had any control over it. Attention, male singers: vocal lessons don't mean you're not rock & roll, it just means that you don't want to sound like a pubescent Eddie Vedder that just took a hit to his hairless groin.

The bassist came prepared with an upright and the obligatory white-upright-player's mohawk. Despite his predictable taste in hairstyles, he was probably the most competent player of the foursome. There were a few wrong notes here and there, but that's nothing a little practice and a new band won't fix.

I'd like to comment on the other guitarist/vocalist, but I can't remember much about the guy. Perhaps that's the comment in itself. His harmonies were in tune, but otherwise he was invisible.

I consider myself to be pretty open-minded when it comes to genres, but I just couldn't get into a full set of songs that aspire to be left off the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. It's possible that I missed the trend, but I can't imagine "noise folk" to ever become a profitable or worthwhile style of music.

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