Brad Matthew

Photo by: Donny Dont

There are so many great bands that have amazing albums, but when you go to see them live they just stand there play their instruments.  A big part of being a musician is the performance aspect of it all; being an entertainer.  Why go see a band play live when it’s not more enthralling than listening to their album at home in your room?  Fortunately this is NOT the case with Missouri’s bible belt indie titans Ha Ha Tonka and it has never been more explicit than at their show Saturday night at Subterranean in Chicago.

Ha Ha Tonka is slated to release their second LP, Novel Sounds of the Nouveau South, June 16 via Bloodshot Records, so Saturday night was a bit of a showcase of the new tunes.  Luckily I got my hands on an advanced copy of the album and it has been on repeat every since.  It usually takes a band a few albums to truly define their “sound.”  Novel Sounds a bit of a departure from their debut LP Buckle in the Bible Belt; but when hearing the two albums’ songs together, live, it all makes sense.  Ha Ha Tonka has emerged as a force to be reckoned with.  The live show has reached new heights with the incorporation of the new songs and the addition of a few straight up bluegrass tunes, highlighted by a bluegrass version of Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels.” These guys are performers, entertainers and know how to work a crowd into a frenzy of energy.  From the first song to the last, the crowd was boogying and swaying, cheering and singing and all was high (a few people were puffing hard in the front row).

The Tonka are in the midst of a Midwest tour and will continue through the summer with an east coast tour with Via Audio, who is another amazing live band.  If you get a chance to catch either bands show, bring your dancing shoes and a smile!

Walking on the Devil’s Backbone - Ha Ha Tonka

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Being the son of a famous musician is probably a hard thing to live up to.  In Justin Townes Earle’s case, son of Steve Earle, not only does he have that to live up to, but he was named in honor of his pappy’s hero, the country-folk legend Townes Van Zandt. Now that’s a lot of live up to, but after seeing Justin at Double Door this past Friday evening, let it be known that he is the real deal!

Before the show I had listened to very few of Justin Townes’ tunes and what I had listened to didn’t strike me as anything all that special. Armed with just his guitar and the eyes of murder, from the moment he took the stage, you knew he wasn’t fucking around; this guy meant business. Throughout his set, Justin Townes prowled the stage with such utter confidence and attitude it was hard not to watch.  His music is about as raw and authentic as it gets, straight from the green tops of the Appalachians, pure roots Americana.  Accompanying Earle was multi-instumentalist Cory Younts, who was not only one hell of a harp player (harmonica), but ripped between mandolin and banjo as well.

Go see Justin Townes Earle.  Take a listen to his tunes to get a taste of what he is all about, but keep in mind the live show is where his full flavor is to be consumed.

When Dr. Dog first announced it was playing Double Door, I was pretty fucking pumped. Their debut LP, We All Belong, is a great album and frequented my aural pallet in 2007. Last year they released the follow up, Fate, which was good, but never really hooked me in.  Last Friday night marked the second night of a two night stand at Double Door.  While the show was good, like Fate, it never really captivated me.  The band is damn amazing, driven by their guitar harmonies and tight ass bass grooves, but through it all, not many of their songs were distinguishable.  It was great to hear some of my favorites off of We All Belong, including “Worst Trip” and “My Old Ways.”  Those songs rip!  Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to salvage what turned out to be a run of the mill show.

Yes, My Morning Jacket is the best live band this year and ranks among the best ever.  Sundays show at The Chicago Theatre only endorsed such accusations as they brought the rock to melt some Midwest faces.  There aren’t many bands that can captivate an audience for over 2 hours without a single let down, but MMJ does this with flawless execution and complete sincerity.  Back in October, frontman Jim James had a little mishap in Iowa City and ended up in the hospital.  Their two shows in Chicago, rescheduled from October, were the bands first since the incident.  I caught them days before the incident in Milwaukee and the beardless James seemed to be a bit more tame on stage this time around.  Either way, they put on one hell of a show and if you haven’t caught one, do so at any expense.  You can check out more pics from the show here.

Setlist: (via Muzzle of Bees)
At Dawn
It Beats For You
Evil Urges
I’m Amazed
Gideon
Wonderful Man
Golden
I Will Sing You Songs
Lowdown
Sooner
Thank You Too
Anytime
Remnants
Lay Low
Highly Suspicious
Off the Record
I Think I’m Going To Hell
Smokin From Shootin
Touch Me Pt 2
Run Thru

Encore:
Look at You (Jim James solo)
Nashville to Kentucky
Steam Engine
Cobra
Wordless Chorus
One Big Holiday

I had the pleasure of catching Wisconsinite Bon Iver’s sold out show at The Vic last Thursday in Chicago. His album For Emma, Forever Ago made my top album list for the year, as well as many others and has garnered Mr. Vernon some well deserved press.  His backing band was more than stellar, adding some deep dynamics and cherry harmonies to his tunes.  As a musician I always hate when people like a cover more than your original music, but in the case of Bon Iver covering The Outfield’s “Your Love”, it only amplified an already amazing show (it ranks with my best of the year).  The clip below is from his Wilbur Theatre show in Boston earlier this month.  A hilarious cover turned beautiful.

Word spreads fast when Andrew Bird is playing Hideout.  “Careful readers” of Mr. Bird’s December 9th newsletter strewed the news of his warm up shows Sunday and Monday evening at the intimate Chicago venue.  Bird and friends will embark on extended US tour in support of the upcoming release of his fifth album, Noble Beast, out January 20 on Fat Possum records; a week earlier than previously announced.

Sunday’s show definitely felt like a rehearsal at times, making the performance that much more charming than your middle of the tour polished show.  After a few early mishaps, Bird seemed a bit uncomfortable, going as far as to joke about the theme of the night being “embarrassment.” It didn’t take long for the band to settle into a groove, led by the groove-master himself, Martin Dosh, aka Dosh, who also served as the opening act of the night.  This guy is quite the multi-instrumentalist, taking on the duty of drummer, keyboardist and sample looper (taking live samples of the music and looping it).  Bird and company gave us a sneak preview of Noble Beast, running through the album in its entirety.  After hearing how amazing these songs sound live, anticipation for the release of the new album is on the rise.  The energy in that room was rather lofty and it came through in Bird’s performance, garnered by the 175+ people in attendance.

For those who missed these shows, you can catch him again April 11 at Chicago’s Civic Opera House.  You can preview “Carrion Suite” and “Oh No” from Noble Beast on AndrewBird.net.