CMJ in New York, Voodoo Experience in New Orleans, four great nights at Chicago’s Hideout, — this weekend is packed. Shudder to Think, Shining, Coliseum, Fucked Up, The Eternals, sBACH, Deacon John, and Pillars and Tongues are all among our recommendations to catch live.
ALARM’s editors and contributors share their weekend plans.
Thursday, October 23
Pillars and Tongues, Remindring @ The Hideout
Somber vocal harmonies emanate from aptly named Pillars and Tongues, an experimental trio whose creations exhibit mystical influences. As Remindring, multi-talented bassist Josh Abrams (Town & Country, Nicole Mitchell’s Black Earth Ensemble) lays out looped soundscapes with Emmett Kelly and Frank Rosaly.
Fucked Up @ Reggie’s Rock Club
Punk-rock misdirection artists Fucked Up hit Chicago two weeks after the release of The Chemistry of Common Life, the group’s follow-up full-length to Hidden World. This time around, Fucked Up’s material moves through more variety of atmosphere than your standard punk/hardcore, with peaceful, otherworldly intros and layers and layers of guitar. There’s less stop-start fury than Hidden World-more sheets of sound-so it will be interesting to see how this vigorous live act performs.
Coliseum starts North American and Japanese tour dates
Louisville hardcore staples Coliseum begin five weeks of performances today, hitting many cities in the USA as well as a few in Canada and Japan. The group doesn’t hit Chicago until Nov. 15, but there’s a good chance that it will be your city in the near future.
Friday, October 24
Ears & Eyes Festival @ The Hideout
With three outstanding weekend shows at The Hideout, independent jazz/avant-garde label Ears & Eyes Records celebrates its third annual Ears & Eyes Festival. The performances feature groups on the Ears & Eyes roster as well as other local standouts and friends of the label, and one such outside artist, Brooklyn’s Parts & Labor, headlines this first night with a catchy mix of indie rock and electronics.
The six-artist, six-hour show also includes bass-and-drums rock duo Black Ladies and free-rock guitarist Tobin Summerfield, but the biggest highlight might be the collaboration between Sunfish Ensemble guitarist David Daniell and Tortoise cofounder/bassist Doug McCombs.
Voodoo Experience begins @ New Orleans’ City Park
With a massive three-day lineup that can only really be explored at thetenthritual.com, New Orleans’ Voodoo Experience celebrates its 10th anniversary. If you’re in the Big Easy on Friday, the fest’s first day, be sure to catch DeVotchKa, Reverend Horton Heat, The Gutter Twins, Man Man, Extra Action Marching Band, and Andre Williams.
Shining (and other picks) at CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival
There are hundreds of bands playing at the dozens of CMJ venues on Friday, the festival’s second-to-last day, but we had to single out Norway’s Shining at Cake Shop (and again at Knitting Factor on Saturday). The post-prog jazz-rock experimentalists return to New York, one of three cities on their first US tour earlier this year, and it might be a while before they return. If you’re in NYC, do yourself a favor and check them out (and pick up Grindstone on Rune Grammofon).
The night’s other highlights include sBACH, An Albatross, Akimbo, Phosphorescent, Sole and the Skyrider Band, and Broken Social Scene.
Keep reading…
Saturday, October 25
Ears & Eyes Festival @ The Hideout
The Ears & Eyes bonanza continues on Saturday as Chicago groove mashers The Eternals headline. Idiosyncratic lyricist/keyboardist Damon Locks should kick the party into full gear over a boundless style convergence, one that mixes hip hop with dub, reggae, electro and rock. One group actually performs after The Eternals, and that’s IDM/jazz duo Silences Sumire, which prepares a clicking mix of beats, saxophone and ambience.
Earlier in the night, electro-acoustic Sante Fe trio D Numbers merges pretty melodies with a danceable backdrop, and improvisational jazz drummer Mike Reed leads his People, Places and Things group into interpretations of jazz, blues and improv tunes from Chicago artists of the late 1950s.
Voodoo Experience @ New Orleans’ City Park
Saturday’s big headliners include Nine Inch Nails and The Mars Volta, but one of the biggest must-see sets is that of mathy ’90s rockers Shudder to Think, who will be performing another one-off date for their recent reunion tour.
Led by operatic vocalist Craig Wedren, Shudder to Think experienced brief radio appeal with “X-French Tee Shirt,” a uniquely structured “pop” song that ends with a catchy, extended mantra.
Brassy funk locals Bonerama and will help you get down earlier in the day.
CMJ Music Marathon & Film Festival wraps in New York City
Shining and Akimbo perform again, so catch them if you can’t get out on Friday. Pit er Pat, Marnie Stern, God Forbid, Lee “Scratch” Perry, and Minus the Bear represent a sliver of the other quality bands performing across the city.
Sunday, October 26
Ears & Eyes Festival @ The Hideout
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of its inception this year, Thrill Jockey pop mainstays Eleventh Dream Day close the final night of the Ears & Eyes Festival. Local quintet Algernon is the fest’s penultimate performance, laying down jazz-tinged post-rock after a pair of all-star avant-garde acts.
Free-jazz/classical cellist Fred Lonberg-Holm (Vandermark 5) helms Zenith Works, which partners him with the powerful rhythm section of bassist Matt Lux (Isotope 217) and drummer Charles Rumback (Leaves). Earlier still, The Engines bounce between dexterous runs, subdued tones and mean grooves, relying on the nimble musicianship of saxophonist Dave Rempis, trombonist Jeb Bishop, bassist Nate McBride and drummer Tim Daisy.
Voodoo Experience @ New Orleans’ City Park
Though big names still abound at Voodoo’s final night, the highlights are all about the (often local) funk as legendary guitarist Deacon John pays tribute to R&B and concertgoers groove to Dirty Dozen Brass Band, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and Ozomatli with Chali 2na.