|
Artist
Details:
Thursday, Oct. 23rd (secret show,
pre-party for artists, VIPs, 3-day fest pass holders)
∑ Tomorrow Music Orchestra (Chicago), 9pm
o “Boasting an impressive musical repertoire and instrumental arsenal…the
ambitious ensemble employs the services of up to 25 musicians and fuses
jazz with classical music, experimental passages and riffs befitting marching
bands—their performances are easily worth the price of admission
(which is usually cheap). Many of the group’s pieces are not uplifting,
major-key tunes, but its maxim is that “music is fun.” Indeed,
if you like fun, shape-shifting music of many moods, you won’t want
to miss this.” –Centerstage/Sun Times, Scott Morrow
o http://www.earsandeyesrecords.com/tmo
o http://www.myspace.com/tomorrowmusicorchestra
o ears&eyes Records artist
Friday,
Oct. 24th
∑ Parts & Labor (Brooklyn, NY), midnight
o Parts and Labor twist and distort just enough to be challenging, yet
carry through with a melody that ultimately makes them entirely accessible.
Look out for these dudes. – Oh My Rockness (dot) com, http://www.ohmyrockness.com/BandBio.cfm?BandID=243
o 7 1/2 stars Pitchfork Media; http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/42996-mapmaker
o http://www.partsandlabor.net/
∑ Black Ladies (Chicago), 11pm
o Drums and Bass duo
o http://www.myspace.com/blackladiesband
∑ David Daniell/Doug McCombs Duo with Frank Rosaly
(Chicago), 10pm
o Performs with: San Agustin, Jonathan Kane's February, Rhys Chatham's
guitar ensembles, and other collaborations including Loren Connors and
Suzanne Langille, Thurston Moore, Doug McCombs, Frank Rosaly, Tim Barnes,
Ateleia, Jeph Jerman, Sean Meehan, Greg Kelley, David Grubbs, Michael
Rodgers, Paul Duncan, Greg Davis, and Tomas Korber
o "With his slow-moving, understated music, David Daniell makes a
fine spokesman for the notion that anything worth doing is worth doing
for a long, long time. Whether he's contributing moody strums and sculpted
E-Bow drones to the guitar trio San Agustin or stringing computer-generated
pings and bumps across gulfs of silence on Sem, his solo debut on his
own Antiopic label, he develops his material patiently, the better to
let you observe the sounds from every angle."-Bill Meyer, Chicago
Reader, 6-06
o McCombs recently contributed to indie film Dutch Harbor's soundtrack,
working with David Grubbs, Charles Kim, Rick Rizzo, Jim O'Rourke, and
Ken Vandermark. McCombs now fronts the group Brokeback, which began as
his solo project, and has an album on Thrill Jockey.
o They will be joined by drummer Frank Rosaly (Chicago Luzern Exchange,
Keefe Jackson’s Fast Citizens, Ingebrigt Haker Flaten Quintet, Rob
Mazurek’s Mandarin Movie, Matana Roberts Quartet, Dave Rempis Percussion
Quartet, Rolldown, Valentine Trio)
o http://www.daviddaniell.com/
∑ Bus Master (Chicago), 8:45pm
o “Bus Master (aka Todd Bailey of Chicago art rockers Voltage) uses
synths and electronic riff-raff, like a hacked Commodore 64, to make catchy
songs with a noise-band veneer.” –Karsten Lund, Flavor Pill
o Voltage: http://www.myspace.com/moetclique
∑ Touch. (New Orleans/Chicago), 8pm
o Debut CD release party at the festival includes German reedist Frank
Gratkowski, Dan Oestriecher, drummer Justin Peake. This performance will
include Peake, QMRplus’ Robin Boudreaux, and Chicago’s Jason
Stein
o ears&eyes Records artist
∑ Toby Summerfield (Chicago), 7pm
o Bassist/guitarist/composer, Toby Summerfield
Saturday, October 25th
∑ The Eternals (Chicago), midnight
o Chicago Reader, Reader’s Choice 2008 “Best Rock or Pop Act”
o The Eternals “…combine the eerie chill of deep dub with
the righteous fire of 70s rockers reggae but play around with hip-hop,
electro, ambient noise, art-rock, punk, and pretty much every other revolutionary
sound from the past 30 years.” –Miles Raymer (http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/sharpdarts/070209/)
o http://www.myspace.com/eternalsthe
∑ D Numbers (Santa Fe, NM), 11pm
o “tracks propel forward with perfectly misxed basslines, volume
and effusive drumming before becoming deliciously structured and crescendoing
into uplifting endings.” – Brendan Dabkowski, Chicago Innerview
o The magic of D Numbers' live performances is in the real-time reorganization
of analog sounds from live instruments into intricate webs of loops, samples
and digital bliss. D Numbers creates multilayered compositions rich in
texture and depth as the audience watches them bob and sway in sync; stomping
on pedals and lunging for knobs and faders, all the while locked in to
a solid groove.
o http://www.dnumbers.com or http://www.myspace.com/dnumbersband
∑ Mike Reed’s People, Places, and Things
(Chicago), 10pm
o “I don’t know if I've enjoyed a jazz album more this year."
- Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
o “In covering the ominous early work of Sun Ra, as well as Oscar
Brown Jr. and saxophonist John Jenkins, the dueling voices of bold, young
alto saxophonist Greg Ward and tenor man Tim Haldeman expose the fractured
foundation upon which this music was built. Ultimately, Proliferation
wildly succeeds in giving new life to an era long taken for granted."
-Matthew Lurie, Time Out Chicago
o "Reed avoids tired nostalgia by recasting these durable chestnuts
with a rough-hewn edginess that is unsentimental, yet reverent. Placing
a modernistic spin on a set of tunes that simultaneously looks ahead while
evincing their innovative spirit, the quartet avoids routine conventions
in favor of interweaving counterpoint, controlled collective improvisation
and subtle rhythmic deconstruction." -Troy Collins, AllAboutJazz.com
o Chicago Reader feature story: http://www.chicagoreader.com/features/stories/mikereed/
o Pitchfork Music Festival curator, Mike Reed plays an important in Chicago’s
collective, Umbrella Music, which curates music events throughout the
city.
o http://www.mikereedmusic.com/
∑ Via Tania (Chicago/Melbourne, Australia), 10:45pm
o “The best of the lot might be Via Tania (aka Tania Bowers), who
comes from Melbourne via Chicago and has the same effortless charm as
Norah Jones. She’s Beth Gibbons without the haunt and Macy Gray
without the nasal problems." -Austin Chronicle, Feb 23, 2007.
o "Via Tania is a motherfucking revelation." -Junkmedia Magazine
o "It’s rare to find progressive music this engaging."
-Lucky Magazine (AUS)
o "A striking accomplishment" Resonance Magazine (US)
o “Alternately layered and stark, with Tania sounding like a sweeter,
tech-savvy Chan Marshall.” -Richard M. Juzwiak, CMJ New Music Monthly
(US)
o “Sings with an extraordinarily breezy, half-lidded and dreamy
timbre Via Tania will be a major contender.” -Julianne Shepherd,
www.pitchformedia.com (US)
o “The electro-Country highway is still a less travelled road, so
Bowers can happily write her own bible.”
-Martin Longely, The Wire (UK)
o “A beautiful disturbing record, like a mirage seen through the
heat rising off hot tarmac on an empty highway her range is extraordinary.”
-Tim Haslett, Anthem Magazine (US)
o http://www.myspace.com/viatania
o http://www.viatania.com
o Love & Mercy (Au), Easel (JP)Apple Ceremony (US) Record Labels
∑ L’Altra (Chicago/NYC/Pisa, Italy), 8:30pm
o By its very definition, L'altra could not possibly be run-of-the-mill.
Any band whose name translates to "the feminine other" in a
number of Romance languages surely has something dark and mysterious up
its sleeve. As does any group that comes from a collaboration of two exes
- singer-guitarist Joseph Costa and singer-keyboardist Lindsay Anderson
- who spent 7 years together and broke up before they'd even made a record.
That Lindsay and Joe have recorded a trio of albums since then only confirms
that the energy at the core of the L'altra sound - a moody mix of baroque
balladry decorated with ambient electronics, simultaneously soothing and
unnerving - is hardly commonplace.
o Costa’s solo debut record, “Lighter Subjects is rich with
melancholic introspection, gliding Joseph’s sweetly sorrowful voice
over an organic mix of sharp electronic beats, twittering synthetics,
and rich live instrumentation.” – Filmore Mescalito Holmes,
Pop Matters
o “…you'll be lulled into such a state of pleasantly resigned
torpor…” -Kristi Kates, Remix Magazine
o “…a dark swirl of a song that's simultaneously a moody nightclub
number and a frenetic crush of beats.” – Ned Raggett, All
Music Guide
o http://www.myspace.com/laltra or http://www.myspace.com/thecostamusic
or http://www.myspace.com/lindsaychristina
o Hefty, Aesthetics, Acuarela, PVine(JP), Victor(JP) Record Labels
∑ Silences Sumire (Chicago), 1am
o Recently signed with Ropeadope Records for Return Is Selective
o “The sound of Silences Sumire is a abstract and modal, featuring
extemporaneous saxophone overtones, voicing and glissando, with a continuous
playful DSP effects of sample chopping, filtering, and bit-crushing.”
–Last.fm
o ears&eyes Records artist
o http://www.myspace.com/silencessumire
∑ Maurice (Chicago), 7:45pm
o http://www.myspace.com/mauricechicago
o ears&eyes Records artist
∑ Bill MacKay (Chicago), 7pm
o Guitarist-composer Bill MacKay is a native of Pittsburgh who has recently
performed across Chicago with his groups Broken Things, Darts & Arrows
and in various ad-hoc adventures.
o "Jazz/experimental guitarist Bill MacKay and his band Sounds Of
Now treat us to six original compositions on their self-titled CD performed
in quartet, quintet, and sextet formats. MacKay and co. make cool, vibe-filled
music with a classic sensibility and will hopefully connect with a wider,
jazz-friendly audience. Lounge/free/instro fans, this one is for you."
- Mike O'Cull, Illinois Entertainer
o http://www.billmackay.com
Sunday, October 26th
∑ Eleventh Dream Day (Chicago), midnight
o Thrill Jockey artist including Doug McCombs, Rick Rizzo, Janet Beveridge
Bean, John McEntire and Yo La Tengo’s Ira Kaplan
o In 1988, Eleventh Dream Day’s Rick Rizzo told Greg Kot that songwriting
was a kind of a “purge.” Although the music business has changed
vastly around them, Zeroes and Ones shows a band whose pure intent remains
unaffected by the passage of time or the change of landscape. Twenty years
into the partnership, Eleventh Dream Day retains its youthful enthusiasm.
The music has evolved greatly since ’88, but the spark and the drive
remain the same.
o The band’s enthusiasm for playing is palpable on Zeroes and Ones.
Eleventh Dream Day has crafted the finest album of its long career. The
guitar playing and song writing is elevated, the raw energy honed and
undiluted by the passage of time.
o http://www.thrilljockey.com/artists/?id=10015
∑ Fred Lonberg-Holm’s Zenith Works (Chicago),
10pm
o This new trio blurs the lines between improvisation, rock, pop, and
jazz song structures.
o Fred’s “joined by electric bassist Matt Lux (Isotope 217,
Iron & Wine), whose serpentine lines maintain a throbbing pulse, and
drummer Charles Rumback (Colorlist, Costa Music, Horses Ha), who splashes
his splintery timekeeping with colorful accents. Front and center throughout,
Lonberg-Holm sketches melodic themes that serve as springboards for extended
solos, where he braids warm lyricism, effects-driven noise, and pointillistic
splatters—he seems to have a guitarist’s mind in a cellist’s
body.” –Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
o http://www.myspace.com/fredlonbergholm
∑ Algernon (Chicago), 11pm
o "Algernon combines gorgeous melodies with psychedelic effects and
rock beats." -Scott Morrow, Chicago Sun Times
o "The tunes, all written by twentysomething guitar wünderkind
Dave Miller, flutter and bob in surprising patterns...Miller plays with
the refined restraint of someone twice his age, and he’s lucky to
have such committed musicians on hand: Take Katie Wiegman, on vibraphone
and glockenspiel, who supplies a deft and exacting touch that gives the
group a magical air...File it under 'keeper'." -Matthew Lurie, Time
Out Chicago
o "...tautly composed lines and detailed, surprisingly delicate arrangements
butt up against raucous free improvisation and splashy electronics."
-Neil Tesser, Chicago Reader
o ears&eyes Records artist
o http://www.algernonmusic.com or http://www.myspace.com/algernonmusic
∑ The Engines (Chicago), 8:30pm
o A quartet of some of Chicago's best-known and busiest improvising musicians:
trombonist Jeb Bishop, saxophonist Dave Rempis, bassist Nate McBride,
and drummer Tim Daisy.
o "Without being pressured to be a steamroller at all times, these
engines can guide the machine with surprising finesse, and the compositions,
contributed by all four, embrace that freedom with abandon." -Shaun
Brady, Philadelphia City Paper
o "Ken Vandermark has done wonders for the Chicago avant-jazz scene,
but his isn’t the only name to watch within that community. The
new self-titled disc by the Engines—a leaderless band made up of
four frequent Vandermark collaborators—is a great place to get acquainted
with some of the Midwest city’s other heavies." -TimeOut NY
o "These engines can go from zero to 60 in a heartbeat and stop on
a dime, but it's when set on cruise control — guiding the listener
with subtlety and finesse rather than steamroller force — that the
ride is most enjoyable." -The Columbia Free-Times
o "The front line taps into the deep grooves carved out by the rhythm
section, which frequently bumps into the blues without exactly embracing
it. Rempis and Bishop unfurl plenty of muscular, searching solos, but
my favorite parts are when the two get tangled in each other’s lines:
you can hear the years of experience at work in the way they support and
challenge each other without getting in each other’s way."
-Peter Margasak, Chicago Reader
o http://www.theengines.net/
∑ W.W. Lowman (Chicago), 8pm
o W.W. Lowman came to the city of Chicago in 1998. While interning at
ACME studios Jim O'Rourke heard him playing a guitar. He was so taken
with this unique sound that he asked Lowman to perform with him at the
opening of a Tom Ze/Tortoise show. Soon word of his technique and versatility
spread and he found himself playing and touring with a wide variety of
Chicago musical luminaries: L'altra, Smog, Aluminum Group, Alasdair Roberts,
Edith Frost, Bobby Conn, Lindsay Anderson, and Will Oldham.
o “While much of music today is pre-packaged to be consumed and
pissed out within three weeks, Plain Songs begs you to drink slowly; I'm
still sipping in this wonderful little album.” –Tim Avery,
Independent Clauses
o http://www.wwlowman.com/ or http://www.myspace.com/wwlowman
∑ Pedway (Chicago), 9:40pm
o Pedway is a musical collaboration between three Chicago-based musicians,
Quin Kirchner (drums), Matthew Golombisky (bass), and Caroline Davis (alto
saxophone). Steeped in the traditions of jazz, rock, and whatever else
has entered their consciousness, this group explores unchartered territory
each time they perform. Their improvisations are inspired by many local
Chicago groups and act as a bridge connecting a range of musical styles.
o http://www.myspace.com/pedway
∑ Jeff Greene (Chicago), 7:15pm
o Bassist/composer Jeff Greene’s group, blink., just released its
first record on Thirsty Ear Records and is getting great response.
o Greene’s compositions are rooted in space and edgy drama…tight,
labyrinthine…” –Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
Past artists have included: The Lonesome Organist, Day Dream Full Lifestyles,
The Drastics, Avagami, Simon Lott / Brian Coogan Duo, The Other Planets,
Matt Ulery’s Loom, Zing!, Jim Baker, Jason Steele Ensemble, Mind
vs. Target, Phillip Morris, Awdazcate, Wosko/Faulds, Tomorrow Music Orchestra,
Box 3, Casey Farina, The Leaves, Nuclear Biologist Rocket Surgeons, Kevin
Mulroy & Devin Bousquet, Gus Gavino, Middle Mind Project, Michael
Gabriele, Randi Razalenti, Gladys Berndadac, Nicole Millliken, The Everyday
Club, Wes Heine, Rose Candela, Video Janitor, and Meghan McClain
|