Thursday Feb. 7 @ Schuba’sBasia Bulat, Pepi Ginsberg, Deanna Devore $8-$10
Basia Bulat plays indie-pop in the way that Jens Lekman plays indie-pop, or the way The National play indie-rock. She’s not “indie” at all. She’s just boring. But’s marketed as indie nowadays, and there’s lots of boring kids to buy it. How is it that so many people our age have the musical tastes of forty year olds? Is VH1 the problem, or just another symptom? Opener Pepi Ginsberg fits the same diagnosis. She hasn’t been playing music for long, and you can tell. She sounds like the annoying parts of Jeff Buckley: the flighty melodies, the quiet finger-picking, that weird, rounded gargle that sounds like he’s singing through a wine bottle. I mean, no disrespect for the dead. It’s just that he’s moved on, and so should we. Though at only $8 or $10, you could bring your mom, or your boss.
Friday, Feb. 8 @ Double DoorWill Hoge, Jason Isbell, Dawn Landes – $15
Will Hoge will leave you hot and bothered. Hot for his voice, bothered by his lyrics. He’s got a raspy croon, but writes trite, predictable songs. The man is a walking cliché, which is why I don’t feel guilty about using “hot and bothered” here. The phrase also works because your grandma would like him. She’d say “oh, what a talented young man,” and you’d wonder if she even notices how creepy he is. She would, and that freak would like it too, though she wouldn’t say so. It would be a quiet, uneasy moment between grandmother and grandson, like when she came back from Cancun with a Senor Frog’s T-shirt. Hoge could provide the soundtrack, but $15 is hefty. If you don’t mind style over substance, a movie’s still cheaper.
Sunday, Feb. 10 @ House of BluesAll That Remains, Chimaira, Divine Heresy, and Yakuza – $15.50 – $18
Do you like the pitter-patter of double bass drums? Do you like ’em really really fast? Do you like to growl low during verses, and then belt high for the chorus? Are you down to “spread the pain?” Then catch All That Remains and Chimaira when they bring their heavy riffage to Chicago’s House of Blues. (Blues? What’s that? Those pictures of black men on the wall?) It sounds like these bands write songs with Guitar Hero in mind, which is highly likely. All That Remains already had a song featured in Guitar Hero II, why wouldn’t their label tell them to conjour the cash-cow again? If Medill’s taught me anything, it’s write what you can sell. Maybe they’re alumni. Give $15.50 to $18 to Clear Channel if you don’t mind media conglomerates.
