Concerts | The Decibel Tolls

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[Photos + Video] Oblisk, R Keenan Lawler, and Softcheque – 8.19.09, DCE, Louisville

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on August 26, 2009

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[Photos + Video] Oblisk, R Keenan Lawler, and Softcheque - 8.19.09, DCE, Louisville

Last Wednesday was a beautiful evening of music. The most significant testament to the show was how well three somewhat disparate genres meshed in an aesthetically sensible way. Many thanks to everyone who came out!

[Photos + Video] Oblisk, R Keenan Lawler, and Softcheque - 8.19.09, DCE, Louisville

The evening kicked off in a dream state thanks to Softcheque. This was my first time seeing them (I missed them when they opened for Phantom Family Halo), and I was extremely impressed. Though they were missing a member due to a last minute work conflict, the group sounded thick and tight. Though Softcheque is often known as a group of Sapat members, Sapat in no way overshadows what Softcheque brings to the table. While Softcheque toggles between many genres, the soft, pointed vocals of Dane Waters over slow-tempo, orante instrumentation evokes a serious Broadcast and/or Pram vibe, minus some of the retro kitsch. I’ll let the video speak for itself:

[Photos + Video] Oblisk, R Keenan Lawler, and Softcheque - 8.19.09, DCE, Louisville

R Keenan Lawler was up next, and killed it as usual. Lawler is a one-man act, using hollow-body guitar, a bottle neck, a mixer, and effects pedals to create Martian mountain folk. Lawler plays it claustrophobic and intense – you don’t need visuals or distractions to keep your attention focused on the man sitting on the stool noodling away.

[Photos + Video] Oblisk, R Keenan Lawler, and Softcheque - 8.19.09, DCE, Louisville

Detroit’s Oblisk closed the evening with the loudest performance. Walls shook, the strobe light blinked, and there was lots of smiling before a few faces melted off. Super resonant Big Muff distortion makes me emotional. I almost cried. I’ll be reviewing the group’s latest, Weather Patterns, later this week. So good. Enjoy a couple of minute-long nuggets (I wish the video was longer, but alas, camera fail):

The House That Slint Built (Perhaps)

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Kenny Bloggins

on April 6, 2009

in Noise Consultations

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slint2 The House That Slint Built (Perhaps)

When you take the LSAT, many of the questions you answer require you to make inferences and deductions based only what’s on paper, essentially asking you to forget any outside knowledge or understanding you have. Let’s take that approach with Slint’s Spiderland. If you knew nothing else about the group or their seminal album, you wouldn’t have a lot to go by outside the strange bobbing heads staring through your soul on the front. From the music, you could glean the group had interests or training in jazz, classical, psych, punk, and noise, and had a weird thing with pirates and insects. From the imagery and album inset, all you would know about the context of Spiderland is that they had Palace Brother Will Oldham go swimming with them one day at the Utica Quarry in southern Indiana (and took pictures), the band prefers you listen to this on vinyl (as stated on the CD and cassette copies), and they were no longer interested in mumbling narratives by themselves. The latter is what seems most interesting to a lot of people. That makes sense considering the band melted down either during or shortly after Spiderland’s release and the fact that, other than the track titles, it’s the only real, tangible information included on the album cover.

interested female vocalists write
1864 douglas blvd. louisville, ky 40205

My apartment is about a seven to ten minute bike ride from this address. It was a nice Saturday afternoon, I was listening to the Slint EP, and thought, what the hell? Let’s go on a vision quest to find the Slint house! Continue reading ‘The House That Slint Built (Perhaps)’

My Bloody Valentine – 9.27.08 – The Aragon, Chicago

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Kenny Bloggins

on September 28, 2008

in Visual Aids

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More on their way, probably tomorrow… in the meantime enjoy “I Only Said”.

Califone – “The Orchids” in Chicago – 8.11.08

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Kenny Bloggins

on August 13, 2008

in Visual Aids

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Califone played Monday, 8.11.08, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park in Chicago as part of the Audible Architecture Concert Series and Pitchfork’s Nightclubs at Noon Series. I caught Califone back in November of ‘06 as they were pushin’ Roots and Crowns. Though the show was good, it was held in an art space with little to no heat, the band seemed sorta bummed, and it certainly didn’t hold any weight compared to what they brought Monday (and at lunchtime, no less).

Perhaps it was just the acoustics of the Frank Gehry designed amphitheater, but Califone got better since last time we met. Tim Rutuli’s vocals were at their most melodic and pop-aware, meanwhile the band was increasing their sonic depth before your very eyes, unfurling louder, thicker, trippier soundscapes that were strange even for Califone. Walls of thick ambience, collapsing structures and disjointed melodies, violins, horns, jingly percussion – Califone did not fuck around. Seeing them reminded me of why I like Animal Collective, as in, there were two very disparate forces pulling away from each other at the same time. While one segment of the music moved more into the major key pop realms, the other spun off into a noisy, marshmallowy sea of sine wave shredding psych. Jesus fuck, they were really good. The hippie contingent was out in full force, too, which is always fun to see juxtaposed with all the douchey fasttrack business folk.

califone1 Califone - The Orchids in Chicago - 8.11.08

Continue reading ‘Califone – “The Orchids” in Chicago – 8.11.08′

Califone to Play Two Free Chicago Shows

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Kenny Bloggins

on August 8, 2008

in News and Rockshows

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califone Califone to Play Two Free Chicago Shows

Save the date, coach. Freak roots/experimental folk pioneers and Thrill Jockey payrollees Califone will bring it proper for a midday concert this Monday, Aug. 11, at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Chicago’s Millennium Park. The rockshow is part of the Audible Architecture Series. Admission is free and the show is scheduled to kick off at 12:15 p.m. There really are a surprising number of “New Weird America” rippers who work downtown (like me), and they will all be there geekin’ the fuck out whilst the Cloud Gate tourists remain righteously confused. It’ll be something to witness. My lunch break’s gonna rule. Continue reading ‘Califone to Play Two Free Chicago Shows’

Pitchfork Music Festival 2K8 Set Times Revealed

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Kenny Bloggins

on June 30, 2008

in Rockshows

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pitchfork Pitchfork Music Festival 2K8 Set Times Revealed

The world’s most affordable summer festival, Pitchfork Music Festival right here in Chicago, is certainly a favorite of mine. If I remember correctly, 312s are only, like, $4 (muy bueno). The schedule was just released this morning, so I figured it would be poignant to post the set times for the shows that the Decibel Tolls is stoked/pscyhed/pumped for (a.k.a. relevant to this blog).

For the psych rock and psych pop fan, here is your personalized schedule:

Saturday:

1:25 – A Hawk and a Handsaw – Balance Stage
2:00 – Caribou – Connector Stage
2:20 – Icy Demons – Balance Stage
4:15 – The Ruby Suns – Balance stage
8:25 – No Age – Balance Stage
9:00 – Animal Collective – Aluminum Stage

Sunday

1:30 – Dirty Projectors – Aluminum Stage
2:00 – Boris – Connector Stage
3:00 – The Apples in Stereo – Aluminum Stage
7:00 – Spiritualized – Aluminum Stage
8:00 – Dinosaur Jr – Connector Stage

Obviously, the artist to watch during PMF2K8 is Spiritualized, as it’s been a looong time since we’ve seen the J Spaceman in action, and it’s entirely possibly that he will bring a 30+ member band with him to reproduce some of the nauseatingly thick rock action of Ladies and Gentlemen We are Floating in Space. Though I’m sure, since everyone has shorter set times anyway, that he’ll be focusing more on the equally excellent but more minimal Songs in A & E, I just have a feeling that Pierce & Co. is going to bring something really special to the table on Sunday evening. I’ve seen/booked a number of these bands before, so I’ll offer previews closer to the festival dates.

chirprecordfair Pitchfork Music Festival 2K8 Set Times Revealed

I will be working the CHIRP Record Fair part of the time, so please stop by to see us. Lots of crusty old records sold by even crustier dudes, as well as new jam hives, will be available, and a bunch of reps from Drag City, Thrill Jockey, et al. will be hanging out and slamming their free bottled water privileges. There will be tons of tables, so you can’t miss us (we might be the festival’s largest vendor). Plus, it’ll be nice to get out of the sun (the fair is held under a bunch of open air canopy tents). Proceeds will benefit CHIRP building an LPFM station in Chicago. We’ll have free schwag, too. LPFM is the new movement, so get hip.