Reviewsic [ri-vyoo-zik] -noun: Music worth talking about

Last night at there was a small explosion of ambient, emo, and experimental sound over at Belmont and Hoyne. Though explosive may not seem the word for a collection of moderately minimalist bands, the experience we had over at the Beat Kitchen Saturday night was nothing short of impressionable. Featuring the well known as well as the up and coming, Betta Promotions delivered (and honestly, when don’t they?) a great line up that left us feeling our faith in local shows renewed.

First up on the roster were Chicago band Mountains for Clouds, a group that began as a side project but quickly picked up steam as the trio of musicians found a sound they could all get behind. We were impressed by their focus, as well as their consistently tight sound, no easy feat when working in an experimental/ambient genre, where guitars and drums alike are floating out on their own, generally untethered. This new group is definitely one that we look forward to seeing again, as well as anticipate studio recordings from, as the band works on their upcoming EP Some People Buy Scenery Like This. (Read our interview with Mountains for Clouds here)

Empire, Empire (I Was A Lonely Estate) are no strangers to the Chicago scene. With a slew of releases and distributors
under their belt, they showed their musical chops with a solid set, just as any online example of their performance would imply. Though widely known, and certainly popular with last nights crowd, we felt a little put off by the character created by Empire Empire on stage, mainly because of frontman Keith Latinen’s swagger and indifference to the fact that, while he was playing for a room of mostly friends, that he was giving a performance nonetheless. However, what he somewhat lacked in couth conduct, the rest of Empire, Empire made up for in solid sound and legitimate talent on stage. (Read Reviewsic’s interview with Empire, Empire (I Was A Lonely Esate) here)

The Field Auxiliary was by far the stand outs of the night, a title well earned among such a great collection of bands. Delivering a full bodied sound, with loops interlocking each song in the set, the band created a fluid yet fractured sound that we could not pull ourselves away from. Not one time during this set did we think “Is this their last song?” while shifting from one aching foot to another, as so often happens when a band plays in the later hour of a show. While we have been previously taken by the recordings the band has to offer, we were unprepared for the assault of sound we heard on the Beat Kitchen’s stage. With as wide a range of sound as their bio promises, The Field Auxiliary shined towards the likes of Silverchair, Failure, Deerhunter, and many more. Truly a sound of controlled chaos, we were pleasantly surprised at just how enveloping their set was, not only musically but as a performance. There was some serious duende coming from frontman Dan Smart, who was entirely arresting without show boating, absolutely playing for the music he was making and not the crowd. We’d also like to note the sheer joy we felt watching bass player Jon Ozaksut enjoy himself- nothing makes a performance better than seeing someone truly happy to be playing music. Overall: a great performance from a band we are quickly growing to love. (Check out The Field Auxiliary’s interview with us here)

Last but not least, the show was headlined by Joie De Vivre, delivering the down-tempo/emo sound we used to know and love,
but more recently has fallen by the wayside to be replaced by a whole new mess that really isn’t what the genre was meant for. With this band coming to us with music along the same lines of Mineral, Cap’n Jazz, and vocals similar to Kind of Like Spitting, we appreciate the throwback. Most notable of this performance was the fact that, though minimalist musically, Joie De Vivre has a sort of pop that just isn’t captured the same way in recordings. Obviously happy to be doing what they do, the band gave a much more rocking performance than we would have expected. A big part of this may have stemmed from the fact that they were a clear crowd favorite, with the show surrounding them with friends and fans who truly were absorbed in their set. From rushing the stage in their small pack to joining the band on the mic to sing along, there was a sense of community and common joy in sharing this band that we haven’t seen at a show in a quite some time. Though perhaps that’s the whole point, given that the term Joie de vivre itself means ‘the joy of living’. We look forward to seeing more from Joie De Vivre, and hearing the promised upcoming album, The North End upon it’s eventual release. (Read more about Joie De Vivre in their Reviewsic interview here)

Tags: Show Review, Upcoming Release

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