When good bands generate some great publicity, it’s win-win for the bands, fans and especially bloggers like me.  Two Chicago bands, making waves in the alt-acoustic scene, The Shams Band and Dastardly cooked up a good old-fashioned feud to create awareness for show at Subterranean that featured both bands on the bill.

It began with an altrusitc neighborhood cleanup campaign, dubbed Clean Into Love, concocted by The Shams Band — this little video introduced the concept and simultaneously created awareness for their May 10th gig.

But soon after the villains in Dastardly, set out to ruffle some feathers.

Then, they kicked up the heat with a directed counter-attack, coming down firmly on the side of anti-cleanup.

All the while, each band sniped at each other hilariously from their social media feeds.  Finally,  Shams leader Donne Biggins, who also buys talent for the Subterranean, set aside video and used his influence for something a little more publict.

@harmonicadunn Instagram

In the end, they ended up as one big happy and the show received extremely positive reviews.

Craig Robinson makes some absolutely beautiful baseball related infographics at Flip Flop Flyball.  He put that skill to work over the past weekend to create this elegant map of the words in Beastie Boys’ “(You Gotta) Fight For Your Right (To Party)”.

Every dot represents one word of the song.  The colors, of course, are which of the three MCs are delivering the rhymne.  Pretty cool.

I decided to make it a bit more interactive, by adding a PLAY button above to listen while viewing and by making the chart clickable — a click will reveal the complete lyrics, remove your mouse from the image to see the original dot chart.

If the mere creation of this thing isn’t cool enough, Craig is making a the high resolution file for this available for free if you were interested in a print.  His only ask?  Please donate a little something to a cancer charity in memory of Adam Yauch.  Deal.

Mediafire link to the hi-res file: fightforyourright.zip

]]> http://www.thebarnpresents.com/fight-for-your-right-to-party-the-infographic-6276.html/feed 0 http://www.thebarnpresents.com/setlist-recap-video-30db-van-ghost-abbey-pub-5912-6298.html http://www.thebarnpresents.com/setlist-recap-video-30db-van-ghost-abbey-pub-5912-6298.html#comments Fri, 11 May 2012 19:28:09 +0000 steve http://www.thebarnpresents.com/?p=6298

The 30db / Van Ghost pairing was just one of the many inspired double (sometime triple & quadruple) bills that the Abbey Pub has been programming lately and certainly one of the most high profile, considering the national prominence of the artists involved, yet a strong sense of Chicago hung in the air all night.  This show felt like another stop (the peak maybe?) in a series of adventures that a couple of musically inclined friends with Chicago roots had in this world class city over the course of several days.

Towards the beginning of the week, 30db’s Jeff Austin tweeted the following:

Indeed, several new songs seemed to materialize out of a songwriting binge in which the friends engaged in the days prior to the gig, but others came from other unlikely sources: Austin’s December scuba trip to Belize (“I haven’t seen so many tanks since ’94 Phish Tour”), an Umphrey’s Jimmy Stewart improv from the past fall (“Cut The Cable”) or songs written specifically with the other in mind.  This camaraderie, punctuated by tales of drinking (the two swigged liberally from bottles and glasses on stage throughout the night) and gallivanting, served to make this rare appearance by the duo special for those in attendance.

Taking a decidedly more song based approach than Umphrey’s McGee, and without the bluegrass underpinnings of Yonder, 30db relies on solid songwriting to buoy the show.  But Brendan and Jeff always can fall back on acoustic pyrotechnics to keep the audience engaged — often times trotting out fierce runs on the guitar and mandolin to spice up some of the more unfamiliar songs.  And for a band with a reputation for tunes that border on the melancholy, there was rarely a hint of seriousness in the proceedings, with a frat-house vibe running through the copious amounts of between-song banter.

Moreover, their nods to influences, whether the Guns N Roses cheeky “Used To Love Her”, a by-request “Good Times Are Killing Me” or the revelatory and atmospheric take on Beastie Boys’ “Something’s Got To Give” gave the show some additional depth and created a thread through the proceedings (the latter two songs are featured at 30:30 & 10:20 in the video below).

The duo also joined openers Van Ghost for the final song for their short set on the Dylan classic “I Shall Be Released”.

For their part, Van Ghost, performing in the stripped down acoustic format, did not skimp on not the polished pop that has made them buzz-worthy in their own right.  If some of the 30db tunes could be construed as heavy or depressing, Van Ghost staples like “Domino Effect” and “Modern Day Love Affair” were elevated with the spirit joyful Americana, with co-lead vocalist Jennifer Hartswick, fresh from a NOLA Jazz Fest appearance, even throwing out some bouncy funky trumpet lines to complement her robust vocal performance.

They, too, used the opportunity to test out some new material from a forthcoming album.  Michael Berg’s keen songwriting sense has not wavered, and the band can really sell it.  Even with acoustic guitars, Van Ghost’s overwhelming musicality, ebullient hooks and commanding vocal presence makes even the fresh songs feel like standards.  In a city with an overstuffed folk and acoustic scene, Van Ghost has carved themselves out a welcoming corner, blending a metropolitan savvy with their stripped down rootsy sound.

Setlists

30db
Grave, Susanah, Easy Rocker(?), new song, “familiar 30db riff”, Cut the Cable, Backfire, Instrumental in D > One Man Show, Something’s Got To Give, New Song, Backbone, One More, Good Times Are Killing Me, Liar, Jesus Grant me Mercy > Lick #6

Encore
Return Item, Used To Love Her, Always Up

Van Ghost
Domino Effect, Burden, Cage, Everyday Music, Three Sides To The Story, Fortune Teller, Modern Day Love Affair, If It Ain’t Crazy Then It Ain’t Love, I Shall Be Released*

*w/Brendan Bayliss & Jeff Austin

For more on this show, see Dave Weckstein’s thoughtful review on jambands.com or view the full setlists and listen some audio from this show right here on The Barn Presents.

Click on any thumbnail to open the gallery.

]]> http://www.thebarnpresents.com/photos-cornmeal-hot-buttered-rum-family-groove-company-the-vic-42012-6184.html/feed 0 http://www.thebarnpresents.com/news-bites-new-music-on-old-school-nintendo-the-last-waltz-fitzgeralds-jerry-the-steve-jobs-of-rock-more-6095.html http://www.thebarnpresents.com/news-bites-new-music-on-old-school-nintendo-the-last-waltz-fitzgeralds-jerry-the-steve-jobs-of-rock-more-6095.html#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 02:13:06 +0000 steve http://www.thebarnpresents.com/?p=6095 I was recently turned on to Fort Atlantic by a friend.  Turns out they are releasing their new album on  modded NES cartridge

A big screen showing of Martin Scorcese’s seminal Band Documentary The Last Waltz will go down at Fitzgerald’s in Berwyn on May 3.  There will also be an additional 30 minutes of Levon-centri documentary footage

A very nice review of a Chicago centric triple bill last Friday at the Metro headlined by the rising JC Brooks and the Uptown Sound

Congratulations Bob Dylan — who will receive the Presidential Medal Of Freedom — damn straight?

Was Jerry Garcia the Steve Jobs of Rock-and-roll?

This video was used to introduce Umphrey’s McGee last Friday at UMBowl III at the Park West.  Pretty slick Almost Famous parody.  Word has it that those shirts were for sale at the merch stand, so keep an eye out if your interested.

>View Umphrey’s McGee Rotation<
>View All Spring Tour Visual Setlists<

For a write-up on how to read and interpret visual setlists, click on over here.

The visual setlist probably isn’t the best way to get what this show is all about (but it helps), so I’m adding a full audio stream and download [via taperchef on archive.org]

The Stream

Dowload Entire Show (.zip mp3)

>View Umphrey’s McGee Rotation<
>View All Spring Tour Visual Setlists<

Well, the damn thing went viral (even getting picked up by Huffington Post and inspiring a karaoke version on youtube), so now it seems like piling on.  But what the hell… here’s some of the best reactions I’ve seen to this work.   Even the sturdy, snarkless Old Town School Of Folk music got in on the action.

Via twitter

Reactions from the band:

From the comments section at AV Club Chicago…The offending song:

Lyrics

Home, sweet home
There’s so much more than meets the eye
From the water to the sky
Every corner holds a new surprise
The city shines
There’s no limit to how high
With no comparison, don’t try
Always a smile so come see why

See the buildings as they climb into the sky
Where the champions aren’t yours because they’re mine
All the reasons why we’re second now to none
I can tell you but you’ll find out in Chicago (ohhhh ohhh ohhhh)

Come celebrate
So much to savor in a day
The sights and sounds, you’ll be amazed
When all you need is just a step away

See the buildings as they climb into the sky
Where the champions aren’t yours because they’re mine
All the reasons why we’re second now to none
I can tell you but you’ll find out in Chicago (ohhhh ohhh ohhhh)
See you in Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)
Let’s go to Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)
I love it in Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)

[Strangely out of place Buddy Guy blues Solo]

In Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)
See you in Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)
See you in Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)
See you in Chicago (ohhh ohhhh ohhh)

Damn Right & Hoochie Coochie Man with Buddy Guy on Guitar

>View Umphrey’s McGee Rotation<
>View All Spring Tour Visual Setlists<