September 19th, 2008 by Hoopleton
It always surprises me when crowds jam weekend summer festivals featuring over-hyped pop bands and untalented solo artists who rely solely on ego to get them through a forty minute set, while musicians with authenticity and soul play to near empty venues on sporadic weekday nights.
Tuesday, September 16th, Martyrs’ Pub on the north side of the Windy City. The bar was half empty and only one or two liquored up drunks stumbled onto the dance floor, which was a real shame because the music was at times stirring at other times electrifying, but always exemplifying what is so desperately missing in most of Chicago’s music scene.
Jupiter One, a band out of New York, brought so much energy to Martyrs’ on Tuesday night that it was nearly impossible to keep from spinning in circles on the floor. Part Talking Heads, part Cure, and a list of other 70s and 80s club indie rock bands, but at the same time wholly original, Jupiter One tore up the stage with such melodic intensity, rising vocals and a locomotive-like drum beat that had me wondering why these guys were being compared to Franz Ferdinand when clearly they should’ve been getting all the attention. Although perhaps the song Countdown with its near incendiary dance beats and weaving, airy, almost cosmic interchanges was my favorite, there was nothing in the band’s entire set that didn’t leave me craving more. Every song was solid, the play tight and clean, steadied by Dave Heilman’s impressive drum work and intensified by Mocha’s violin. The music alone was enough, but the icing on the cake was seeing K Ishibashi and Zac Colwell, Jupiter One’s founding members, lead guitar duo and vocalists, tear up the stage with so much enthusiasm that there was no doubt the music was as fun to play as it was to hear. In almost every way Jupiter One is clearly a professional working band on their way up the ladder. Solid and fun. If any criticism could be offered, is that although their sound is polished, some of what Jupiter One brings to the table has already been done. But if songs like The Miracle Of Flight off their debut album are any indication of their future direction, sparkling with electronic, nearly ambient beauty nestled in solid beats, this group has unlimited potential to go nowhere else but up.
The problem with the Chicago music scene is that it’s often both overwhelming and unremarkable. In the overcrowded gaggle of wannabe rock stars few acts seem to display anything bordering on originality. Amid the overpriced covers and water-downed drinks the music loses its impact as soon as the buzz wears off. The sad truth about the pop revolution of MySpace and other social networking sites is that musicians who have potential get lost in the shuffle, while glorified cover bands elicit enough attention to somehow garner a following, thus filling an entire generation of American Idol rejects with unjustified delusions of grandeur. But sometimes, in the bleak void of static pretending to be music there is promise of hope.
If other bands at Martyrs’ on September 16th made the heart race, it was Post Historic that made it sing. The trio from Champaign, Illinois, playing songs off their debut album, Memory Banks of Blue, showed that good songwriting still has a place in modern music and that something unique and wonderful can still be found amid the torrent of indistinguishable show listings in the daily rags. Part folk, part rock, but entirely soulful, Post Historic played a kind of music that isn’t really made anymore. Music with substance. Music that elicits feeling. Music that not only can make you sway, but sometimes has the power to just pin you back into your seat. Although their sound is not always unique, Post Historic is a solid guitar band, with the voice of lead singer Jesse Johnson at times seeming to waltz with the strings of the acoustic in his arms. Impressive also was Zach Benkowski on drums, setting the mood of every song, driving the speed. In many cases drummers can be detrimental to a band, in Post Historic that is not at all the case. But the star was Yoo Soo Kim, who not only seemed capable of playing every instrument in existence, but on songs like the moody and dark Jennifer Green, proved that wielding instruments like the violin can really be an act of artistry as much as skill. Having said all this I don’t want to give you the impression that Post Historic doesn’t know how to have fun. The trio could certainly crank up the volume, their eight track album is full of examples, but overall the real strength of this relatively young band is in its ability to strip away base pretension and recall a time when musicians actually played to feeling and not some packaged nostalgia tour more full of vanity than substance. The one issue I had with Post Historic is that it seemed like as yet they haven’t found their strengths. The absence of Jennifer Green on their debut album is a glaring omission. Just as in the case of Jupiter One, Post Historic would do well to get away from trying to be popular and emulating their influences.
With Bobby Conn away on creative hiatus and most of the local bands I know and love either far away on tour or simply missing in action, the live music scene in Chicago, as I think by now I’ve made abundantly clear, is nearly always not worth the price of admission. Bands like Jupiter One and Post Historic are certainly exceptions. However, these artists are imports. As luck would have it Chicago still has some talent of its own.
The featured artist at Martyrs’ was Dan Wallace, and he was certainly the reason why I even decided to show. Wallace is that rare breed of singer-songwriter who makes you question how half the crap on the radio even made it there in the first place. His lyrics, his basic understanding of composition and melody, his pure creativity rise head and shoulders above most of what comprises the mainstream. Over his four albums, the most recent entitled Reattachment, Wallace truly demonstrates depth and range, with songs like Odd Man Out hinting at folk and even classical influences, while songs like What I Know falling into a category of rock that goes far beyond any reliance on repetitive pop dribble. Wallace’s music has the capacity of being meaningful and dark, while staying fun, solidly rooted in interesting and engaging writing. There’s really nothing bad I can say about Wallace or his music. If I had any advice for those shopping around for a new artist to fall in love with, it would unquestioningly be him. Having said all that, the performance he gave at Martyrs’ on the 16th left something to be desired. The basic problem was this: it was all too painfully clear that Wallace was a solo artist, unfortunately, that night he was performing with a band. I can’t say whether the group hadn’t had time to really rehearse before the show, or if the members were simply thrown together last minute, but after experiencing the synergy (I hate that word by the way) of Jupiter One, the featured artist’s performance was, for lack of a better description, lacking. The only member of the ensemble that Dan really seemed to mesh with was the very impressive drummer, George Lawler, which makes sense as Lawler has appeared on Dan’s albums, including Reattachment, and clearly knew the music. I’d go so far to say that the night would have been better served if Wallace and Lawler had simply done a duet and ditched the other members all together. What it all boils down to is that Dan Wallace needs to just be Dan Wallace. Forget the stage theatrics or trying to rashly piece together the full sound, that’s what the albums are for, get on stage, plug in your guitar and let that amazing music shine. Though bringing George Lawler isn’t a bad idea either.
All in all I’d recommend Jupiter One, Post Historic and especially Dan Wallace to anyone feeling the heartbreak that so often is Chicago live music. These artists represent something truly good. So go out there, find their websites, buy their albums and see their shows.
On a closing note my apologies to On We, whose performance I missed that night at Martyrs’.
