Tuesday, March 31, 2009

A Weekend With Anathallo & Bloc Party!

So last Friday night i was chillaxin' at my brother's place when i discovered the melodramatic Chicago ensemble Anathallo (“to renew, refresh, or bloom again”). As i listened to their tunes via Myspace, it was clear to me that Sufjan Stevens and The Arcade Fire had a love child--and Anathallo was its name!

I then scrolled down to some of their live videos which impressed me even more. Each member of the band, which can range from 7-9 members depending upon the night, sang in unison all the while trading instruments between songs. I thought to myself "what a great show this would be...i wonder when they will be back in Chicago?" Turns out they were playing that same night at The Bottom Lounge located at 1375 W Lake St. So we finished our drinks and made our way to the venue.

For $13 we gained entry to the Bottom Lounge which is a swanky rock 'n' roll venue i had never been to before. The show, to say the least, was absolutely amazing. Using a wide variety of instruments ranging from the usual guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards to over sized marching band drums, wood blocks, flugelhorn, and the ever so popular glockenspiel. Anathallo is definitely a collection of well trained musicians and not just a band. In 2007 they were invited to play California's Coachella Music Festival, and later that year, they released their sophmore effort Canopy Glow which they recorded in a local Chicago church.

Anathallo will be back in Chicago April 20th performing in North Park University's Anderson Chapel at 7 PM. Tickets are $10 and can most likely be purchased at the door. See ya there!

Saturday night we hit the Aragon Ballroom to get our face melted by East London art-rockers Bloc Party. If you're not familiar with Bloc Party's sound think of it as The Killers with a little bit of The Cure mixed in...pretty pretty pretty pretty pretty good! This was the third time i have seen Bloc Party, and it seemed to be louder than ever.

Bloc Party broke out onto the scene in 2005 with their first album Silent Alarm which was released on Vice records. Since then, they have released two others, A Weekend in The City, and their latest, Intimacy. The later two are very similar with only a year and half in between their release dates. Their newer music has more of a electronic rock sound to it, but the result is innovative and fresh.

The show itself was great. Bloc Party is one of those bands that sounds even better live than on the cd/iPod. We got to the show just as they were going on, so the crowd was in full effect and at max capacity. We decided to hang in the back, which was a blessing in disguise because we ran into our old friend PC, who i haven't seen since he launched himself into the seedy underworld of male modeling. What a beef cake! Anyway we proceeded up to the balcony level to meet up with the rest of his party and to catch a better glimpse of the action. Although all the members of the band exude great energy and stage presence, PC and I agreed that we could not stop staring at the drummer. A petite Asian man with hands so fast you'll freak...its just an awesome sight.
Bloc Party played a chaotic hour and half set and left us wanting more. After the show we went out to a few bars in the area to blow off some steam ending our night at the Kinetic Playground across the street from the Aragon. As we walked to the back of the bar i instantly recognized the DJ Kele Okereke....better known as the front man of...get ready, drum roll....Bloc Party! Kele kept the tunes pumping till about 3AM before he made his get away.

All and all, i had a great musical experience this past weekend. i discovered a new band which is always a plus, rocked out hard with Bloc Party, connected with an old friend, and stumbled in what turned out to be a sweet after party with a guest rock star DJ. Not too shabby!

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