Larry Got My Back

Of course, first I have to apologize for not posting about this — or anything else — sooner. I got caught in that blogger’s dilemma where I could post something quick just to post SOMETHING, only having that something be slap-dash seemed like adding insult to injury. Or something. Maybe it’s the medium; maybe it’s time to ditch the blog format here and trade this old jalopy in for a Tumblr. Not a bad idea, though I gotta put that on the back burner for now.

Fact is, it’s a time of transition in camp ZP, and in a way this show was sort of a signpost of that change. This was the third time me and Steve and Larry and John have played together, and I think for the first time, all the pieces fell solidly into place, and it just plain felt un-self-consciously GOOD to play. The transition I’m speaking of is from 2012′s solo-guy-in-the-lab vibe of the Record Club and into (hopefully) 2013′s break-from-writing-and-recording, just-concentrating-on-playing-out…vibe. But perhaps these are clouds too big to sketch out here and now. I’ll just tell you about this show. Or what I can remember of it.

I’d never played Quencher’s before, but I once saw Johnny and the Creeps (Aselin’s main band) rock the joint. It seemed like a nice enough place, with a built-in drinking crowd that it was the band’s job to lure into the music/stage side of things. Definitely not a venue for solo artists, which is why I filed it deep into the cabinet back then.

Having said that, Nana Zabic, armed with just an acoustic guitar and a smooth bassist at her side, opened things up warmly with some of her folkish meditations. I sat with some friends and soaked it up, trying not to sweat things too much (hard to do in August). I think part of the reason I felt at ease was because, within two weeks of the show, I’d had both my iPhone and my bike stolen from me. I felt like I had Nothing Left To Lose, in a sense.

After Nana, we went up and played a series of songs I can’t recall exactly, as the setlist is tacked up above my desk at home right now. But I will say that our version of “The Next Thing You Know” has turned into a formidable thing, a sort of slick-shifting monorail. If I may say so. Another high point was the “Oasis” version of “Longevity Blues,” an arrangement that was pretty much Aselin’s idea, and it went off swimmingly. I believed the penultimate song (or near it) was a ridiculously fast “From Cleveland to Eternity.” By this point, we’d won over a small section of the small crowd, but it felt more like a publuc rehearsal, lots of laughs. We closed with a sloppy cover of Pavement’s “Summer Babe.”

Thomas Comerford then took the stage with bassist, piano player (Quencher’s has a piano off to the side) and a mostly-brushes-wielding drummer for some spare but spirited countryish rock. I’d got to talking to TC before our set, and he’s a busy, busy man between his solo outfit and his rock band, Kaspar Hauser. Having seen both now, I think I give the slight edge to this mellower combo, an arrangement that lets his strange/compelling vocals buoy up a little above the mix. I’m not sure what his songs are about, but it’s clear he’s a Crafter. I need to spend more time with his stuff.

All in all, a great show. And, as I said, a shape of things to come, I think. If we’re this good after three shows (and VERY little practice, I might add), imagine where we might be for the next few, and on into the new year? But I’m getting ahead of myself. As usual.

We Were Framed (Pic by Amy Stewart)

There was just no getting around the heat and humidity on the week of the 4th. We actually lost power on Sunday afternoon, July 1st, and didn’t get it back until Monday night at around 8:00. Things stayed basically oppressive all the way into and past this show, not really letting up until Saturday night. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Our good friends and 2003 – 2006 Zapruder Point bandmates Tom and Casey were in town for a long weekend visit, and we naturally figured it’d be a great excuse for a little musical reunion. I wrote a set that was half me, a quarter me and Tom, and a quarter all three of us. Thankfully, I had it in that order, too, because (gulp) when we pulled up to Transistor at about 7:05, I realized that I’d forgotten to pack Casey’s violin. Crikey! She graciously drove all the way back to Cicero for it, and although she kept saying she should’ve double-checked, I want to say in writing here and now that THAT SHIT WAS MY FAULT.

Anyway, Transistor’s air conditioning started strong, and I brought my little fan, but in the end, and with so many appreciative (deathly silent) people sitting in there…the air just broke down, and by the time Casey strolled in (literally JUST when we needed her), I was melting like a damn otter pop. Still, I had fun debuting a couple songs from the next (August) record (“The Spokesperson for Winter,” “Longevity Blues”), and then with Tom and Casey it was like slipping on an old shoe. I especially loved doing “It’s Always the Quiet Ones” with Tom (he makes it swing so!) and closing with “The Short List,” as Casey’s part is the perfect, natural sweetener.

I’d set up the show with Steve Mulcahy, lead singer and songwriter for Honest Engines, a Chicago band I’ve admired for a few years now (and whose new album is dropping very soon on Tandem Shop Records). He chose to play second, and to actually donate the first half of his time to Marko Casso, someone I wasn’t familiar with, but whose Bandcamp record I enjoyed tremendously. I stood at the back and enjoyed his set, talking with Steve about how oddly quiet the place was. When Steve got up there, he tried to break up the silence with some language and jokes and whatnot, and he played his amazing, short, diamond-hard falsetto pop songs — including one about his dad that really knocked me out. Watch that guy. I tell ya, he’s going places.

Andy, owner of Transistor, was a fabulous host; it’s great that he has shows there. I picked up a copy of Mike Doughty’s memoir and me and Tom and our friend Geoff joined the crowd at a bar literally 20 feet up the street. Still felt like being suffocated by pillows outside, but within 24 hours that would turn around. Thanks to Andy and Tom and Casey and Steve and Marko and Amy and John and Ada and Jen and Ben and Harry and Scott and Kim and that new person Steve introduced me to and Kevin and…see you next time.

Pic by Piper Kruse. And no, I’m not sure what’s flying out of my mouth here. I think It’s Passion.

The fact that my Whistler debut didn’t happen until 2012 is nobody’s fault but my own. Manager/owner/bartender Billy gave positive feedback on a CD I’d dropped off in 2008, but as readers of this blog know, that was a time when I wasn’t exactly the most active finger-lifter w/r/t getting shows and such. Plus, to be perfectly honest, The Whistler always kind of intimidated me. It’s sort of the epicenter of the hip and happenin’ Logan Square neighborhood, and while I’ve always enjoyed having the occasional drink there, I guess I maintained a sense that I was too old or uncool for the place.

But I mean that’s the thing. Some places are sort of transcendently cool; they bring the quality cocktails and closely-curated music because they have some integrity; the only reason hipsters flock to such establishments is that — and you have to give them this — they have taste. And you know what? In the end, when I’m in the right frame of mind, I don’t really believe there is such a thing as hipsters anyway. It’s a convenient barb to throw when you’re feeling insecure, but c’mon. We all just wanna experience and create things, right? Right…

Speaking of which, when you play here, they invent a special cocktail for the night, but I was too dumb to try it. It was apparently something like a whiskey sour with a dash of red wine? At any rate, they looked dramatic. And I don’t know why I’m talking about the drinks. The most important thing about this show in terms of this thing we call Zapruder Point is that it was the public debut of the Post-Tom-and-Casey Full Band: Larry Brown on drums, John Aselin on bass and harmonica, and Steve Frisbie on lead guitar, a little bass, and harmonies (the secret weapon). I’d been needlessly worried about the fact that we only managed to squeeze in two practices in for this show; these guys are complete pros, and everything went off without a hitch. The set was perhaps too short (I was trying to keep things simple); I almost felt like I was just getting warmed up with the last song. But whatever. We did:

The Oldies Station / Terrible Things / Johnny Without June / West of Western / Lisa Pruett Will Have Her Revenge on Coventry / The Next Thing You Know / The Condensation / Here Comes the Sun / You Are Not Your Own

Highlight for me was “Next Thing,” as we sort of came up with the arrangement together, and it’s astonishing what you can do with a song that’s literally three chords over and over. Larry was a freaking monster on the drums; John busted the occasional “Aselinesque” move which delighted me; Steve sang and chopped excellently (and was a bit of a card on the mike, which was a nice contrast to my recently-acquired relative quietude, stage-wise). Though the bar was maybe 2/3rds full of fairly chatty people, by the end of our set I could tell people were a good deal more quiet / tuned in than when we started. A good sign.

This was Many Places‘ album release party, and they were incredible…and kind. Drummer Matt Hennessey let Larry share what was apparently a MAD FANCY kit. We also did a trade of vinyl for said CD (Another Oath, a grand-yet-delicate thing with ace vocals), and after their rousing set, we got to chat with them. Kevin Rieg is a songwriter who’s been around Chicago since 2004, just working it solo (including many shows at Uncommon Ground, natch), with Many Places being his first serious attempt to paint with a broader, more rocking brush. In other words, we have a lot in common, and it was good to compare notes with him. I also got to talk (a little later and thus a little less coherently, cough cough) with Matt…and then me and Steve and John didn’t quite close the bar, but…it was closer than it should have been.

A good time was had by all. Look for more full band shows…more Whistler shows…maybe even another show with Many Places…down the road.