Wicker Park Fest: (4/6)The festival itself was simply amazing. I’d never really been to the heart of Bucktown and it felt so artsy and thriving. Seeing the local artisans and artists out was a lot of fun and they managed to make the music and the art feel equally important. The space was small enough to be comfortable, but big enough that there wasn’t interference between the stages. The two stages I visited , well, they were outdoor temporary stages with all the pitfalls thereof. They were good temporary stages, albeit, but they had the distortion and poor sound balance of so common in that kind of set up. Surprisingly, the smaller central stage had better sound quality than the larger north stage.
I’ve stopped talking about the quality of the audience, but damn I’ve not seen a Kill Hannah crowd that active in years.
The Shows
Magic Box (center stage)(3/6): (partial set seen_ I wasn’t particularly a fan of their country overtones so my response is a bit colored) They sound almost completely different recorded, much more coordinated and less twangy. It still had more of a jam session feel than a show feel. The guitarist is just a little behind the beat, which is distracting.
AM Taxi (North stage)(4/6)—AM Taxi has always hovered at the peripheral of my radar, but never quite fully caught my attention. They seem to float around as a second tier band in a lot of the genres I follow. While I wasn’t mind blown, I was impressed. (Front dude) has a gravely voice that lends maturity to an otherwise standard Midwestern post-punk sound. He also enunciates better than most in the punk genera, which I like. On the whole AM Taxi has a sophistication that doesn’t happen often in their genera. Their musicality was not 100% though I attribute some of that to the venue (Outdoor venues have notoriously bad speakers, this was no exception) In order to make it really good, they need to tighten things up just a frication.
The Baseball Project (4/6)- While The Baseball Project were talented and the instrumentation was spot on, I personally just was not a fan. They were clearly professionals with both energy and enthusiasm, but they felt like has-beens, deceptive being on their up climb. They had the style that most bands the play for bigger abundances put forward, but without the experience backing them up. I also found their music immature, it felt like it was meant for children and had an utterly superficial flavor. Their sound was goofy. While there is nothing wrong with fun, bouncy music, this all just felt hackneyed and cheesy.
Kill Hannah (4/6): I have been a long time supporter of this little band. Mat Divine isn’t kidding when he says Kill Hannah has the most loyal fan base around. Devoted fans, and a band that puts all of its heart into giving back to them tenfold makes Kill Hannah feel more like family than anything else. Kill Hannah have always been accessible and gracious.
Their music is both fearless and romantic; Divine’s voice is alternately a whisper and a wildcat screech. He is as talented as he is gracious. And willing to speak with conviction and without any fear of what someone else will say. While he wasn’t 100% on his game musically he made up for it by putting forth an energy I haven’t seen from him in years. He was on fire up there.
They recently acquired a new guitarist who has style. He doesn’t look like much, a puppy face with shaggy hair that all but covers his face. I believe he’s the other guratist’s younger brother, but don’t quote me. That boy can shred like its no one’s business. He is still learning to look up and make eye contact with the audience, but he has great deal of potential.
Bassist Greg Corner has both talent and personality. Off stage he is friendly and a talented DJ. On stage he’s the strong undercurrent in a band with a lot of high-end work, so he often goes unnoticed, but his sound really round things out.
Overall, the band is always fun live. I look forward to more from them.
I’ve stopped talking about the quality of the audience, but damn I’ve not seen a Kill Hannah crowd that active in years.
The Shows
Magic Box (center stage)(3/6): (partial set seen_ I wasn’t particularly a fan of their country overtones so my response is a bit colored) They sound almost completely different recorded, much more coordinated and less twangy. It still had more of a jam session feel than a show feel. The guitarist is just a little behind the beat, which is distracting.
AM Taxi (North stage)(4/6)—AM Taxi has always hovered at the peripheral of my radar, but never quite fully caught my attention. They seem to float around as a second tier band in a lot of the genres I follow. While I wasn’t mind blown, I was impressed. (Front dude) has a gravely voice that lends maturity to an otherwise standard Midwestern post-punk sound. He also enunciates better than most in the punk genera, which I like. On the whole AM Taxi has a sophistication that doesn’t happen often in their genera. Their musicality was not 100% though I attribute some of that to the venue (Outdoor venues have notoriously bad speakers, this was no exception) In order to make it really good, they need to tighten things up just a frication.
The Baseball Project (4/6)- While The Baseball Project were talented and the instrumentation was spot on, I personally just was not a fan. They were clearly professionals with both energy and enthusiasm, but they felt like has-beens, deceptive being on their up climb. They had the style that most bands the play for bigger abundances put forward, but without the experience backing them up. I also found their music immature, it felt like it was meant for children and had an utterly superficial flavor. Their sound was goofy. While there is nothing wrong with fun, bouncy music, this all just felt hackneyed and cheesy.
Kill Hannah (4/6): I have been a long time supporter of this little band. Mat Divine isn’t kidding when he says Kill Hannah has the most loyal fan base around. Devoted fans, and a band that puts all of its heart into giving back to them tenfold makes Kill Hannah feel more like family than anything else. Kill Hannah have always been accessible and gracious.
Their music is both fearless and romantic; Divine’s voice is alternately a whisper and a wildcat screech. He is as talented as he is gracious. And willing to speak with conviction and without any fear of what someone else will say. While he wasn’t 100% on his game musically he made up for it by putting forth an energy I haven’t seen from him in years. He was on fire up there.
They recently acquired a new guitarist who has style. He doesn’t look like much, a puppy face with shaggy hair that all but covers his face. I believe he’s the other guratist’s younger brother, but don’t quote me. That boy can shred like its no one’s business. He is still learning to look up and make eye contact with the audience, but he has great deal of potential.
Bassist Greg Corner has both talent and personality. Off stage he is friendly and a talented DJ. On stage he’s the strong undercurrent in a band with a lot of high-end work, so he often goes unnoticed, but his sound really round things out.
Overall, the band is always fun live. I look forward to more from them.
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