Tonight: Shapers, Chants at the Whistler

Posted by Andrew

Photo Credit: Joe Carsello

My first experience with Shapers was back in October when they opened for the 1900s (review here). I hadn’t listened to them ahead of time so the tabula rasa experience is one I regret I’ll never be able to have again. To say the least, Shapers is on the opposite side of the musical spectrum from the Chicago indie-pop stalwarts that would follow them. Dynamics and conventions are simultaneously adhered to and disassembled. The band experiments with experimentation. The two basic (rather, complex) principles the band adheres to are dissonance and entropy. I know it all sounds a bit confusing but you have two options to pursue: 1) Experience Shapers like I did and let them swallow you whole. 2) Click here, here, or here for videos to be more prepared. Note: listening ahead of time can still really only prepare you in as much as you’ll be bringing a knife to a shootout.

Opening for Shapers is Chants, the one-man multi-instrumental alias of Jordan Cohen. Similarly anarchic to Shapers, but with more beats and decipherable melody. This all goes down at the Whistler tonight, December 16 (10 p.m., FREE, 21+) as the official release for Shapers' Virginia Reel 7” out on (no kidding?) Whistler Records.