(Photo Credit: Shannon Aliza) |
McCombs is a modern troubadour. He’s lived all over the country, including a stay in Chicago. His nomadic lifestyle has no doubt inspired the off-the-beaten-path tales of his lyrics. As any proper artist, he’s lived down and out himself, that first-hand experience relaying even more depth to his stories. The set kicked off with ”Love Thine Enemy,” the five-piece band lined up in front of a wall of twinkling light, obscuring the band members' faces. As Lincoln Hall masquerades as an intimate venue within a large space, every single sound the band made could be heard, which worked more for than against the band considering the attention to detail. Cass seemed to hope it was louder, but as the place was only two-thirds full anyway, full amplification wasn’t needed.
Throughout the rest of the set, Cass reminded me of songwriters ranging from Leonard Cohen to Elliott Smith, with even a little Lou Reed from the Velvets' more mild-mannered days. Midway through the set the group went into "Buried Alive," one of my favorites from last year’s Wit’s End. The staccato keyboard combined with the slow tempo foreboding and the sparse instrumentation otherwise and unconventional chord progression adds to the ominousness. The standout from the night came a few songs later with "Dreams Come True Girl" from 2009’s Catacombs. It started off reminding me a bit too much like Spandau Ballet’s "True," until keyboardist Will Canzoneri unleashed quite the unexpected solo, hitting every octave in front of him, before the entire song dissolved into chaos. This was followed by a newer track "Bradley Manning," which sympathizes with the US soldier who was bullied in the army because of his homosexuality and eventually revealed top secret information to Wikileaks. McCombs does a great job expressing a point of view which is (unfortunately) not often heard.
The set grew a bit tired towards the end, and the slight burst of energy felt in the middle wouldn’t find its way back. The snail paced "County Line" brought to mind Bon Iver’s recent critically-acclaimed album, and thus it elicited the same ennui from me: the Middle America imagery and Phil Collins vibe just gets a bit too cheesy and sentimental. The set closed (apparently a bit abruptly from what appeared to be a confused expression from McCombs; remember, faces were difficult to make out) with "Harmonia," each band member getting their turn to solo, although not quite the typical rock show freak out that that image may imply. Alas, a peaceful ending to a rather peaceful set, with Cass and his gang off again to roam the country.
(Photo Credit: Shannon Aliza) |
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Check out more show reviews:
Bullied by Strings at Underground Lounge
Fujiya & Miyagi, YAWN at Lincoln Hall
Chairlift, Class Actress, Polica at Schubas
Close Hits, Rambos at the Burlington
Color Card, Mines, Famous Laughs at the Empty Bottle
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