Check out my review of Casados, Ryan Groff, and my favorite new act, Vandaveer in my review! Click the link to read it!! There’s photos, too! Click away!
3/29 @ Cowboy Monkey (yes, it’s open and in business, which makes me wonder why they let everyone fuss over the venue and then booked a show there anyway. This review will also be on the music section of The217 in an abbreviated, more professional-sounding version, if that’s your bag. Check it out there, too.)
First off, something is definitely shitty with the fixed lens I bought. Riddle me this: how can the same lens take this picture:
yet make Casados look like this?
Well, they look better in this exported version than the original, but for some reason, everyone on stage turns into a blue-and-red-haired Muppet when I shoot them. Casados was reminiscent of a slowed-down duet version of the Postal Service (without the electronic beats), and amused the crowd with their conversational banter (they give away bookmarks, something everyone else but me seems to find fascinating. Bookmarks = rectangular fliers that people won’t end up using, unless it has a tassel on it. Well…I guess I could use one for the open history textbook I’m leaning over while posting this. Touché, Casados. Touché.)
The three artists that performed shared the same low-key, relaxed sounds that were reflected in the atmosphere of Cowboy Monkey’s resurgence. I don’t really remember what it was decorated like before, so I can’t revel in the improvements. However, the bathrooms were a lot nicer than I remembered and smelled really good, if that’s any indication of an upgrade. The walls were painted in darker hues with a few nice portraits hung on the wall and the whole place looked really clean. So clean, that Washington D.C.’s Vandaveer poked fun at it, too.
Could these pictures be any more oversaturated? Total bummer, considering singer/guitarist Mark Charles was one of the most attractive people I’ve seen at Cowboy Monkey…ever.
Anyway, they’ve already received a lot of praise from places like NPR and The Washington Post, which coaxed me into coming early to make sure I didn’t miss them — a wise decision on my part. Accompanied by sister Rose singing back-up vocals (who blew the crowd away during the last tune), Vandaveer played quaint tunes that are understandably listed as “folk/folk/folk” on their MySpace page. Mark’s slightly aloof demeanor and preciously endearing banter added a further element of likeablity, and not just because I instantly dig anyone with a beard. But seriously, he has a wonderful beard.
Under the impression that the only thing being produced in Washinton D.C. were idiocracies for Stephen Colbert to pump irony into, Vandaveer’s cheerily subdued toe-tappers and perfectly blended harmonies crushed my previous notions. I predict them to not-so-slowly climb the Pitchfork and Stereogum rungs of the indie-on-the-internet ladder , especially considering they’ll be recording a session with Daytrotter this Thursday which you should definitely keep an eye out for.
Last but not least, Champaign’s acoustic darling Ryan Groff hit the stage:
As the obvious choice to headline a show marking Cowboy Monkey’s re-opening, Groff was great as usual. There’s not too much to say about someone who consistently brings it whenever he’s playing, whether it’s with his full band Elsinore or even in the Illini Union’s Courtyard Cafe over the whispers of people who didn’t know there would be live music that day. If Chicago has Andrew Bird, Champaign has Ryan Groff, which was further emphasized by his continual looping near the end of songs paired with his high-pitched whistling. Performing re-worked versions of some of his tunes, Ryan pleased the crowd while also making me even more antsy for Elsinore’s new album. If the record is as good as their new song “The General,” we seriously might have another Headlights success story on our hands.
Carlye Wisel: if sarah silverman, stacy london, buster bluth and ari gold had a love child, it would be me.
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Carlye Wisel
if sarah silverman, stacy london, buster bluth and ari gold had a love child, it would be me.