Because I arrived at Canopy ultra early, I headed over to the UGL to kill time before the show and did some Wikipedia-aided research on the night’s performers. This turned out to be a great decision because the entry on Tim Fite provided me with a startling (and awesome) fact: Fite was the first half of Little T and One Track Mike, the white rap duo behind the goofy 2001 MTV hit “Shaniqua.” (If you’re not familiar, check it out below.)

Although Fite was instantly recognizable to me from his one hit’s ubiquitous music video (even his haircut was identical – a crew cut with one long string of hair coming out of the front) his overall appearance has changed drastically. Wearing a cream-colored button-up shirt paired with suspenders, Fite seemed intent on channeling a fundamentalist minister who wouldn’t be out of place in O Brother, Where Art Thou?

This image matched well with the preachy content of his songs. It appears to be no coincidence that Fite has found a label home on ANTI-, as his lyrics railed against consumerism (the hip-hop rant “It’s All Right Here”) and “the Man” (folksy single “Away From The Snakes”).

While I wasn’t particularly impressed with the songs themselves (an exception being the plucky, acoustic strains of “Big Mistake”), there’s no denying the show was strangely entertaining. In lieu of using live instruments, a video screen showed weird footage of Fite sitting in a wheelchair playing a guitar and keyboard while other images of himself danced in the background. Between tunes, short animated cartoons (similar in style to the ones Demetri Martin uses in his stand-up) entertained the crowd and twice led them to act out “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes.”

All of these slightly juvenile attempts at humor provided an unsettling juxtaposition with songwriting that was seriously aimed at exposing society’s faults and left the impression that the transformation from Little T to Tim Fite was not yet complete. In contrast to his own claim, perhaps it’s not quite true that Shaniqua don’t live here no more.

If Tim Fite had actually been the leader of a Southern Baptist church revival, than Man Man was exactly the sort of evil he would seek to exorcise – a gypsy camp after dark, reveling in sin and sound into the early morning hours.

Despite also being signed to ANTI-, about the only thing the Philadelphia-based quintet seemed dead set against was silence. Never once pausing to address the crowd, the band filled its time slot with the typical strumming of bass and guitar coupled with the banging of drums and piano keys – but also added to the mix metal pots, whistles, xylophones and whatever else could be used to produce noise. (At one point, lead singer Honus Honus even went up to the mic and jingled his keys, prompting many in the crowd to do the same and making the place sound like Memorial Stadium before a kickoff.)

Starting off with two consecutive tracks from the April 2008 release Rabbit Habits (”Doo Right” and “Easy Eats Or Dirty Doctor Galapagos”), Man Man maintained a fairly high level of energy via uptempo cuts including “Mister Jung Stuffed” and “Harpoon Fever.”

Although the action on stage wasn’t nearly as raucous as I had been expecting, the pit was even more so – as people in the crowd (some of whom sported fake moustaches, war paint and cloths tied around their heads in homage to the band) seized every opportunity to dance and jump around.

After playing roughly 15 songs, the band came out for two encores (and possibly a third, although I left during the second). Somewhat disappointingly, these returns to the stage established a much less lively tone than was featured in the original set. Leaving behind its signature groove-worthy tunes, Man Man offered up more subdued, expansive cuts such as “Skin Tension” and “Gold Teeth.”

While it was nice to see a different side of the band whose frenetic songs seemed to meld together when played one after the after, I would rather have seen more of an effort to mix up the tempo throughout the show than to end it on such a downbeat note.

But I guess even the most roaring of campfires dies out eventually.

Despite all the shows I have attended at Canopy Club, I recently experienced a first at the well-know Urbana venue: a show that started early.

Admittedly, there are lots of things I wish would occur before their scheduled time – the dentist calling me ten minutes prior to my appointment instead of after I’ve been waiting half an hour. Or a flight arriving at an airport. Or a teacher ending class after forty minutes.

However, as it turns out, a concert starting early is not a good thing.

On this particular night, I arrived at Canopy about 30 minutes after the announced start time of 8:00 – hoping to come in as the crew was tearing down the stage from the opening act and setting up for the bands I really wanted to see. Unfortunately, as I walked up to the door I could hear live music playing and instantly knew I was missing the set I had hoped to watch.

As I paid my $7 cover, a quick glance at the printed scheduled confirmed this fact. For some unknown reason, the opening band went on at half-an-hour before 8 and I was therefore arriving just in time to catch the final half of The Morning Of, a powerpop act from New York.

In addition to this first unexpected occurrence, I was also surprised to see that the group was playing in the Void Room. As if reading my mind, co-vocalist Justin Wiley explained that the band was forced to play acoustic because their drummer left his cymbals at the venue from the night before. An auspicious start, considering he must have been the replacement for their second drummer, who parted ways with the group in late June. Perhaps they should change their name to Spinal Tap. (It should also be noted that the sparse crowd probably had a lot to do with the decision to hold the concert on the small stage.)

Regardless of the actual determining factor, as it turned out the more intimate locale was a perfect setting for The Morning Of’s stripped-down performance. Anchored by Wiley and Jessica Leplon’s intermingling boy/girl vocals – which fluctuated between hushed whispers and belted out notes – The Morning Of showed off the softer side of songs from their debut full-length The World As We Know It.

While “Violins and Trees (Unforgettable)” came across a little too syrupy sweet to live up to its parenthetical proclamation, other offerings (such as “The New Is In” and the album’s title track) left the impression that although drums and electric guitars would have made the songs louder, they certainly wouldn’t have been any more powerful. Closing with their first single “Let Your Spirit Soar,” the group seemed poised to take off along with the subject of the song.

Although The Morning Of had now exited their soapbox, I’m about to get on mine.

After the set had ended, guitarist Chris Petrosino began to work his way through the crowd – chatting up the small groups of people in attendance and soliciting them to purchase his band’s CD. This approach seems to be becoming much more commonplace at shows I’ve been attending and I’m not sure how to react to the trend. One the one hand, I can understand musicians wanting to drum up (no pun intended, in this case) sales for their albums by personally asking people to purchase them.

However, for the most part I feel like this tactic is just a way to swindle money from people who simply can’t say “No” when put on the spot. Case in point is a scene I witnessed at the Jet Lag Gemini show I wrote about previously, when the lead singer made a similar pitch to two girls who, after telling him they did not have enough money, began digging through their pockets in order to pull out enough dollar bills to purchase the disc after he persisted.

Personally, I believe that bands should let their performance do the talking and allow people to make the decision to buy a CD or t-shirt on their own. After all, the merch tables set up in the Canopy lobby could not have been further than 20 feet from anyone at the show.

As the band member-turned-salesman began to make his way toward my direction (incidentally, he actually turned out to be a nice dude — offering to play any songs I really wanted to hear outside on the sidewalk when he learned I had missed half their set), 1997 took to the stage. Taking a cue from its direct support, the six-piece Chicago-based band also decided to perform acoustically. With tambourines and acoustic guitars, the group transformed the harder-edged indie rock-leaning tracks from their second album, On The Run, into folksier, alt-country renditions without losing anything in translation.

Although most of the songs played were taken from this recently released sophomore effort (such as the harmonica-infused “Tennessee Song Pt. 2,” the rambling “Dancing With the Devil” and the gently strummed “On The Run”), highlights for me included the audience-requested “Water’s Edge” and show closer “Garden of Evil” – both from their first album …A Better View of the Rising Moon. Strangely, guitarist Caleb Pepp took the lead on vocals for every song except these older two, leaving singer Kevin Thomas with nothing more to do than sit on a chair and shake a tambourine every so often.

As it happened, the show turned out to be one of the group’s last in their current incarnation, as about a week later it was revealed that vocalist/keyboardist Alida Marroni had been asked to leave the band, a move that prompted her boyfriend (bassist Alan Goffinski) to depart as well. Ironically, both had been serving as replacements for two of the group’s original members.

However, none of this inner turmoil was apparent throughout the set – a generally feel-good affair that featured the band conversing with the crowd about college life and asking for suggestions on what they wanted to hear.

Despite the initial shock of walking in on the show already underway, the night turned out alright in the end. I always go to concerts hoping to see a different side of a band then can be found on their recordings, and, in this respect at least, the show pleasantly surprised me.

Once en route to a concert, I have never been deterred from actually making it to the show. However, on this particular night, my streak found itself in serious jeopardy of being broken as I cut across the quad on the way to Canopy Club and stumbled upon an outdoor showing of what is unquestionably one of the greatest movies ever filmed: Back to the Future.

Although my heart begged my feet to stay and watch, my mind eventually won out and I proceeded on my way to watch student group Underpaid Packy, along with two acts I was unfamiliar with: The Skalalitabs and Ladymoon. (Besides, I knew I could just watch the Michael J. Fox classic on tape when I got back home. Yes, I do in fact own the movie on VHS.)

Kicking off the intimate Void Room show was The Skalalitabs, a group of University of Illinois students from Downers Grove. Although the sight of three of the six band members standing up on stage with trumpets and a saxophone in hand initially made me a little leery, my fears soon subsided when I discovered that the group was pretty much everything a ska band should be: a fun-loving bunch who see it as a sin to take themselves too seriously.

Beginning with their instrumental intro (50 Cent’s “In Da Club”) and continuing through tongue-in-cheek originals about bowling (“7/10 Split”), wooden walkways (“Gangplank”) and breakfast food (“The Waffle Song”), The Skalatitabs turned in an entertaining – if a bit overlong – set that was also peppered with a copious number of cover songs (including tunes from Catch-22, Less Than Jake, The Toasters and the ubiquitous Todd Rundgren ode to wanting to do nothing but hit the skins, “Bang The Drum All Day”).

Clearly still in the process of getting their feet underneath them while struggling to put together a permanent line-up (as evidenced when the lead singer was introducing everyone and forgot the saxophonist’s name), The Skalatitabs have the potential to become a fun frat-party band over the next year. And, as an English major, I have to appreciate the wordplay inherent in their name – which is apparently a pun in Arabic (visit their Myspace for a complete explanation).

Afterwards, not wanting to sit around in the interim, I ducked out to catch what I could of Back to the Future before the next act took to the stage. Luckily, the timing was fantastic and I got to see the film’s most iconic scene: Marty McFly performing “Johnny B. Goode” at his parents’ high school dance. However, because I got caught up in the action for longer than I anticipated, I only managed to make it back to Canopy in time for half of the set from an Indianapolis, IN jam band.

Although I’ve never really understood the appeal of watching people play their instruments without vocals for an extended period of time (no matter how skilled they may be), the three members of Ladymoon entranced the crowd with their epic solos and overall music prowess. While a few interesting tricks, twists and rhythms here and there captured my attention, I was perhaps most impressed by the fact that bassist Kris Potts managed to pull off his endurance plucking with a broken thumb (the result of a Wii mishap the night before). In sum (to paraphrase a line from Flight of the Conchords), they’re good at what they do, if what they do is what you’re into.

At long last, nearly two-and-a-half hours after the scheduled start time, Underpaid Packy took to the platform. As evidenced by the fair amount of people who were squeezed into the room’s tiny space, the five piece band – which was named Student Band of the Year at the Local Music Awards and currently enjoys a twice-a-month residency at Canopy Club – seems to be building up quite a buzz in town, no easy feat in the relatively dead summer months. On top of all this, the quintet was still celebrating the release of its debut album, Tales From A Fifth Street Roof, being sold at a small merch table for the slightly outrageous price of $10 (which was also highly ironic for a band named Underpaid Packy).

Having only heard the jam band-sounding track “Masterpiece” on WPGU, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the group and ended up being a bit surprised by the schizophrenic mix of genres it served up from track to track. From a slow jamz/blues number to the 311-esque “Don’t Do It” to a couple of more danceable rock tunes (all flowing with an undercurrent of jazz), Underpaid Packy fused together a diverse variety of sounds that seemed mainly to avoid pigeonholing rather than promote proficiency in any one area. Although the somewhat sizeable audience seemed to be having a good time no matter what type of music was being thrown their way, I found much of the material to be hit or miss – sometimes melodic and grooving, at other moments stagnant and monotonous.

At one point, though, the band did manage to bring a smile to my face with its unexpected cover of the Huey Lewis and the News lite rock radio staple “If This Is It” – a totally appropriate choice in light of the night’s Back to the Future overtones.

Shameless plug alert! Come check out a ton of great student bands at the Canopy Club today from 3PM-9PM for the low, low price of $7. Everyone who attends will also receive an album booklet and a download card directing them to a free MP3 version of Free For All – the fourth compilation album from Green St. Records.

Here’s the lineup:

3:00 - The Joys Inn (Void)
3:40 - Book By It’s Cover (Small Hall)
4:20 - Carl Hauck (Void)
5:00 - Ben Avci (Small Hall)
5:40 - Mark Donnelly
6:20 - The Ruckus (Small Hall)
7:00 - Jonathan Childers (Void)
7:40 - Organic Flow (Small Hall)
8:20 - Doctor Dr PhD (Void)

Hope to see you there!

On March 6, the Canopy Club hosted a trio of buzzworthy indie acts – from local scene upstarts Tall Tale to the Chambana-bred and nationally acclaimed Headlights. Rounding out the bill, and adding a touch of foreign spice to its Illinois flavor, was co-headliner Evangelicals from Oklahoma.

The show opened with a strong eight song set from Tall Tale, a U of I student band that has built a loyal following since its inception in August. Seizing the opportunity to showcase its brand of piano-driven, power-pop in front of a larger crowd, Tall Tale performed admirably – with female lead vocalists Tracey Morrison and Tricia Scully trading off verses and sharing the choruses on most songs. Although the group was at its best on upbeat, chorus-driven tracks such as “No Time to Hide,” “Never Knew” and “Pirate Ship,” slower songs “Your Hat” and “Undertow” gave the two singers a chance to make their smooth voices shine over sleepy melodies. Despite a slight lag in pace toward the middle, by the end of up-tempo closing track “Tango” not even the spotlights could compare to the innocent enthusiasm radiated by each member up on stage.

Set List (provided by Tall Tale)

No Time to Hide
Never Knew
Apology
New Song (untitled)
Your Hat
Undertow
Pirate Ship
Tango

Next to take the stage were Pitchfork darlings Evangelicals, a synth-heavy indie rock group touring in support of its recently released second album “The Evening Descends.” After listening to its two studio records several times in the weeks leading up to the show, I had developed an impression of the band as treading precariously on the fine line separating style from substance. And from the moment the members took the stage, it was immediately clear which side its live show resides on. From the fog machine spewing out a dense cloud of smoke over the Canopy crowd, to the black light illuminating a glowing image on the cape worn by bassist/keyboardist Kyle Davis, Evangelicals seemed determined to put on a “show” in every sense of the word.

Oh, and they played some music, too. Although a little out place stylistically next to Tall Tale and Headlights, Evangelicals’ androgynous lead singer Josh Jones captivated the audience with his unique outfit and often unintelligible, high-pitched vocals. Although at times it was difficult to tell whether his coughing laugh into the mic was an artistic choice or a reaction to the cloud of smoke encompassing the stage, his falsetto nicely complemented the harp-like guitar strumming on “Skeleton Man” and oddball electronic effects on “How Do You Sleep?” Ultimately, like Jones’ choreographed crowd surfing adventure, Evangelicals sometimes threatened to collapse under all the gimmicks, but in the end new bursts of originality were always there to lift them back up (along with the occasional help from a few strong audience members).

Once the fog had cleared, the stage was set up to accommodate local favorites Headlights. On this particular evening the group was celebrating the release of “Some Racing, Some Stopping,” its second full-length record through Champaign-based Polyvinyl Records. Even though the musicians entered to the loudest mixture of cheers and applause heard that night, the group started into “Get Yer Head Around It” with little fanfare of its own. Continuing with a stacked set list of newer cuts (“Market Girl,” “School Boys,” “Cherry Tulips”) and older mainstays (“Owl Eyes,” “Lions,” “TV”), Headlights soon succeeded in replacing the lingering smell of smoke with the sweet fragrance of a Midwestern meadow.

Perhaps the greatest thing about Headlights is the band’s ability, especially in a live setting, to generate lush layers of sound from deceptively simple arrangements. Drummer Brett Sanderson and guitarists John Owen and Tristan Wraight join with Erin Fein’s keyboard to produce rolling rhythms that gently swell together and never threaten to overtake each other. In addition, singers Fein and Wraight certainly know how to use their warm voices to full effect, their lyrics often dissolving into soothing “ooooo” harmonies and “ba da da” refrains that entrance the listener without ever lulling them to sleep. As a result, the band creates beautiful, feel-good melodies that effortlessly swirl in the air above you for a moment (and in your head for days).

Set List (provided by Headlights)

Get Yer Head Around It
Market Girl
Centuries
Towers
School Boys
So Much For The Afternoon
Some Racing, Some Stopping
Catch Them All
Cherry Tulips
Owl Eyes
TV
Your Old Street
Lions
Put Us Back Together Right
It Isn’t Easy To Live That Well

Summary Haiku:
Tall Tale are no lie.
Evangelicals preached glam.
Headlights shone brightly.