Thursday, April 24, 2008

Transmission on tomorrow's show

With thanks to Mr. Sienko!

http://gapersblock.com/transmission/2008/04/23/post_24/



To thine own synth be true


Above: Aaron Dilloway rocks with his mouth full

I heard a sad rumor that the Flowershop (2159 W. 21st Place, at Leavitt north of Cermak) is closing their doors to shows in June. While the Pilsen location may have seemed out of the way to far-north (or suburban) show-comers, the space seemed to kickstart a whole rash of smaller venues in Pilsen and surrounding areas, making the south and west sides of Chicago the hot spots for all manner of neck-snappin' experimental madness. And now, like Sanjuro, the Flowershop is raising an eyebrow, and with a brusque "see ya around," is walking off into the sunset, eh?

Well, not yet.

This Friday (April 25), THRILL to the sight and sound of six hot-roxxs experimental scienticians flexing their musical lab-coats for one more major hoo-rah before the Flower Shop goes back to...well, I don't know. Selling flowers? Before they go, they invited on rather big-name mofo to see 'em off. All the way from Oberlin, Ohio (by way of Ann Arbor, MI), give it up for...

AARON DILLOWAY: Ex-Michigan monster has been in more seminal bands than you care to count. Wolf Eyes, Beast People, Galen, Couch, Nevari Butchers, and now his new all-synth project Spine Scavenger. Usually, a solo set involves some combo of reel-to-reel and/or 8-track tapes, contact mics, and some kind of gnarly juju, seriously. I've had the ground nearly open up beneath my feet and more than a few Dilloway-led sonic exorcisms. Then again, his new project, Spine Scavenger, is synth and delay-heavy, so maybe some of that will make the trip up from Oberlin for this very special and rare appearance.

MAGAS: Also ex-Couch, Jim Magas took his deadly actions in another direction from former bandmate Dilloway, becoming a premier dancefloor killer on such brain-blistering rump-shakers as Friends Forever and Let Me Meet My Accuser. He understands the Roland line of products better than most, and when he tears his shirt off, you can be assured that the party has already started without you.

MARK SOLOTROFF: Bloodyminded, Animal Law, Fortieth Day...all highly recommended live experiences. And also this - music for one human and 6-8 microphones. Let those tonsils shine shine shine...

JASON SOLIDAY: Animal Law's low-end strikes out on his own for a suite of who knows what. Soliday can do it all - bowed cymbal, electronics, bass, 8-bit, circuit-bent. Expect a lot of gear and a lot of power.

CLUB SPOUSE: May very well be the most obscure band on the internet. All searches lead to announcements about country clubs.

PEAKING LIGHTS: Myspace page affiliates them with Reggae (top 8 = all reggae legends with one thing in common: none of them are aware that they're friends with PEAKING LIGHTS), but honestly, I listen to the sample tracks, and all I hear is A.R. Kane. But the good stuff (http://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/514). Seriously...there really is some. See, even Julian Cope knows so!

8 p.m. SHARP cuz of six bands, and $7 suggested donation cuz of six bands. Also, I'm told enigmatically by the promoter to "not to show up late if you are a fan of analogue synth/lo-fi minimal synth, etc." Maybe he's talking about Club Spouse? Maybe a DJ set? Go and see.

- Chris Sienko