Bring Back the Bridge
churchbus made a rare appearance last night in Wicker Park with Grun Tu Molani, Judgment of Paris and Houston's Bring Back the Guns.
Grun Tu Molani, an oddball trio of electric piano trumpet and drums, name all their songs after animals (my current favorites being elephant and rabbit) and host an animal blog on their website. I've loved these guys since conception and this was the best show yet last night, mainly because they finally had a chance to play through a decent sound system. Their vocals usually sound like an unfortunate afterthought but now I'm digging them like Slim Gailliard's yep roc heresay.
Judgment of Paris, like the name might imply, are a young band - kids from South Chicago. I liked them. Had to put myself in a different place to get into them. Music for a different generation maybe. Imagine some High School for the Performing and Visual Arts types playing prog rock (what HSPVA rock band doesn't play prog?) with all the romanticism of their age. They called their music psychedelic prog which is really an oxymoron. Still the guitarist did have some nice licks but the style was tightly in the prog arena, no freeek outs I'm afraid. Scratch the psychedelic.
Bring Back the Guns were right on. They had to start with a strangely empty room. We were all merely playing to each other anyway but the beginning of their set is where the other bands decided to load out. Didn't really phase BBtG and I'm glad for that because I was pumped to have a good time. Midway through their set everyone had filed back in too.
We got to play through the BBtG gear which is a couple of levels of quality higher than what we're used to. The Note is a decent sounding room too. It's not my favorite place to play in Chicago by a long shot. It just doesn't have much character even though it's right in the heart of hip Wicker Park and ain't a bad building. That being said I've never had a bad time at the Note. So why am I complaining? Besides the bartender's boob bats did it for me.
One other thing. I put two songs in this weeks podcast - Bread's Don't Shut Me Out and Sunset Valley's Mega Pills. Both of these songs have qualities of the utmost in guitar pop and both suffer from unimaginative bridges. Where is that confounded bridge? And if you can't find it why don't you just canoe over or something. Down with plugged in bridges that do nothing for the song.
Grun Tu Molani, an oddball trio of electric piano trumpet and drums, name all their songs after animals (my current favorites being elephant and rabbit) and host an animal blog on their website. I've loved these guys since conception and this was the best show yet last night, mainly because they finally had a chance to play through a decent sound system. Their vocals usually sound like an unfortunate afterthought but now I'm digging them like Slim Gailliard's yep roc heresay.
Judgment of Paris, like the name might imply, are a young band - kids from South Chicago. I liked them. Had to put myself in a different place to get into them. Music for a different generation maybe. Imagine some High School for the Performing and Visual Arts types playing prog rock (what HSPVA rock band doesn't play prog?) with all the romanticism of their age. They called their music psychedelic prog which is really an oxymoron. Still the guitarist did have some nice licks but the style was tightly in the prog arena, no freeek outs I'm afraid. Scratch the psychedelic.
Bring Back the Guns were right on. They had to start with a strangely empty room. We were all merely playing to each other anyway but the beginning of their set is where the other bands decided to load out. Didn't really phase BBtG and I'm glad for that because I was pumped to have a good time. Midway through their set everyone had filed back in too.
We got to play through the BBtG gear which is a couple of levels of quality higher than what we're used to. The Note is a decent sounding room too. It's not my favorite place to play in Chicago by a long shot. It just doesn't have much character even though it's right in the heart of hip Wicker Park and ain't a bad building. That being said I've never had a bad time at the Note. So why am I complaining? Besides the bartender's boob bats did it for me.
One other thing. I put two songs in this weeks podcast - Bread's Don't Shut Me Out and Sunset Valley's Mega Pills. Both of these songs have qualities of the utmost in guitar pop and both suffer from unimaginative bridges. Where is that confounded bridge? And if you can't find it why don't you just canoe over or something. Down with plugged in bridges that do nothing for the song.
11 Comments:
Comment 1: Where's that Confounded Bridge
Comment 2: I loves me the Churchbus. When is it rolling back into Houston I wonder.
Comment 3: BBTG are really cool guys. I just did a profile of them recently for the Free Press by coincidence. See: BBTG
Nice post, k. Let's get that baby out here. One more fan at the club.
Bridges... in my understanding bridges are the section of a song that gives focus to the main section through contrast. There are of course plenty of great songs without them, and many that use them as if they were necessary, when really they are not. How do you come up with bridges for your songs? when do you feel they are necessary? when do you feel its ok to skip them?
Bridges? We don't need no steenking bridges...
Unfortunately don't know about the bus getting down to Houston any time soon Ramon.
Had a good time with the guns. They stayed here last night but then rolled on to St. Louis today and I think then they head up again to Minneapolis. That's a lot of back and forth and up and down, looking at frost covered fields, Illinois license plates and not much else. At least they have a zillion hours of music on their iPods. It's like a rolling music study hall in that van I'll bet.
Yeah that baby has to pop John. This holding pattern called life is making me bug eyed. Still several more weeks though.
Carlos - what makes a good bridge is the crossing of something otherwise hard to navigate. It's got to be built for the part too. If you're carrying a lot of baggage it's got to be strong. If you just got to get your feet moving it can be light and swinging. And only if it's built in Alaska can it go no where and even then that's only if your moving pork barrels. It can be for efficiency but again only if that's what you need. Myself I like a lazy day on the river levee be damned.
Hang in there K, and your wife too. The importance of these days is beyond measure. I know you know that. You also know that I am a king hell dick when I want to be, but as it concerns your family, I wish you guys all the best. It's the home stretch. You'll get there. I did. Twice. And we all know what I'm like.
whoops my first comment should have read "where's that confounded bridge? What is this Led Zeppelin appreciation week?"
somehow in a cut and paste I lost the second sentence.
Ah man your bark is way worse than your bite little Johnny.
I just focused on the lyrics in the bridge from Sunset Valley's Mega Pills.
Mega Pills manufactured in london town
I have never been there
this bridge is falling me down
I'm crying
That's funny, I appreciate that. New respect for this particular bridge.
Indeed.
My favorite self-referential bridge lyric, by Amanda Palmer from the Dresden Dolls:
"this bridge was written to make you feel smittener,
with my sad picture of girl getting bitterer."
oddly enough (is it?) my favorite bridge is in a song that was a huge commercial hit at the time. unfortunately, radio stations often cut off the song right at the bridge, since i guess it's considered a long song and the bridge is a convenient (is it?) cut-off point. jerks. "my sharona" by the knack.
k, brilliant entry title...
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