Ploughed Under: An American Songbook at the Chopin Theatre on April 28, 2013

I was invited as a reviewer to come to see the new musical production "Ploughed Under" at the Chopin Theater.  Granted, I had just returned from a long weekend having spent it in Wisconsin with 20 girls and various mothers at a Girl Scout Camping Trip.  But, those who know me, can count on me rallying or "stepping up to the plate" for a good time.  It was ambitious but I grabbed my friend Wendy and we headed over to the show.  Part of my fortitude stemmed from the fact that The House theatre of Chicago has put on other noteworthy great productions, such as The Sparrow.  Unfortunately we were both Ploughed Underwelmed by Ploughed Under.

Kevin O'Donnell,  a talented drummer, attempted to develop a 19 song musical score to present American folk and tall tales.  Each song and story presented folk tales about oppression throughout history beginning in the 1500's.  He writes about African-American, Native American, Mexican, and Chinese folk heroes.  The premise is that these tales depict a time of struggle and perhaps mistreatment of those that came before us (ie. Indians and slaves) and perhaps how we, the audience, should not forget these people who helped to create our rich history as Americans, and the trials and tribulations they endured.  That was a mouthful and I am certainly unsure of the punctuation here, commas and comments aside.

Each song was sung with an earnest and emphatically serious quality with little nuance.  There were no standout performers or any one singer who had a special voice.  It almost seemed that there were no leads on purpose. The songs were not woven together and so lacked cohesiveness (except for the repression undertone). Also disappointing was that the singers/actors did not adequately provide any sense of character development.   I felt myself tired and bored listening to each song.  The melodies blended and the rhymes did not - rhyme.  There were songs that I thought for sure were going to develop into a full on gospel tone or jazz ballad that fell short.   The song "No Mail Today" could easily have been more interesting if jazzed up.  The singer had the opportunity to shine but did not take it.   More could have been done with those songs and the singers could have been more stylistically challenged.  The soprano was particularly "soprano".  I heard no other notes and it became for me like nails on a chalkboard.  Not that she was off pitch or particularly offensive.  I just wanted more range.  It was like the same high pitched octave over and over.   I was trying to cut some slack but alas could not.   I will admit, my threshold was reduced based upon the prior long weekend of activity but nonetheless, I was excited to hopefully enjoy this show.

On the upside there were some interested staging sequences and use of props!! They placed four long butcher block style tables perpendicularly to the stage for the audience to sit at.  Behind those tables were regular seats and sort of cabaret style tables.  The feel was cozy night club.  The singers used the tables as a form of runway during many of the songs sometimes parking themselves at the end of the table (standing, kneeling or sitting) next to an audience member.  Each cabaret table had a votive candle set inside a mason jar filled with sand or dirt.  There were use of chains (slavery), pennies in pails strewn across the butcher block (earning money), paper being torn from a book (table side also) - all effective attention getters.

The highlight was actually Mr. O'Donnell's drum solo.  Clearly he is a talented drummer but is just not a talented composer or song-writer.  I almost did not review the show because, like I mentioned earlier, I really like the House Theater and want to be invited back.  I am not convinced that this show will do well and cannot advise others to come see it unless you are a fan of "The Christmas Schooner" a musical which I really did not like but has families coming back year after year.  The woman sitting on the other side of me clearly enjoyed the show, gasping after each introduction leading up to the song.  She was taken by it, moved even.  I just wanted to move out and go home but I stuck it out.  After all,
I can rally and step up to the plate.

ZZ Ward at Lincoln Hall on February 25, 2013

ZZ Ward was once again flawless at Lincoln Hall.  Please take a dramamine before viewing ZZ singing Etta James if you are prone to queasiness.  The video was a bit shaky from being held high and the videographer (moi) had a couple of pre-concert with dinner glasses of wine...



For more details on ZZ, please view my previous post.  You should grab tickets next time she is in your town or this town, before you will have no choice but to pay scalper prices at a bigger sold out venue.

The New Standards at City Winery on February 6, 2013

The New Standards, a Minneapolis based musical "re-interpretation" trio, performed at City Winery in Chicago on February 6, 2013.  The opening act was Nora O'Connor (not reviewed here but worth seeing for sure!).  Take a look and listen to these talented and fun musicians, The New Standards, singing Crazy:




The trio is made up of John Munson as bassist and lead vocal (Trip Shakespeare/Semisonic) Chan Poling (The Suburbs) on piano and lead vocal, and Steve Roehm (Billy Goat/Electropolis) on vibes.  They have been together since 2005 with the original goal to play their favorite songs from every era. Many of their re-interpretations reveal an acoustically stripped down version of many popular songs, ranging from The Clash to Britney Spears, that one would never imagine renovated into interesting and sometimes improved upon jazz trio arrangements.  I found myself on one level duly impressed by their outstanding musicianship and on another level wondering if indeed these songs were all being made mockery of in a campy sense.  Having read information on their website (www.thenewstandards.com), it turns out that although they are at times very funny, they are truly serious about their re-workings of these songs, no campiness intended.  Vocally, they are clearly channelling a chimera of Bowie, Joe Jackson, with Neil Diamond flourish.  The musicianship was outstanding, amazing piano and bass and I have a new found deep respect for the vibes (xylophone if you prefer).  The use of double mallets was like no other.

The New Standards stated manifesto is "to keep songs alive beyond their original form".  This is delightfully accomplished, no worries.

SETLIST:

I Will Dare (The Replacements)
London Calling (The Clash)
Sunday Morning Coming Down (The New Standards)
Hey Ya (OutKast)
Essence (Lucinda Williams)
I Scare Myself (Thomas Dolby)
The Book of Love (Peter Gabriel)
I'm Only Dancing (Bowie)
Crazy (Gnarls Barkley))
One (Harry Nielson song)
Mrs. Braintree (Trip Shakespeare)
Call Your Boyfriend (Robyn)
Toxic (Britney Spears)
Encore (Johnny Cash tune)

Shawn Colvin at City Winery on February 1, 2013

I recently saw Shawn Colvin at City Winery and I must say, SPACE is a better venue for an intimate and less acoustically challenging environment.  Tonight was a standout.  Shawn in her couture dress with flared black cropped pants and lush brown leather boots brought style and swagger to the show.  Shawn is not only a great singer-songwriter, she is hilariously entertaining.  She immediately mocked herself for being a woman of a certain age complete with vision, hearing, and other issues.   She acknowledged that with her age has come a more "I don't really care what anyone thinks" attitude.  I can appreciate this attitude and can certainly relate (I am really only a few years behind her).  She talked about finally giving in and buying a fancy electronic tuner that changes colors when you pluck the correct note - only to realize that she could not see the color.  At one show, she threw the tuner at a fan who told her she was "sharp".  She may have regretted her response but only because she had to buy another tuner.

Acoustics were great at SPACE allowing for Shawn to sing softly yet clearly hearing each note.  Check out the video hear and I swear she was looking at me taping her by the end.  Likely not but she might have been...

"Polaroids":



Shawn played a mix of old and some new songs from her latest release. She did not disappoint.  My guess is this type of venue (small, candlelit tables) is her most comfortable place to perform.
I was lucky to get to see the first of two sold out shows at SPACE, courtesy of my friend Anna and her husband John.  Much appreciated!  Opening for Shawn was Meg Hutchinson.  Although talented, for me the performance and songs fell a little flat and gloomy.  She also performs as part of a trio with a group of singer-songwriters calling themselves "Winterbloom".  Having seen them before at Old Town School of Folk, I must say I preferred hearing Meg as part of the larger trio which was more dynamic and interesting.

The Kuhl's: Holy Rollin' Debut CD Release

Singing and rocking sister duo, Renee and Grace Kuhl, with much fanfare and excitement, are scheduled for their debut release of Holy Rollin' on February 26, 2013.  Influenced by punk rock, folk, and pure rock n' roll channelling the likes of Zeppelin, they have successfully put together a stylistically varied compilation which showcases each of their individual and collective talents.  For a debut, this release is exceptionally well crafted and produced.  The songs presented are either intimate and soulful or upbeat with "hard rock" influence, slide guitar included.  The Kuhls are scheduled for a big "all ages" show at House of Blues on February 1st.  Not a bad coming out party.  By the way, how great is this album cover?  Great use of fallen leaves.

The Kuhls: Review of Holy Rollin'

Holy Rollin’ is an independent release featuring 12 songs spanning a wide range of influences including 90s grunge/70s rock n roll/country western girl pop all skillfully written by the Kuhl sisters, Renee and Grace.  Other musicians from the Chicago area joining them on the album include Luke Otwell (People’s Temple of America) on electric guitar and lap slide, Gregg Midon (Sons of the West) on drums, Anthony DeSanto (Sons of the West) on guitar and Kyle Crager (Soft Candy, Odd Folk) on bass. You can visit the bandcamp site for a listen to this provocative new release (The Kuhls.bandcamp.com).

Before I review Holy Rollin’ I must disclose that I have known Renee for several years as both friend and babysitter of my precious children.  Although biased opinions are rampant in many conversations and reviews throughout society at large, I can assure you that I am not one to hand out compliments (ask my children and the students that I supervise, they know how a offer “constructive criticism” with delight).

The first song, “A Woman is Like a Man”, roped me in immediately.  The appeal is that it’s style and musicianship is very satisfying from the first stanza.  It is one of the most melodic songs on the CD.  I found myself replaying it over and over in my mind, to the point of distraction.  The lyrics “She knows how to love somebody wrong (you know you taught me how baby)” tells the story, the scorned woman blaming her lover for her unjustified heartache.  This song is well crafted as both a folk song with a bit of country edge with the added flourish of great guitar riffs contributing a rock n roll feel.  Renee’s vocals really shine in this song, emphasizing the emotion of the lyrics while revealing but not overdoing the “anger” component.   This song is a clear standout for me.

The second track, “Gone My Governess”, takes a rock n roll turn with a constant drum backbone and although featuring Renee on vocals demonstrates the harmonizing cability of the Kuhl sisters.  “Leavin’ The Prairie” (video included on this blog), features Grace on vocals and Otwell on slide guitar.  Harmony and Renee as lead are back on “Bad Fiction” with guitar riffs reminiscent of one of my all time favorite bands, Lynyrd Skynyrd.  

 “20/40” starts out with an intro instantly reminding you of “The Song Remains The Same”. It is a very unique song featuring Grace’s distinctly edgy and quirky vocals, clearly a departure from Renee’s soothing, solid and crisp sound.  One would not be able to identify them as sisters if you had them do a sing off and listened for similarity in their DNA fingerprints. Grace has a similar quality to Julia Stone (Angus and Julia Stone) a bit raspy and gritty and sometimes less breath almost wistfully dropping the lyric at the end of each line.   Grace’s vocals twist and play with notes in a way that make her sound clearly her own in an exciting way.

The title track, “Holy Rollin’” starts out mellow with perfect harmonies.  The bridge transitions to piano and the lyrics and chord changes manage to tug at your heartstrings only winding down to surprise you with a screaming testosterone driven guitar solo and vocals that demand an answer to “Why you gotta be wasted?”  The Kuhls have clearly shared the bill equally with their band mates as each song has highlighted the talents of each of the musicians on this recording.

“Winning” once again turns to Grace for the lead and with the sparse and simple back-up of acoustic guitar for the song, brings her vocals to the forefront.  I recommend closing your eyes to imagine listening to this song “live” in your living room. “Indian Summer” throws the reigns back to Renee and grabs your attention immediately from the rock intro trailing into an Ani Difranco style lyric (for those that know and love her).

One, two, skip a few... The Kuhl’s transition to “Lark’s On A Wire”, bringing back the drums, adding bells and perhaps a tamburitza?  This is a lyrically rich song highlighting Renee’s range and beautiful vocal tone with the track’s ethereal and spiritual quality.  This song is completely unexpected in the context of the rest of the CD.

Again, all biases aside (please still babysit for me and be nice to my kids), this is an ambitious first release and worthy of undivided attention.  The vocal and song-writing artistry of this sister pair are noteworthy.  They are able to weave complicated arrangements threading lyric with varied tempos, even within an individual song.   For a freshman release, the production is highly professional and mature.  The recording is crisp and nothing about the song compilation monotonous.  If I were to add a “constructive bit of criticism” I would say that it is tricky to alternate tracks between lead singers and still have one cohesive sound to set the tone of the album. The Kuhls have successfully crossed many genres, which can appeal to a variety of listeners (on the one hand), but it might be worth making a specific choice so that their own official signature could be identified.  I would like to hear one song on the radio and know that this is, undoubtedly, The Kuhls. 

Here is a behind the scenes video teaser of the recording process of what might be the big "hit single" Leavin' the Prairie:

Trixie Whitley at Schubas on November 14, 2012

Trixie Whitley's live performance sent chills down my spine.  She puts everything into her vocals.  Truly 100% in the "wearing it all on her sleeve" zone, or in tonights case, on her buff and defined Grace Slick sleeveless wife beater t-shirt sporting arms.  Her confidence was strong while singing and wavered when not.  She was upset by a fan who requested a song from her band Black Dub shouting back that this is a Trixie Whitley show and she gets annoyed that people request Black Dub and her late dad Chris Whitley's songs.  She later apologized for getting so defensive and thanked the audience for giving her a chance to sing her own songs.  It was a touchy moment, but we all moved on.

Trixie sings with such raw emotion that it is hard not to get caught up and drown right into it with her.

Shawn Colvin at Chicago City Winery on November 8, 2012

My long-time idol, Shawn Colvin performed at the Chicago City Winery, a new place for wine, food and music in the West Loop restaurant row.  The nice thing about the venue, besides the lofty, cool space and wine-and-food-a-plenty, is that you can purchase actual seats (I think, not optional as I did not see standing room) and you know exactly where you will be and that you do not have to stand.  We have seen Shawn at least 8 times now so I will describe the night referring to the singer-songwriter goddess by first name.  In fact, I felt a bit slighted that we did not have drinks with her after the show (my particular fantasy since we feel as if we almost know her having seen her perform in multiple states and venues over a 17 year period).  Hopefully next time the drinks/meet and greet can be finagled.  

Wearing a Missoni-esque go-go dress with great boots and her buff-arms cradling her guitar, she looked at most 40-something and not nearly her factual 56.  With her usual wit, Shawn disclosed that she recently got her wrist cuff tattoo which to her, seemed like a completely reasonable thing for a woman of her age to do.  It looks completely perfect on her.  I will have to wait for my hipness to catch up to hers before I risk getting one. Might be in my next life but I can dream.

She opened the show with her cover of Seal's "Crazy", although a bit subdued in volume, no one seemed to notice.  Shawn does not "belt out" a tune but lets the words slip out of her mouth quietly and audibly but never loud.  She is likely mellowing with age, like a fine wine.  One of the evenings highlights was Shawn's declaration that her song "Polaroids" was almost never recorded because she realized after writing it that she had stolen the tune from Don Henley's "Heart of the Matter".  She then demonstrated how the two main chords of her song are the exact two main chords of Henley's song.  She decided to record it anyway because, really, "no one can own two chords".  Shawn then launched into a 10 song medley which included Katy Perry's song "California Girls",  to prove the point that many hits have the same two chords.   

The show was great, her singing familiar and comforting, and she is comedian funny.  Lucky for Chicago she is coming back again in February to do two shows at SPACE.  I just might have to go again.