Venue: Second City E.T.C. Theater
Band: Shellac
Price: $10
Things I missed to be there: I got there at 3 in the morning. If there was something else going on I demand to know about it.
It's 3AM. I've just watched an spelling bee where a lone contestant is playing for his own life. At blackout, one of the actors comes out and introduces:
"A band known for their mellow, James Taylor-like musical stylings...Shellac!"
And the band takes the stage. A couple of antique amps, glittery gold drum set, and a couple of guitars that look like they've been chewed on by cougars. Steve Albini comes out in an Upright Citizens Brigade t-shirt, toasting the Chicago expats and Second City rivals with a mischievous smile on his face that quickly moves into a sneer as he punches out the first chord. It's blisteringly loud and incredibly absurd. The stage is so close. And pastel. And well lit. I take a swig from the Fat Tire that was sitting at the table when I got there. This is awesome.
I've missed Shellac more times than I can count and for no good reason. I missed them when they played with Fugazi at the Congress Theater for lke 5 bucks, I missed them last year when they played like six shows in four days, I missed them the last time I was in New Orleans and they were playing the Tape-Op convergence, and I miss them every year at The Second City's annual charity fundraiser, Letters to Santa.
The idea behind Letters to Santa is that the Second City will stay open from 7pm Tuesday to 7pm Wednesday, charge ten dollars to come and go as you please, and alternate between music, comedy and improv. The funds go to providing holiday gifts to children in need. In addition to the door, there are auctions for things like a recording session with Albini, or a guitar of Jeff Tweedy's (who was the show's first musical act).
There was a time in my life where improv meant the world to me. I loved it as much as I loved music, but more because it was something I could actually do. I stayed in Chicago for college because there wasn't a better city in the world to do improv. In high school when I was training on the E.T.C. stage I would have dreamt about something like this, where the actors played out in the crowd so the band could set up on stage, at all hours of the night. It just seems like such a perfect fit for Chicago.
"We're gonna bring the doom and the angry, then the guys'll come back out and bring the funny, then we'll fuck it up again."
During their second set, Steve announced that he would match whatever money was offered up from the audience to watch his girlfriend slap him.
"Is she butch?"
"Full time or part time?"
"Forty bucks!"
When there's a lull in the bidding, she gets up and yells, "I'm from the South Side and I'm Irish!"
"One Hundred dollars."
The bidding ends at $140 for the slap plus a request. After the band closes with "Squirrels", a scene is performed about an office overrun by squirrels. It's one of the few scenes that doesn't work, but it's still pretty cool to watch.
[Other acts include Horatio Sans, Detholz!, Robbie Fulks, and Devil in a Woodpile. If you happen to be reading this right now, you can still catch the end. Upp...it's over.]
I couldn't find any good videos of Shellac, so here's one of Steve Albini's other great bands, Big Black. They reunited this year, and I missed them
No comments:
Post a Comment