Date: 10/9/07
Bands: Califone, The 1900s, The Eternals, Flosstradamus with the Cool Kids
Cost: FREE!
Drinks: $4 312
Things I missed to be there: The John Cage Musicircus at the Cultural Center; The Watson Twins at the Empty Bottle; Lovers in Arms and Phillip Morris at the Beat Kitchen
Reason for going: I really wanted to see Flosstradamus and the Eternals after missing them repeatedly. One out of two ain't bad
We're standing on that island off the Magnificent Mile where all the horse carriages rest. Dan's skateboard screeches and grinds to a stop when we come across a familiar face. A very blunted familiar face.
"Where y'all comin from?"
"They just had a show at the museum."
"Who played?"
"Flosstradamus and the Cool Kids."
"Rock shit?"
"Naw dude, hip hop."
"They hip hop or they rap?"
"A little of both. Club shit."
"What they name is? Cool Kids?"
"Yeah."
"They black?"
"Yeah."
"You sure they black?"
"Yeah."
"I don't know man. Not with a name like the Cool Kids."
I was actually disappointed with the Cool Kids, and how much more rap they were then hip hop. Coming up after a frenzied Flosstradamus set, the Cool Kids came off as low energy. The music was just slow, and the vocals weren't mixed well. It was a hot day, hot enough that we had athletes dying on the street, and I chose to excuse myself and try to see some of the air conditioned Rock/Art exhibit, rather than wait for them to pick up the tempo. They did, of course, with more remix-heavy material that had a stagediving Hollywood Holt getting passed through a sweaty crowd and pumped fists from any hand that wasn't being used to prop him up.
The event was thrown in conjunction with the MCA's fortieth anniversary celebration(s), and their Rock/Art show, an exhibit so bright, loud, and flashy it would give Andy Warhol a seizure...or an orgasm. The party was thrown by the cats who started the Intonation Festival, and opened up the floodgates for all those stupid outdoor indie festivals that piss me off all summer. The way I heard it, they cancelled this year's fest (which was rumored to be featuring Yoko Ono and M.I.A., who ended up performing at Pitchfork and Lollapalooza, respectively) because of money, but the way they play it on their myspace, they didn't want to do it because everyone else was.
This made more sense anyway. Chicago bands playing for Chicagoans for free. The only thing that would have made it better was a later starting time. If I tried harder, I could have gotten there in time for the Eternals, who veer wildly from dance to noise, in a way very reminiscent of Indian Jewelry, but as it was I got there just in time for their last jam. I assume though, that this show wasn't for me. It seemed like every motherfucker I knew was out and about but it wasn't for them either, in the same way that the festival wasn't for me. It was a treat for people who don't get out much, who haven't been missing Flosstradamus parties or Schubas upstairs residencies because they had other shit to go to, but because they had kids or grown folks jobs that wouldn't allow it. I had a good time though. It was a novelty to get sweaty dancey like that with the sun bearing down, and something most people can't pull off (which may account for the hits-heavy Flosstradamus set in all of its ecumenical Kanye, Jay-Z, Daft Punk goodness).
The MCA has thrown a lot of good events over the years, but this was the closest I've felt to how I did back in 2001, when they threw the last of their 24-hour summer solstice parties.
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