friday12
never enough hope Two years ago Toby Summerfield, bassist for the instrumental rock band Crush Kill Destroy, enlisted a slew of his pals to perform and record an extended composition he wrote called Never Enough Hope. I missed the concert, but the recording is finally seeing the light of day as a self-released CD-R. It’s an ambitious work: a tidy chunk of minimalist rock with different licks, instruments, and dynamics unfolding every few minutes. At 40 minutes it doesn’t always sustain a high level of interest, but the musicians keep it alive with style and surprising precision. This week some of the original participants will join a cast of new faces in a 20-piece lineup that includes two drummers, two vibraphone players, and a bass saxist; they’ll be performing the piece along with some new material. Tonight is the first of three shows; see also Saturday and Sunday. Son of Gunnar, Ton of Shel and Locks open. a 10 PM, Empty Bottle, 1035 N. Western, 773-276-3600 or 866-468-3401, $8. –Peter Margasak
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never enough hope See Friday. a 10 PM, Heaven Gallery, 1550 N. Milwaukee (2nd floor), 773-342-4597, $7. A
cLANG LANG WITH MUSICIANS FROM THE CHICAGO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Like Icarus, pianist Lang Lang may have risen too fast, the burgeoning of his immense physical talent–Barenboim once said he must have an extra finger–outstripping his development as a musician. His ability to satisfy critics seems almost inversely proportional to his ability to excite the public. He can be overly flamboyant, yet his extraordinary technique, enthusiasm, and sincerity keep him engaging. Chamber music could be a healthy challenge, forcing him to listen and rein in his exuberance for the good of the ensemble. Here he joins CSO members Yuan-Qing Yu (violin), Yukiko Ogura (viola), Kenneth Olsen (cello), and Michael Hovnanian (double bass) in performing Schubert’s Trout Quintet, a joyful piece that reflects the composer’s youthful delight at vacationing in the Austrian countryside. Composed for an amateur cellist, it contains wonderful writing for the cello, which is freed by the presence of the double bass to soar melodically. The concert opens with Mozart’s Divertimento in E-flat, a masterpiece for string trio in which the voices of the violin, viola, and cello are interwoven to perfection. Elegant, inventive, and profound, it ranks with his best chamber work. a 3 PM, Orchestra Hall, Symphony Center, 220 S. Michigan, 312-294-3000 or 800-223-7114, $31-$68. –Steve Langendorf
Detroit four-piece TYVEK recorded their no-fi debut, a self-titled seven-inch for X! Records, on a cassette four-track, then mixed and pressed it at a total cost of $739. The B side, “Honda,” has an invigoratingly sloppy, thrown-together feel, like the band formed five minutes before the red “record” light came on with every intention of breaking up when the song ended. They’ve got a seven-inch coming out on What’s Your Rupture? and share a guitarist with no-wave primitives Little Claw, who are putting out an EP on Ecstatic Peace.
cRON SEXSMITH Toronto’s Ron Sexsmith has such an unassuming way with a melodic hook that it’s easy to take his sublime craftsmanship for granted. Though at this point (he’s in his early 40s) it seems unlikely he’ll ever become a big marquee name, he’s one of the strongest pop songwriters of the past decade. Time Being (released in the U.S. by Ironworks, a label owned by Kiefer Sutherland and Jude Cole) reunites him with producer Mitchell Froom, who oversaw three of his finest earlier albums, and on it Sexsmith stays true to form: he’s an eternal romantic, and sees love as the one thing that can break through the misery and pain of everyday life. “Jazz at the Bookstore,” about how the hot-blooded music of years past gets repurposed as aural wallpaper for yuppie coffee boutiques, is about as far as he strays from that territory into anything like social commentary. But Sexsmith’s lyrics are secondary to his gentle but indelible melodies–he’s like a less nasal, less verbose, less spiteful Elvis Costello. Kim Taylor opens. a 9 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $18, $15 in advance. –Peter Margasak
