friday22
FLESHTONES, HENTCHMEN New York indie/garage institutions the FLESHTONES have been going for 31 uninterrupted years now–apparently they knew how to keep themselves entertained during those dark decades when it seemed hardly anyone was paying attention. Sweat, a book about the band by Joe Bonomo, hits the shelves in September, and a documentary is said to be in the works; also forthcoming is a new record on Yep Roc, plus a tribute album aptly titled Vindicated!
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cHERMAN HITSON Recently a number of Chicago soul-record fanatics have founded reissue labels, bringing belated exposure to little-known regional acts of decades past, but John Ciba isn’t stopping there. Since launching his Rabbit Factory imprint with last year’s terrific compilation CD The Birmingham Sound: The Soul of Neal Hemphill, Vol. 1, Ciba’s helped get some of these rediscovered artists back onstage. Last week he put on an old-school soul revue in Brooklyn; today it arrives in Chicago. The lineup includes Roscoe Robinson and Ralph “Soul” Jackson, who also performed at the Birmingham Sound release show, Clarence Reid, who plays the Note later tonight as Blowfly, and a great Atlanta singer named Herman Hitson. I’d never heard of Hitson till I stumbled upon You Are Too Much for the Human Heart (Soul-Tay-Shus, 2005), a compilation of singles he cut between 1961 and ’76. Unlike many soul artists he wrote much of his own material, which ranges from hard and raspy post-Otis Redding stompers to James Brown-inspired funk workouts. I don’t know how his voice has held up, but at this intimate show presence will count as much as pipes. The bill, from the top: Reid, Robinson, Hitson, Jackson, and revivalists Eli “Paperboy” Reed & the True Loves. The True Loves share house-band duties with locals the Adam Fitz Band; Ciba, James Porter, Brian Poust, and Andy Dyson spin afterward. a 5 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, 773-227-4433 or 866-468-3401, $15. –Peter Margasak
lTHE SNAKE THE CROSS THE CROWN I’m a softie for sweeping, depressive folk rock, but these guys try even my patience on their second album, Cotton Teeth (Equal Vision). For nine straight tracks they sustain a mood best described as either “elegiac” or “plodding,” depending on how long you’ve been listening, with nothing to break it up but distracting nods to their influences (the David Gilmour-esque guitar eruption on the title track, the way “Electronic Dream Plant” ends kind of like “Hey Jude”). And then at the last minute they rattle your cage with “Back to the Helicopter,” an inspired bit of hair-down weirdness that leaves you wondering why they waited so long. Mewithoutyou headlines, Piebald plays third, Manchester Orchestra is second, and the Snake the Cross the Crown opens. a 6:30 PM, Metro, 3730 N. Clark, 773-549-0203 or 312-559-1212, $15, $13.50 in advance. A –Monica Kendrick
tuesday26
BISHOP ALLEN Last year this Brooklyn indie-pop combo released an EP every month, from January to December–they cheated a little and used a show recording for August, but all told they put out nearly four albums’ worth of tunes. Then they went right back into the studio to make The Broken String (due July 24 on Dead Oceans), the follow-up to their 2003 LP, Charm School. On catchy tracks like “Click Click Click Click” (from the new album) and “Things Are What You Make of Them” (from the old one), they capably reinterpret 60s British-invasion sounds a la the Redwalls, flavoring them with understated production trickery a la Wilco. The Teeth and Locksley open. a 7:30 PM, Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, 773-281-4444 or 866-468-3401, $12, $10 in advance. A –J. Niimi
SAM YAHEL TRIO On his fourth and best album, Truth and Beauty (Origin), organist Sam Yahel continues to operate outside the heavy blues and gospel style associated with Hammond B-3 maestros like Jimmy McGriff, Jack McDuff, and Baby Face Willette. He’s more like Larry Young, eschewing greasy, crowd-pleasing chord swells for dynamic, pianistic single-note lines. For the record he enlisted drummer Brian Blade, whose splintery accents add an extra level of complexity to the grooves, and saxophonist Joshua Redman, who finds room for low-down classic-funk growls in the midst of thoroughly modern-sounding arrangements. But on his current tour, opening for Steely Dan, Yahel will be backed by a standard organ-trio line-up, with guitarist Peter Bernstein and drummer Greg Hutchinson. a 7:30 PM, Auditorium Theatre, Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress, 312-922-2110 or 312-559-1212, $45-$125. A –Peter Margasak
