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Sarah A. writesCHIRP Goes to Kentucky: Forecastle Festival, Day Two
At every festival, there’s a day where you say, you know what, I’m going to take it easy. Saturday was that day for me. Most of the bands I wanted to see were at the end of the day, and besides, it was extra humid – the kind of day where you don’t think it’s too bad, because it’s pretty overcast, but before you know it, you’re covered in sweat. (It was also the kind of day where you don’t think you’re going to get a sunburn – overcast, remember? – until you get back to your hotel and realize you’re much more lobster-like than you were that morning.)
So for the most part, I kept Saturday nice and easy. Things started out with a set from Hurray for the Riff Raff. Their latest album, Small Town Heroes, was a regular play on CHIRP when it was released, and most of their set was made up of tracks from that release. Frontwoman Alynda Lee Segarra kept the mood light and easy with her upbeat folk songs, but they’re not a band that’s afraid to get political or challenge the status quo. While they didn’t play it, they have an unreleased song called “Everybody Knows”, written for Trayvon Martin, that’s absolutely chilling. Segarra also pokes at the folk tradition of murder ballads, which are almost universally about a woman being murdered. Segarra spins that into a song that’s almost, but not quite, going into revenge territory. “Delia’s gone, but I’m settling the score,” she sings, quiet and delicate, and you get the feeling that whoever did Delia wrong is going to regret it pretty soon.
Sarah A. writesCHIRP Goes to Kentucky: Forecastle Festival, Day One
CHIRP DJ and Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Avampato skipped out on Pitchfork this year in order to attend the Forecastle Festival in Louisville, KY. Founded in 2002, Forecastle continues to pick up buzz as a must-see festival, and combines music with art and activism, through its Forecastle Foundation wing.
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This is my third year attending Forecastle, and while I don’t want to play the My Festival Is Better Than Your Festival game, I will say that this is the only festival that I trust enough to buy a ticket for before the lineup is released. While the music is, of course, the reason to attend any festival, there’s always plenty of other things to keep you entertained.
Wags writesShow Notes: Archie Powell & The Exports - Release Show
I've only recently been introduced to Archie Powell's local brand of power-punk as a DJ at Chirp but I’m a total sucker for their catchy melodies and the self-deprecating humor of their lyrics. After hearing their latest album Back in Black I decided I had to see them live. Wouldn't you know it but their record release show happened to be a week ago at the Subterranean.
Bobby Evers writesLydia Loveless & The Temple of Idolatry
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Full disclosure: My entry point into this music is Star 102.5 The Lite FM. Allow me to explain.
The Audible Snail writesShow Notes: Califone “turtle eggs/an optimist” at Lincoln Hall (2/1/14)
Southwest soundscapes traverse the Midwest, Califone graced Chicago’s Lincoln Hall stage on Saturday, February 1st during the final show on their “turtle eggs/an optimist” tour, named after the final song on their 2013 release, Stitches. With opening act William Tyler, Tim Rutili and ensemble, plucked from the heartstrings that saddle back into a city the band once called home, opened and closed the evening with collective sound that can only be gleaned from newfound geography.
Tyler opened the evening with solo electric precision, howling, glorious, instrumental light—almost southern and blue grass in nature. Hailing from the Northwest, the first couple songs —“Last Residents of West Fall” and “Can’t Go Home”—are ballads to his hometown in eastern Oregon, Americana at its contemporary finest. A perfect introduction to Califone.