ISSUE #67 / July 11, 2019

Mark Farina / 📷 : LPL

West Fest is always a total barn burner! Two stages on opposite ends of the musical spectrum bookend a collective fashion and dog show that puts most Chicago street fests to shame. The indie rock and house communities meet in a mashup of style and inebriation that ends up close to a Bacchanal on the city streets of Chicago. As anyone deep in the dance party at Chicago Ave. and Wood, or rockin’ out at Damen Ave. will attest, West Fest is where it was last weekend. 

While we only stopped by for a few of the  DJs at the House Stage,the Empty Bottle Presents Stage had a killer lineup that kept us busy all weekend with a non-stop, genre-crossing slate that had something for everyone. From Boy Harsher’s gothic electro twists to Ex Hex’s leg-kicking, fist-pumping garage rock, and everything in between, West Fest was a fantastically fresh excursion into street fest land... Gone are the inhibitions, and out come the freaky funker in all of us.

FRIDAY

Hot and steamy, Friday promised to be an eclectic lineup. We had the best intentions of making locals Fee Lion, but arrived too late for their set. Thick air hung over the street, with the day’s intense heat still pouring down, but that all changed as DJ Heather took the stage . . .

dj heather

Engineering a groove that captures the imagination and bodies of the crowd is no easy feat, but Chicago’s DJ Heather has been hooking house fans for years with her bouncy beats and cool vibes. With the scorching asphalt under our feet, we let her carry us away into a new realm, setting the evening’s tone while the weather drastically changed, bringing in the chilly front that hung around the rest of the weekend.  

-KPL

boy harsher

Electro tones adorned pulsing beats, and the captivating vocal maneuvers of Jae Matthews set to Augustus Muller’s destructive grooves made Boy Harsher one of the sets of the weekend. The throngs of devoted gothic pop fans who made it out where rewarded with an arresting set from the Savannah based duo, who drove the dance bus straight over the cliff, with some excellent versions of tunes off this year’s standout record Careful.    

-KPL

john maus

As serious as musicians come, John Maus explores the relationship emotions play in the development of music. Passionate and devoted to his craft, he performed what has been dubbed a “one-man karaoke show,” as he played pre-recorded, oddly-paced, synth pop backing tracks from a laptop and vocalized over the top, while expressing every feeling one can cycle through in a five minute pop song. Exhausting to watch, but highly interesting as an intellectual exercise, Maus head banged, from the waist up; shrieking, crooning, screaming, and chanting (sometimes in quick succession) through his entire set. Not for the faint of attention, his tunes take on explorations in pop music from every angle and avenue possible. A true student of music, Maus put out his most eclectic and interesting work yet with last year’s Addendum, which was featured heavily in the evening’s set.  

-KPL

****
Saturday

An all-local lineup at the EBP Stage greeted fans who showed early on Saturday. A crisp and windy afternoon brought the rock to a peak with outstanding moments from every act across the bill.

pixel grip

With heavy beats and soaring vocals, Pixel Grip captured a glistening pop mood that fit the windy afternoon like a silver-sequined glove. Her pink boa halter top rippling in the breeze, Rita Lukea led the charge with her distinct speak-sing style, perfectly backed by the production of Jonathon Fruend and Tyler Ommen’s drums. When Lukea unleashed her primal screams to cap the set, she unleashed the perfect climax. This spring’s Heavy Handed is still on our rotation, and is shortlisted for the best local record of the year.  You can catch them headlining a Glitter Creeps Presents show at The Empty Bottle on September 2nd. It’s Free! 

-KPL

Nnamdi Ogbannaya

Billed as the only Chicago summer show by local genre-bending phenom Nnamdi Ogbannaya, his set brought the heat with a stellar performance that featured plenty from 2017’s excellent DROOL, and a few new tracks we hadn’t heard before, culminating in a ripping, “let gO Of my egO.” Ogbannaya made some new fans for sure including a little dancer that has spawned a social media search. Can you help Nnamdi find this kid!? Just check it out, ‘cause he’s got the moves!  Tied for the show of the weekend with Sunday’s stellar Combo Chimbita, Nnamdi brought an intense energy that lasted throughout the set and never let up. 

-KPL

oozing wound

Rip-roaring noise-metal trio Oozing Wound rounded out the local acts with a decimating set that never stopped the face-melting energy. Plenty of tunes from this spring’s High Anxiety tore through the street as the trio of Zach Weil (vocals, guitar), Kevin Cribbin (bass), and Kyle Reynolds (drums) didn’t even let the crowd breathe between songs. Known for their intense live shows, Oozing Wound was true to form, letting loose with their full arsenal of ear-shattering slaughter.

-KPL

Mark Farina

With a palpable bass felt for a two-block radius, and the undulating mass growing immediately at the West Fest House DJ Stage, entering received any being drawn to the unmistakable beat of house music. Farina had the crowd packed in- storefront to storefront, donned in a Wax Trax Records tee, as he built off the mass’s energy. When Green Dolphin Street was alive and well, I personally watched security pull this locally inspired legend away from his decks after a six-hour improvisational set. Farina was far from ready to leave, but the floors had been swept around me, and Chicago is tight on its liquor licenses. In Saturday’s brief two-hour annual set, Farina waded through rock classics, weaving in and out of deepening transitions until releasing into his own recognizable compilations. At promptly 10pm he neatly wrapped things up with a gracious nod, and blew a kiss to the crowd. Mark Farina is not slowing down anytime soon. With nearly 100 shows in a year, you’ll need to be ready to jump into his next Chicago set (and you might need to allow 8 hours).

-LPL

****
sunday

With plenty going on in the world of sports, Sunday seemed a loose and somewhat sparse crowd. Maybe it was the four-day weekend coming to a close, maybe it was the early morning USWNT capturing their 4th WWC victory; whatever the reason, if you didn’t make it out last Sunday, you missed some of the best music of the festival and a gorgeous sunny Sunday in West Town.

Absolutely Not

Tearing through a set loaded with cuts from this year’s awesome Problematic (out on local imprint No Trend), local punk quartet Absolutely Not entertained the early fest-goers with their harmonically distorted waves of sonic missiles. “Their like the B-52’s on crack,” commented NBL after their set. Made up of brother and sister tandem Donnie (guitar, vocals) and Madison (keys, vocals) Moore, Chris Sutter (of Meat Wave) on guitar, and Santiago Guerrero on drums, they can really rip. You can check it out for yourself when they open for Mykelle Deville at Thalia Hall “In The Round” (an unofficial No Trend showcase) on August 10th. Tix are only $10!     

-KPL

Dos Santos

Latin grooves punctuate a psych-rock swagger that envelopes the spirit when Dos Santos gets going. The local combo’s afternoon set was a welcome respite of excellent, transformative, funkified tunes; many off last year’s standout record Logos (put out by local experimental jazz label International Anthem). Steeped in the Latin and experimental/progressive scenes that make up quite a bit of Chicago’s local music, this quintet is a powerhouse of genre-blending grace. Taking cues from their heritage and environment, they have developed a truly original sound that should be on every music lover’s playlist. Held down by the percussive duo of Peter “Maestro” Vale on congas and Daniel Villarreal Carillo on the kit, Dos Santos revels in the duality of its twin influences.    

-KPL

Combo Chimbita 

Sometimes an act shines so brightly they cast a shadow of splendor so far and wide it knocks down all in their sonic path. The Columbian collective out of New York, Combo Chimbita gave just such a performance, taking the crowd on a wave of auditory joy. Led by the charismatic vocals and hand-held percussion of Carolina Oliveros, the quartet ripped through a much too-short set, loaded with songs from their new LP, Ahomale. One of the best street fest sets we’ve seen this year, Combo Chimbita deserves all the accolades their infectious Latin-infused tunes receive. 

-KPL

Foxwarren

Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf, known mostly for his solo career, brought his long time band back to life last year with their long-awaited debut album. Shauf, along with Dallas Bryson and brothers Darryl and Avery Kissick, are Foxwarren, a band that honestly seemed a tad out of place at the fest. Their  songs are right up my alley, to be fair, but it just didn’t seem the right time for the melancholic indie rock stylings of a few gentle souls ruminating on loss over strummed minor chords. I dig their sound, though, so I’m going to have to find a time to see them in their own environment. They’re now out of the dates, so keep your eyes here for updates on when to see some Elliot Smith-era indie rock.

-JCB

Ex Hex

Closing out the night was Ex Hex, whose brand of rock begs the question, “What if Cheap Trick and Pat Benatar were still topping the charts?” I enjoyed every band I saw this weekend, and Chicago street fests are a must for me, but I’d be lying if this wasn’t the band that got me across many neighborhood lines. Coming off the release of their sophomore album, It’s Real, the trio of Mary Timony, Besty Wright, and Laura Wright have never sounded tighter or more dedicated to melting some faces. Leather for days, solos to cause tinnitus, and dueling guitar poses - (I really should have grown up in the ‘80s,) and I can imagine everyone can appreciate that feeling. 

-JCB

Derrick Carter

Perhaps the most elusive of Chicago House icons, Derrick Carter spends most of his time these days mixing in clubs around Europe. But back when House music was a budding seed deep in Chicago’s underground dance scene, young Carter was ahead of the curve and setting trends still recognizable today. His most resilient “rule” - follow your own intuition. Sunday night’s fest concluding set was no exception. Drawing a crowd that stretched an entire dense block of the festival, dancers were found swarming about in prime real estate between tents. Those lucky enough to know the intuitive brilliance, and Chicago infrequency of Derrick Carter’s sets spent the day at the West Fest House DJ Stage, intentionally trapping themselves deep within the crowd. In fact, in the last few moments of Farina’s set the night prior, Carter spoke to a pair of gents near me. He said he came to check in with the “temperature of the festival.” (He wasn’t talking about humidity.) He was talking about the tangible energy emitted from a mass of beings, interconnected in a web of individual inspiration. This is what fuels Carter. He garners a crowd willing to allow the sound to carve a space in time, accepting the curated atmosphere to settle into and draw out the deepest pulses of the soul. It is in those very pulses that Carter finds the direction to impel the soul-shifting his listeners need, without speaking, through a powerful musical experience. You have two chances left in July to feel your own shift before Derrick Carter heads across the pond: Spybar July 24th ($5) (quarterly residence) and smartbar July 28th ($10).

-LPL