Ohmme
Dehd / Spencer Tweedy
Chicago Athletic Association
February 20th
Ohmme / all đź“· : Kyle Land
Pitchfork Music Festival, the Chicago based music entity that has spawned sister fests in Paris and now Berlin, celebrated their 15th anniversary last week with a two day local showcase at Chicago Athletic Association that brought out the crowds to the posh downtown club/hotel. Free, RSVP only, events aren’t usually our bag, given the amount of time involved. Usually it involves showing up very early and waiting in line for a long period before even getting into the venue. Something our busy schedules just don’t jive with, but when we got a gander of the stacked lineup for the second night of this celebration it became a priority to make it to the loop last Thursday and take peek at what the legendary music festival had in store.
The old swimming pool room at the CAA has always been a rotating pop up space, and Parson’s Chicken and Fish are the current residents. A summer vibe was forced on the cool architecture complete with bright green astroturf, picnic tables with umbrellas, games of corn hole and ping pong, and of course a bar that looked very much like a larger version of the original Humboldt Park location. Good thing there was plenty of beer for them to sling as the lines wrapped around the walls of the space. First the line to check in and then the line to ride, ten at a time, four floors up to the ballroom. An exercise in patience for sure, but worth it in the end as the space was decked out in the signature green, red, and blue flags that denote the stages of the festival, silver balloons galore, and a gala atmosphere that was contagious. As the large room filled (our elevator host said capacity was 500, but it seemed like a whole lot more), the energy grew to a peak as the scheduled start time crept closer.
Spencer Tweedy was joined onstage by an all star local backing band of Nnamdi Ogbonnaya on bass, Julia Stenier of Ratboys of acoustic guitar and Alex Heaney of Jungle Green on guitar and keys. Ever his father’s son, Tweedy was a bit aloof as the set started, holding court behind his kit with an air of cool that was on point with the americana indie rock of his latest EP Sleep Is My God. But as the crowd embraced them, he loosened up and started to really groove with the talented musicians he’d brought along. His easy flowing tunes bled into each other creating a warm blanket of fuzz that wrapped its arms around the winter bones of the late season audience with a comforting vibe. A rather stellar set, starting up the night with an appeal that kept giving throughout the evening.
After a rather short turnover, Dehd launched into a break neck set that included so many new songs we lost count, dispelling the rumored new record into fact. With last years Water the local trio of Emily Kempf (bass) Jason Balla (guitar) and Eric McGrady (drums) broke out of indie obscurity and found the audience they always deserved. Their irresistible sound filters a spare surf punk juke into a boiled down intensity that just has to be experienced. Some of the new material delved into a more pop oriented groove that is a welcome addition to their catalog. The new record will probably drop sometime this summer, most likely before their set at Pitchfork.
Speaking of reinvention, as Ohmme stepped onto stage, accompanied by Nnamdi Ogbonnaya on drums, it was clear that the folky indie duo had come to rock. With a two guitar attack that belied their normally quite mellow quivers, they blew through a rocking set that included a killer Kate Bush cover and quite a few new tunes, including fresh single “Apathy” which sounded far different live than on record. A much more post grunge sound was emanating from Macie Stewart and Sima Cunningham than was expected, reflected in their new 7” “At Night” b/w “Give Me Back My Man”. While Ohmme has always been a solid act, this new rock leaning sound propels them into a whole new category of cool. Catch them on March 14th at The Hideout’s SXSW Sendoff!