Astronautalis was by far the best thing about Columbia’s student run AEMMP record label day party at SXSW six months ago (and that’s including the free Sierra Nevada IPA and vegan tacos). So when conducting my weekend routine of show searching, seeing his name top billing Saturday night at Schubas caused me to squeal in excitement over the promise of another great performance. Similarly to Astronautalis only thinking “…eighty people, and that’s like tops’’ would show up for the 10 pm show “...and I’m the optimist of the band”, by the end of the night, we both realized we had set our expectations far too low. I wouldn’t call Schubas one of my favorite venues in the city (with their twelve dollar covers fees and six dollar beers) but hitting up the ATM, the red line, and the fifteen-minute walk from the Belmont stop was something well worth it.
I showed up at the event with just enough time to catch the first acts final few … songs? Sharkula (aka thigahmahjigee) a former Columbia student, probably former sane person, and Chicago lengend as always fit his m.o., leaving the audience wondering: Is he an emcee or a comedian? Is he on more drugs than anyone i've ever met or the funniest person i've ever met? Is he serious? To which after his performance and a proposal to get married and have his kids (his second of the night) his answer to all those questions is “Maybe”. No matter the sensibility that goes behind what Sharkula is, it’s always funny, in the best ‘wtf’ kind of way. Check out a clip from his docu (or mocu??) -mentary 'Diarrhea of a Mad Man', and yes his performances are just like it, but with an added couple of beers.
After Sharkula, set up another local act ANT’LRD, an absolutely impossible presence to find on YouTube. Twenty minutes into MacBookPro ambient, drone, noise, deconstructed bass beats and of the crowd lining up at the bar to get drinks during this ‘intermission’ ANT’LRD finally showed the crowd some passion and began to wail on his drum kit at a seminal breakdown of the set. ANT’LRD is not a boring act; just all about the suspense, however after the ADHD party of Sharkula the crowd wasn’t very receptive of such meanderings. “I made this for people to get high to,” states ANT’LRD, so if you’re into the kind of music that is good to get high to, check out his new album Pop’s Lair by Step Peeper Records.
What the crowd was in the mood for was Astronautalis, a performer who commands the stage and pulls you into his songs, but not without effort. There’s always been something so charming about an artist who sweats bullets to the point of drenching his blushed red skin riddled with veins that look ready to burst. Astronautalis is an indie rock-ish, spoken word poet-like, hip-hop act with (sometimes) a live band and (always) a free-style or two for the crowd he appreciates so much --he told us so in his freestyle about how he only expected eighty people tops to come to the show.
Although his music style doesn’t appeal to everyone, (personally that Rhymesayer’s breed of indie hip-hop was never something I’d trek to Minneapolis for) Anstronautalis is definitely a stand-out performer deserving of a good review … or thirty. He is currently on tour, not expected to be back in the Chicago area for months, but keep your eyes out for this oh so charming man. And check out Schubas if you’re looking for a nightly friendly crowd, who all most likely have decently paying jobs.
Although his music style doesn’t appeal to everyone, (personally that Rhymesayer’s breed of indie hip-hop was never something I’d trek to Minneapolis for) Anstronautalis is definitely a stand-out performer deserving of a good review … or thirty. He is currently on tour, not expected to be back in the Chicago area for months, but keep your eyes out for this oh so charming man. And check out Schubas if you’re looking for a nightly friendly crowd, who all most likely have decently paying jobs.
Hey Stacy, I really like your subject choice here and your loosey-goosey kind of on-the-town style, and I feel like all the information is here, but it's not quite in the right order? Conventional reviews of a multi-part bill like this generally start with the headliner and then deal with the other artists in descending order of importance, unless something unusual happens like the undercard blowing the main act off the stage. Alas, I'm getting too old and slow to keep up with the likes of Astronautalis, so until the next-to-last paragraph I didn't have any point of reference for what the review was leading up to. Also, I think I'd like to hear a bit more about the CCC connection--the links help but a little more about what AEMMP does, what kind of identity it has as a label, would not only tie-in with the assignment more clearly but also get me some info up front about the kind of work AStronautalis does. Great links and a/v as always and I am enjoying the initiative you take in your choice of subjects.
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