Voxtrot w/ Canasta @ Empty Bottle 11/5/06

When I think back to Canasta’s performance at The Bottle this past Sunday I keep coming back to their superb song writing ability.  It was my first time seeing the Chicago-based band and it will not be my last.

Canasta's music contains a deceptive amount of layering. The deception is in the band’s ability to make you hear the music as a whole. No element ever really looks to dominate or stand out, at least not for very long.  At times the piano will hover, echoing above the other music, or a violin solo penetrates its way to the front but for the most part every sound is meticulously placed within the confines of each song. The band is truly the sum of all its parts. 

Their performance seems effortless and a little subdued, lending focus to the songs. At any time the music may contain drums, violin, guitar, keyboard, piano, bass and the occasional trombone. The ability to have so many elements up on stage and to never overwhelm or overdue is a true testament to how well crafted this music can be. The music has an oceanic quality to it, a vast calming surface with endless life teeming just beneath the surface.  It is somehow comforting to know they make their home in Chicago.

(If you missed them this time, check out Canasta at the Note on November 28th with Bound Stems)

Click here for the complete Canasta photoset

Download: Canasta - "Slow Down Chicago"

I have a shaky, somewhat insecure, history with the band Voxtrot; a history which includes me walking out mid set the first time I saw them live. I don’t know if it was the image of them bouncing around stage or the floor full of younger women who seemed to be cheering as much for whatever band member they thought was cutest as they were for the songs. I felt my music integrity being threatened and the whole scene sort of made me shutter. I wish I could say the story ends there but it doesn’t.

I am not quite sure what brought me to that first Voxtrot EP Raised by Wolves; I only know that I can’t stop listening to it. Their next two EP’s have only brought similar misfortune my way (yes, that makes 3 EP’s before a single full-length has been released.) This trend may have something to do with their ability to extract many of the subtle elements from that carefree 80’s pop music that I have always secretly enjoyed, but publicly denounced. Maybe it is their ability to write songs with so many hooks that it ceases to be considered a mere hook and becomes more of a net. To dwell on the possibilities only demoralizes me so I must just come to accept it for what it is, for whatever the reasons may be. This apparent addiction even had me sneaking up to their pre-Pitchfork Festival show at the Metro under the cover of night. Ducking behind my upturned collar to enter as inconspicuous as possible, while feeling like some Dorian Gray creeping into his late hour dens of debauchery.

The show at the Empty Bottle this time around was much like the last one that had me fleeing to the streets, with the exception that I must be a bit bolder now. The band’s stage presence can be summed up as follows: they smile, flail, bounce, twirl and bop, all to an excited crowd that is primarily consisting of girls and a guy, who brought to mind Robert Downey Jr.’s character from the movie Less than Zero. The show has an abundance of energy, which is near impossible to avoid tapping in to at some point during the performance. Guitarist Mitch Calvert seems to make this whole performance work. His shimmering, floating guitar work seems to mimic his detached presence, which always looks odd when juxtaposed with the rest of the action on stage. It appears as if he is in the middle of some poppy tea-induced haze. They played through a number of tracks, spanning all thee EP’s, including “The Start of Something”, “Missing Pieces,” “Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives” and “Your Biggest Fan.” 

So go listen to Voxtrot, be it at your own risk, as the fun may not be as harmless as it would appear on the surface.

Click here for the complete Voxtrot photoset

Comments

[Kirstie]

You've certainly outdone yourself with this review. An Oscar Wilde and a Robert Downey Jr. reference? *And* you used the word juxtaposed! Now I'm gonna have that Super Furry Animals song stuck in my head all day.