The Tallest Man On Earth played to a sold out crowd at Lincoln Hall on Friday. It somehow escaped me to bring my camera but fortunately Dan snapped this pic which I’ve stolen for my own.

The show was the last of the lengthy tour for Kristian Matsson in support of his recent (and highly recommended) release The Wild Hunt. Naturally he played a large portion of that album. With the help of a surprisingly hushed audience, his voice really carried throughout the venue and his finger picking work is staggering.

I must admit, in part due to my old age, I left before the encore and missed two Dylan covers: ‘The Man in Me’ and ‘I’ll Keep It With Mine’. Oh well, I’ll certainly catch his next show in Chicago and know not to flake out.

Anna, Alexis and I waiting for the show to start

Ferraby Lionheart returned to Schubas to play a short set of mostly new material from his forthcoming album The Jack of Hearts due out in August. Unlike the last time I saw him when he played solo acoustic, Ferraby was backed by The Badgers, a trio of musicians from the supporting act Leslie & The Badgers (all but Leslie). With The Badgers backing him, Ferraby was able to rock out (relatively) and highlight his song composition. I couldn’t help but draw a connection to much-beloved Vetiver as well. Aside from a slew of solid new material, Ferraby also played a couple of his better numbers including ‘Small Planet’ and ‘Put Me in Your Play’.

Ferraby Lionheart with The Badgers backing him up.

Ferraby kind of looks like a young Levon Helm

While the show was short–45 minutes all told–I was able to purchase an advance copy of his forthcoming able The Jack of Hearts. From the first few listens I’m impressed and hope it gets some play. It’s a shame it’s taken him so long (just shy of 3 years) to produce a follow up to Catch the Brass Ring.

New indie music wunderkinds The xx played what might have been the shortest concert I’ve ever seen on Thursday at Lincoln Hall. The show stretched a whooping 45 minutes but to be honest it didn’t bother me – it was to be expected considering their limited amount of original material. The setlist spanned their entire first album and one cover song.

The minimal sound of The xx was a good fit for Lincoln Hall but they don’t yet have the full respect of their audience and people often talked all the way through some of the softer songs. The performance was tight and clearly well rehearsed. When they dared to improvise (which was maybe a total of 4 minutes) the guitar work became sloppy and you can tell that while they have an undeniable skill at simplicity, their musicianship is lacking. Not to despair, they’re young.

Oliver Sim doing his best to look like one of the German nihilists from The Big Lebowski

The xx on stage at Lincoln Hall

Ethereal. I use the word rarely but it seems apt to describe the sound of The Clientele. Dreamy British guitar rock with haunting, airy vocals from Alasdair McLean. The group came through Chicago in support of their most recent release Bonfires on the Heath. A great Thursday night concert; sound was true to form. Pat Sansone from Wilco even joined in for a few numbers early in the show.

Field Music opened

Alasdair MacLean of The Clientele with Pat Sansone

The Clientele on stage at Lincoln Hall

Vetiver visited the Empty Bottle on Wednesday. It had been a surprisingly long time since my last visit; I was relieved to note that nothing had changed.

I happened to catch a large portion of the second opener, Robbie Hamilton, who showed potential but sounded muddled in an unforgiving venue such as the Empty Bottle. If I had to draw comparisons David Vandervelde would the first to come to mind which ain’t a bad thing but also not the hardest act to follow.

Andy Cabic singing

Back in May I was floored seeing Vetiver for the first time at the Chopin Theatre. Vetiver’s music has a subtle quality that a lot of bands would be hard pressed to pull off live. Vocals, riffs, harmonies—all sound just as good (if not better) live then they do on the albums. I was doubtful they could pull it off at a place like the Empty Bottle which is hardly known for its acoustics but I was pleasantly surprised.

They pulled out a least one new number but most of the material was familiar. Some memorable ones included “Everyday”, “More of This”, and “Another Reason to Go” from their most recent release along with “Maureen”, “Wishing Well”, “Blue Driver” and a well-suited encore of the traditional tune “Don’t Ease Me In” made famous by—and played in a similar style to—The Grateful Dead.

Vetiver on stage at the Empty Bottle

Love the grunge of the Empty Bottle