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

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

The Saturday lineup at Tomorrow Never Knows brought Bowerbirds to Lincoln Hall along with support from The Rural Alberta Advantage, a band I had heard of via Daytrotter but hadn’t listened to. I picked up their album Hometowns a few days prior and while not all of it impressed me, I did enjoy “The Air” which for some reason they chose not to play at the show. Surprising considering that, albeit it’s not a lively tune, it’s the most well crafted song on the album.

The Rural Alberta Advantage performs

The Rural Alberta Advantage frontman Paul Banwatt

While Bowerbirds as a band might not blow you away, Phil Moore’s voice doesn’t require much support to carry the show. Performing a number of songs from their two albums Hymns For a Dark Horse [2008] and Upper Air [2009], the band was a natural fit for the (relatively) intimate atmosphere of Lincoln Hall. Alas, not unlike Rural Alberta Advantage, Bowerbirds failed to perform their best song – “Ghost Life” – but they did play a number solid songs including “House of Diamonds”, “Northern Lights”, and “Chimes”.

Phil Moore and Beth Tacular of Bowerbirds

Phil Moore of Bowerbirds

Bowerbirds from the balcony

Bowerbirds and the sold out crowd at Tomorrow Never Knows

Tomorrow Never Knows brought Atlas Sound (aka Bradford Cox) to Lincoln Hall on Friday. Cox opened the performance with a dedication to follow musician Jay Reatard who recently passed away. I was surprised to find Atlas Sound was comprised solely of Cox, who brought on stage with him an acoustic guitar, harmonica and a small synthesizer of sorts which sat on the chair next to him.

The performance was not unlike the Atlas Sound records: beautiful in parts but often esoteric and experimental. His attempt at recreating “Walkabout” (the strongest track from his new album Logos) was a disappointment but I enjoyed some less familiar material and his voice carried a number of tunes.

Bradford Cox on acoustic guitar and harmonica

Bradford and the crowd

AA Bondy came through Chicago this weekend in support of Elvis Perkins in Dearland. I’d seen Elvis a couple of times around the city but had yet to catch AA Bondy. While his live sound was pared down to just three members, his voice really stole the show and sounded just a powerful as on his recordings.

Both the crowd and the show itself were surprisingly low key for a Saturday night on Lincoln avenue but it was perfect setup for AA to showcase his brand of Americana. Much of the material came from his most recent release When the Devil’s Loose (which I recommend) including the best track on the album “I Can See the Pines Are Dancing” in which he brought out a number of the guys from Dearland including Elvis to accompany him.

AA Bondy joined on stage by Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Back to back nights – The Walkmen and White Rabbits. While I love the intimacy and sound quality of Schubas, I will say Lincoln Hall is a better place to snap photos. At Schubas you can get close, but you can’t really get a whole lot else. That being said Lincoln Hall still seems to be working out some sound issues. From the floor there was a general agreement between Dan, Matt, Aaron and me that the sound was off. It didn’t help that The Walkmen were a bit more sauced than the previous night (or at least appeared so).

As with the night before, White Rabbits opened the show and again the people I was with thought they (White Rabbits) put on a better performance. I would argue against such sentiment. Both nights The Walkmen busted out a slew of new and unreleased tunes while White Rabbits played almost exclusively from their two existing albums. Not that they weren’t playing great – I just have a soft spot for The Walkmen even on a bad night.

White Rabbits from the balcony

White Rabbits with 2" shutter speed

White Rabbits and the crowd

Hamilton Leithauser belting out

The Walkmen and the horns playing Louisiana

From the balcony

We took a break from the music for a bit around the middle of The Walkmen set. Matt was on a rant (as he's prone to doing) against The Walkmen performance so far. No one said he was easy to please.

Aaron snapped a pic of the brothers

I finally had the chance to check out the much anticipated new Lincoln Hall venue which opened last week. The guys who own Schubas Tavern renovated the old Three Penny Cinema in Lincoln Park and Langhorne Slim and Dawes came through in just its second week. The venue is truly spectacular. It plays similar to Schubas except it has three times the capacity (just over 500) and has a balcony as well. As expected, and similar to Schubas, the acoustics are awesome.

Bennie at Sterch’s prior to the show.

The outside of the venue.

Dawes was a disappointment in part because the lead singer tries too hard and his lyrics often push right on into unintentional campiness. An example I recall was the verse about being “like a bird that crashes into a window because it sees the reflection of the sky.” They did play “My Girl to Me” (and well) which is the strongest track from their recent album North Hills. It didn’t help that the lead singer reminded more than one of us of George W. Bush with his tics and mannerisms… that or a high school gym teacher.

Dawes on stage.

Langhorne on the other hand kicked ass just as expected. A true showman with a slew of new material to play, he jumped around from his riotous stuff like “Honey Pie” and “Hello Sunshine” to more low key tunes like “Blown Your Mind”, my favorite track from his new album Be Set Free.

At the very end of the show he busted out “Say Yes” from the new album and invited some of the crowd up on stage to celebrate the end of the night. A touching conclusion to a great performance.