Sounds of summer

We’ve got an early look at 10 of the best shows in what should be one great summer for music

By Jeremy Schnitker

With all the music festivals looming in the late-summer months, it’s easy to turn into an apathetic concertgoer this time of year in Chicago.

Why spend money going to concerts now when you can see more than a summer’s worth at Lollapalooza, the Pitchfork Festival and the Hideout Block Party (which will be hosting Metro’s 25th anniversary this year)? Well, because there are quite a few good shows between now and then with bands that haven’t signed on to play at those festivals yet.

Here’s a list of what caught my eye.

Junior Boys
Empty Bottle • May 3
A more down-tempo synth act than LCD Soundsystem, Junior Boys make mood music that’s just flat-out cool to listen to. These Canadians combine elements of hip-hop and minimalist techno to make very complex sounding songs that conjure up visions of a swank London rave. They’re like Air, without the boring stuff.

LCD Soundsystem
Metro • May 6
You can catch James Murphy and his confessional, post-modern ramblings at Lollapalooza, but seeing this catchy synth project in a dark, sweaty club like Metro is much more fitting than a huge park in the middle of the day. LCD Soundsystem has put out two infectious records that, if you own them, likely never leave your weekly rotation. Especially if you’re prone to throwing late-night discos.

The National
Metro • May 7
One of the highlights of last year’s Pitchfork festival, the National are manic and intense live, despite the fact their albums take on a calmer, alt country feel. Singer Matt Berninger has one of the most unique baritone voices in indie rock. It’s haunting on record, and live it’s downright poignant.

Daniel Johnston
Lakeshore Theater • May 10, early and late show
Daniel Johnston is one of the most perplexing music figures of the last 20 years. A manic depressive who spent time in a West Virginia mental institution, Johnston for years made folky lo-fi cassette recordings in his parents’ basement that caught the attention of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain and Sonic Youth. (See the documentary “The Devil and Daniel Johnston”). Johnston’s often bizarre music isn’t for everybody, but many find it oddly endearing. He can’t sing, and he can’t really play, but he pours more honest emotion into his music than arguably anybody who’s sold millions of records in an attempt to pour out honest emotion on record. So much so that it’s almost frightening to listen to.

Cursive, Mastadon and Against Me!
Riviera Theatre • May 12
OK, so it might seem to be a shameless plug, having the first two picks of this list being bands from Omaha, a town I practically grew up in. But neither of them are playing any of the festivals (so far, at least), and honestly, they’ll be as good a show as you’ll find in Chicago this late spring/early summer.
In my opinion, Cursive is pound for pound the best band to come out of Omaha’s famed Saddle Creek label. For almost a decade now, they’ve been churning out some of the most sonically diverse and lyrically sublime indie rock in the genre. Their release of “Happy Hollow” in late 2006 was undeservedly ignored by most critics, but it had some or the most complex arrangements and powerful songwriting of their career. Over the years, frontman Tim Kasher has developed into a stage presence (i.e. drunk) you just can’t take your eyes off of. I suggest you go see what I’m talking about. Mastadon and Against Me! just happen to be making some of the best new music in their respective genres as well.

The Faint
Metro • May 22
While I think Cursive is the best band on Saddle Creek, The Faint is the label’s best live band (barely nudging Cursive out). Every Faint show I’ve been to has been perfectly executed, which is to say it’s a concert people actually dance at. Though nobody’s really saying it, these guys are quite possibly the best band to emerge from the recent dance punk explosion.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and Horrors
The Vic • May 24
The vibe at this show could perhaps be one of the darkest of the summer, and there will probably be more leather in the crowd than bondage night at Exit. Besides having one of the most badass names in rock today, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club (taken from the Brando biker classic “The Wild One”) are carrying the torch of revolutionary dense noise rockers The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, but with more panache and attitude. The Horrors’ gothic punk rock got quite a bit of attention this past year.

The Sea And Cake
Empty Bottle • May 31, early and late show
Surprisingly, The Sea and Cake are a great Chicago band that seems to not be brought up frequently in discussions about great Chicago bands, which is shame, considering they’re one of the most unique American bands to put out music in the last decade. Their poppy jazz-fusion sound is perfect walk-on-a-sunny-day music and is jumpy enough to make for an upbeat live show. And I’m sure they’ll go the extra mile in front of a hometown crowd.

The Rosebuds
Subterranean • June 1
Every now and again, there’s a band you stumble across on pure happenstance, and they blow you away. For me, the Rosebuds will be one of those bands. This indie pop trio has been making music that the masses haven’t been recognizing since ’01. A good way to categorize this band is that they’re a yet-to-be-played-on-heavy-rotation-at-Starbucks version of The Shins.

The Police
Wrigley Field • July 5, 6
Yeah, I know, this show sold out within minutes and was probably too expensive for anybody reading this magazine to attend anyway. But think about it: Sound doesn’t get trapped in an open-air baseball stadium that easily. The most fun (and cheapest) way to experience this show might be just hanging outside the stadium or in a bar across the street from it. Sure, they haven’t played together in decades, and Sting has recorded a lot of garbage in that time, but c’mon, it’s The Police — few thought these guys would ever take the stage together again. This is one reunion tour worth hearing, even if it is from a few blocks away.

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