March 10--Hope, optimism and chaos can peacefully coexist -- if not on the same bill, at least in this space. Two concerts will, for at least a night, force you make a choice. The fun is abundant, noise even more plentiful and the price is right as in one corner we have the equivalent of Mom and Dad sending the kids off to college. In the other, that weird kid across the way is trying to blow stuff up again. Let's do this.
SXSW Send-Off Festival
Chicago concertgoers with any tenure are quite familiar with the Hideout, that little roadhouse tucked away in back of an industrial zone. The ceiling is low, and the mood is familial as people crowd into the venue's music space. And things are never more celebratory than they are for the annual SXSW send-off party, as Chicago bands bang out tunes for the locals before heading to fame, fortune or just a depleted gas credit card thanks to the South By Southwest music conference. Quibble all you like over what SXSW has become, but it's still a worthwhile trip for a band trying to build some buzz, an established band trying to keep its name out there, and all points in between. Chicago is usually well represented at the fest, and this Hideout thing is an excellent way to sample a broad variety of sounds. Among the favorites:
Absolutely Not: No idea how this punk-ish combo isn't going to blow the roof off the Hideout. Skronk isn't a genre, but it should be and this band would be its poster child. Somehow, this group merges punk, garage and dance sounds. The volume is high, the energy even higher.
Matchess: You might hear elaborate sound constructions and think of a nerd with a laptop, but Matchess (Whitney Johnson) makes music from electronic structures, buttressed by a compelling voice.
Ko: Kristin Newborn fronts this guitar and drums duo that lives in that land of irresistible syncopation. It's danceable but isn't dance music, mostly because what Newborn coaxes from her guitar is so fascinating. Call it shoe gaze at your own peril.
Waco Brothers: Though it sounds off that these venerated rockers will also be heading off to SXSW, Jon Langford and his mates will be blazing a path to Austin, no doubt to stomp the terra via yet another memorable live performance.
Details: Noon Saturday, The Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia Ave.; $10; www.hideoutchicago.com
Levitation Festival
So um, yeah ... there's this thing happening, and it's crazy. You know that it's brilliant, and you want to explain it to people in a way that doesn't make you sound like some sort of gibbering loon, but all you can fall back on is, "It's awesome. Go hear it." The Levitation Festival takes band after band that fits that majestic command, and fills a weekend with delightful noise. Yes even under the guise of a singer-songwriter type such as Ryley Walker, who takes a weird, bluesy sort of drone and creates these structures that build in intensity until almost unbearable. Unplugged punk? Sure, why not. But he isn't even the high point of Friday's lineup.
Royal Trux? Getting warmer. Jennifer Herrema's rock blowout often feels like a child of the 1960s. There's that psychedelic groove, letting the Janis Joplinesque songs sprawl and ooze along. Herrema twirls, stalks and stomps like an indie Stevie Nicks, punctuating vocals when she isn't snarling lead lines. And sharing the spotlight is guitarist Neil Hagerty, who channels that '60s vibe with his fuzz-drenched reverberations and solos galore. Tasty solos, not goofy excess. But still, this isn't the catch of the day.
Lightning Bolt is a jolt of pure adrenaline that is almost impossible to describe. It's two men, Brian Chippendale and Brian Gibson, who look like mild-mannered lads, until the mask comes on. If you go to YouTube, live videos of the band are pure chaos, noise, shaky camera work and some crazy guy on the drums, playing with a mask on his head. A microphone is attached to the mask, so that both hands can be free to embark upon a one-man mission to destroy a drum kit. Egging him on is overdriven guitar work, beaten out at tempos that would make a punk band need oxygen. This goes on for song after song after delirious song. The crowd goes wild, but never, ever as wild as the band.
Saturday is another strong night, buttressed by the always-marvelous Circuit Des Yeux, but Friday ... that's the one. Don't miss it.
Details: Friday and Saturday, times vary, Thalia Hall, 1807 S. Allport St. $40; www.thaliahallchicago.com
