Review written on 9/5/19 and graded for Music writing course.
Friday, September 30th, I attended the 10th Anniversary Concert for Fire Talk Records at Thalia Hall. Three out of the four artists who performed are local to the indie rock circle in Chicago. Since 2009, the New York record company has signed some forty artists, and all of them share a similar underground rock element to their music. Two of the highlights of the night for me was the band Patio and the headlining band Dehd.
I arrived just in time for the second performance from Patio, a post-punk band of women from Brooklyn. Alice Suh is behind the drums, Loren DiBlasi plays the bass, and Lindsey-Paige McCoy plays the guitar and is the main vocalist. Earlier this year, I reviewed the band’s debut album, Essentials, for Loyola’s radio station. At the time, I found its dissonance and peculiar nature of the song structures intriguing and charming. I was curious to see how their sound would translate to the stage.
One aspect that I enjoyed from their performance was the way in which the band members used their instruments to converse with one another. The bass and drums complemented one another as each song unfolded onstage. Namely, Suh’s percussive element and unique drum patterns created a fast tempo, while the fuzzy bass from DiBlasi reminded me of early London garage punk music. I was pleasantly surprised that the chemistry between the bass and drums was not overshadowed by the rhythmic guitar riffs from McCoy. Many rock bands struggle with live performances because their bass is too loud, or drums are too heavy, but Patio found balance between their instruments, which I respected.
Unfortunately, one aspect of the performance that I did not enjoy were McCoy’s vocals. It is important to note that McCoy never intends to sound the way that pop contemporaries Ariana Grande or Taylor Swift do. I would classify her timbre to be in the metzo-soprano to alto range. Rather than singing as one normally would, McCoy used a spoken word style. The live performance of McCoy’s half-sing, half-talk was not particularly entertaining to me. While she succeeded in hitting longer notes in songs like “No Time,” she seemed disjointed from her band. Due to her limited range, the vocals fell flat and dull alongside the raging bass and drums.
There was no real melodic quality to McCoy’s voice, but perhaps that is the point of Patio’s music. Post-punk as a genre includes a range of experimental and avant-garde musical ideas that often reflect larger questions of societal problems. For instance, the lyrics focused on the darkness and severity of life. In the song “Open,” McCoy sings “I only have one body to give, and you took it.” While I appreciated the instrumental performance from Patio, I was unimpressed by the vocals and wished for more vibrancy and fullness from McCoy.
The final performance of the night came from the Chicago-based trio Dehd. Earlier this year, the group released their debut album Water. It became clear to me by the end of the night that the majority of the crowd bought tickets to see Dehd before they left Chicago for their U.S. and European tour. Having never seen them live before, I was equally excited to hear the hometown heroes close out the evening. Dehd consists of guitarist Jason Balla, bassist Emily Kempf, and drummer Eric McGrady. Balla and Kempf work together as co-lead singers. Dehd’s music sounded sonically different from Patio, as their music is influenced by ‘60s-era surf rock; a much more dance-worthy soundtrack for the night.
Dehd began the setlist with an older and slower song of theirs, “Sunburn,” which is a ballad analogizing a short-lasting relationship. The live version was far more stripped-back compared to the recorded version. Kempf dominated the stage, singing acoustic for the first verse just until the guitar and Balla’s voice crept in for the chorus. The setlist proceeded into their more familiar and upbeat songs, however, I enjoyed the debut song selection for the performance.
The song “Lucky” most embodied Dehd’s signature style, and I felt that it was the strongest moment of the night for the band. Balla led the song all the way through, chiefly with his eclectic doo-wop hook on the song’s chorus. Simultaneously, Balla’s guitar riffs added a different layer to the effect of the song, evoking sweet melodies from The Beach Boys. Furthermore, Kempf’s voice accompanied Balla’s on the bridge, where their voices’ similar timbres combined into one sweet harmony. Another central part of the group’s sound lies within McGrady’s simple, yet very effective, drumkit. McGrady pounded the snare and floor tom for the duration of the set, which served as the backbone for the heavily reverbed song. As I observed all of the complex pieces of “Lucky,” the song’s infectiously catchy nature swept me into the romanticism of Dehd.
My main concern with Dehd’s performance was with the dynamics between Balla and Kempf. Although Kempf drew in the audience with her larger-than-life stage presence, dancing freely across the stage, she was hardly the star of the night. Rather, Dehd seemed to be the moniker for Jason Bella. Under his direction as the lead vocalist and guitarist, Dehd came to life. My expectations going into the show was that Kempf would share the spotlight on the microphone, but their indistinguishable voices hide the fact that Bella does most of the vocal work. “Lucky” was the one song where the band seemed to come together to share equal parts in the magic. Without Bella, I fear Dehd would be lifeless and obsolete.
Overall, the Fire Talk 10th Anniversary Show was a fantastic curation of what the label and its artists have accomplished thus far in their early careers. I liked how the venue opted for a “round-table” stage, situated at the center of the main floor and separate from the actual stage. This is a growing trend at shows of this size because the audience can move around the stage and see the performance from a variety of angles. I used this feature to my advantage and moved frequently to catch a glimpse of each musician up-close. The sound quality, though, shifted with the choice to move the stage. I found that the performers with smaller crowds fought a harder battle to find stable acoustics. One of my favorite moments of the programming was when representatives from all four bands joined onstage to cover The Cure’s hit song “Boys Don’t Cry.” Their collaboration was a unique way for the artists to thank their label and made the crowd join-in on the celebratory nature of the evening.
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