Gig: Chain & The Gang / The Hive Dwellers / Tropics

Chain & The Gang / The Hive Dwellers / Tropics

The Whippersnapper Gallery. Friday, April 24, 2009.

Sometimes it's nice to go to a show that you don't know as much about, and don't have so much invested in, just to let the music win you over (or not) on it's own merits. This gig caught my eye for its double billing of a pair of true indie heroes: Calvin Johnson (whose past work in Beat Happening has meant a lot to me) and Ian Svenonius (whose work I knew passingly from Nation of Ulysses and a little bit from The Make-Up). So it seemed like an interesting notion to see them looking forward with new bands.

Had been by the Whippersnapper Gallery many times, and almost went in at least once to see Art, but this was actually the first time I headed up those stairs. The space turned out to be long and narrow, bulbing out some at the end where the stage was set up. It was perfectly fine for close up, but might be a bit of a bad arrangement for anyone stuck in the back trying to catch the proceedings. Not a massive PA, either, but it was enough. A nice venue for a DIY sort of show. A bit of visual flair was added by an animated loop, projected behind the stage all night, mostly of a man falling through space, done in a pencil-and-paper look that brought to mind the video for A-Ha's "Take On Me".¹

First up was Tropics, aka Slim Twig's "other" project. With the local alt-media declaring Slim Twig a love-him-or-hate-him genius/charlatan, I actually find myself stuck in the mushy middle. Having seen the duo (Slim Twig, guit & yowling; Simone TB on drums) opening for Love is All in December, I had a notion of what was forthcoming. And while I don't find their guitar-skinning yelpabilly totally up my alley, it's entertaining enough in thirty-minute bursts. Slim, with the help of some looping and delay pedals, manages to put out a goodly amount of noise, grounded by the solid underpinning of the Simone's drums.

For my money, Calvin Johnson is a big deal, so it was interesting to observe the crowd's somewhat muted response to his set. I'm admittedly not such a fan to be able to say if this was all-new material or if some has been carried over from other projects — although it looks as if, as of yet, nothing has been released under the Hive Dwellers name. The music had garage rock feel, thanks to Brian Weber's keyb work, and a bouncy undertow (that brought to mind Calvin's Dub Narcotic project) from Brett Lyman's excellent, fluid bass. This gave Calvin a groove to dance to as he brought to mind a dashboard-top hula doll, feet in place and hips in motion. The music got a few people dancing, and the songs were reasonably good, but The Hive Dwellers sound is more subtle than the in-your-face action of the bands before and after, so it felt like some people weren't all that interested. Their loss — it was a solid, enjoyable set.

The cool trick about Chain & The Gang is that they are almost exactly the same band as The Hive Dwellers. Brian Weber, playing mostly keyb behind Calvin played mostly guit behind Ian, Fred Thomas and Brett Lyman traded off on bass and drums, and Sarah Pedal stepped in for extra vox. Ian Svenonius took the stage in a white suit and teased-up hair, looking not unlike a beardless Reveen. Introduced by Justin from Lullabye Arkestra², Ian launched into a set of tough rhythm'n'blues soaked rock. This was obviously what the crowd was there to see, and were immediately into it, bouncing along, and calling out to the stage. Svenonius proved to be a charismatic frontman, knowing when to tease people along and when to burst out. Soon, he has lifted into the crowd, microphone still in hand, and carried along as far as his cord would go. The set was great fun throughout, and reached a crescendo at the end with "Detroit Music" and "Deathbed Confession". After forty-five minutes the crowd wanted more, but despite a lengthy call for an encore, the night was through.

Listen to a track from this set here.

I stopped on the way out to pick up the Chain & The Gang CD, and when I thanked Calvin (working the merch table) for his set, he shook my hand. A solid night.

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¹ Is this still a big deal, or am I dating myself with this reference?

² Who was right at the front of the crowd for the whole set, and appeared to be having a great time, soon lending his shoulders to facilitate Ian's incursions into the audience.