Concert Review: Polvo at the Subterranean and at Wicker Park Fest in Chicago · Jul 27, 03:52 PM by Don
After over 10 years of inactivity, Polvo is back! The band played the Subterranean in Chicago on Friday night to a crowd of fans. Last night, the band befuddled the masses at Wicker Park Fest with its complex, off-kilter version of rock music.
The Subterranean set was dominated by old favorites. From the most recent (1997 is recent?) album, Shapes, came “Enemy Insects.” From Exploded Drawing, arguably Polvo’s best, most fully realized album, came “Feather of Forgiveness,” “Fast Canoe,” and “Crumbling Down.” Also heard were “Bombs That Fall From Your Eyes,” off This Eclipse; the band’s cover of Wall of Voodoo’s “Mexican Radio,” off the Freedom of Choice compilation; and “Every Holy Shroud,” off Celebrate the New Dark Age. (Any corrections or additions to this list of songs is most welcome.)
The Wicker Park set had less familiar material and more new songs, though some songs were holdovers from the night before, including “Fast Canoe,” “Feather of Forgiveness,” and another punishing performance of “Bombs That Fall From Your Eyes.” The new songs, sung by guitarist Dave Brylawski, failed to hold my interest. They veered too close to traditional rock. I guess they didn’t fit into my preconceptions of the Polvo sound.
New drummer Brian Quast (formerly of the Cherry Valence) is a phenomenal addition to the band. His fills on “Bombs” took the song to a new level. Plus, on Friday he played a killer drum solo (something I haven’t seen since seeing Rush in 2002) and added flute on one song (something I have seen since I last watched “The Seed Drill,” the sixth episode of Yacht Rock).
Polvo’s other singer/guitarist, Ash Bowie gave a shout-out to Jill, who worked on his wrists for two hours earlier in the day. Bowie has tendonitis and used that fact to explain what he thought was his less-than-stellar playing at the Subterranean the night before. His apologetic tone was unnecessary, as the band sounded great. If there was a sour note or two, no one noticed or cared. They were probably too excited to finally see Polvo in action after such an extended absence.
The only song I wish the band had played is “Can I Ride.” Here’s a live version:
mp3: Polvo – Can I Ride :: from Polvo – Live on WMBR (1991)
Click here to check out the Polvo MySpace page.
Click here to read a Polvo interview at Pitchfork.
Click here to listen to Black Taj, Dave Brylawski and Polvo bassist Steve Popson’s other band.
:: :: ::
Songs in the MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 format are offered for a limited time only. Songs that are no longer downloadable can be streamed at the Timedoor page at Hype Machine. Dead mp3 links take you to the top of page one. Support your favorite artists by buying their music at your local independent record store (mine is Atomic Records) or eMusic. And read about ‘em at TrouserPress.com.
Commenting is closed for this article.
Don's comic book literacy survey Golly, my TV is great: "My Bible is the Latest TV Guide" by Thirteen-One-Eleven (Bill Berry of R.E.M.)