Which Song mp3 Parallax Error Beheads You, Max Tundra

Last Thursday night brought me to Schubas to hear the wonderful Deastro and Max Tundra with Coltrane Motion supporting. I had dinner beforehand, sampling for the first time the much publicized and supposedly famous mac n’ cheese. Yes, it was quite tasty! But nowhere near as delectable as the amazing new tunes from Deastro, a.k.a. Randy Chabot.  His newly found guitarist (whose name I failed to record, eek! bad blogger!) rounded out the sound nicely on these more thought provoking songs, as Randy sang more slowly and deliberately into the mic than any time I’ve seen or heard him before.  Surmounting some small technical difficulties (spilled beer on his laptop, … THE laptop, it’s central to the music) at the beginning of his show, Deastro played 5 or 6 new songs, introducing each with a title or a funny description. I found myself loving them even though they were very, very different from Moondagger. As he eased into more familiar territory the crowd had grown and songs like “Greens, Grays, and Nordics” and “Toxic Crusaders” were cheered loudly. In between songs he proceeded to tell us embarrassing stories about himself, his new guitarist and a few on his former bandmates. Most of these stories involved puking or gross events with small animals (as I remember them,) typical young man stuff, ya know. I stood in the back (still having to take care not to be too close to the speakers for my tinnitus) and smiled the entire time. Randy is completely and enthusiastically involved in the performance. He embodies these songs whether he’s gripping the mic as if it will squirm away unless he pins it down tightly, or he’s dancing with total abandon to the guitar squeals and recorded beats. This is music that’s felt in the core of you. It’s music that expresses the desires and ideals of your mind. Deastro brings some heady beats wherever he plays and it was a real pleasure to be there that night. Go back here to read my interview with him, he’s a wonderful guy.

I had no idea what to expect from Max Tundra. In fact, I had no idea that the shorter guy hanging out with Randy and friends earlier that evening, across the room from us at dinner, and in front of me as Coltrane Motion were on stage, was even Max himself! After a short break between sets, Max took the stage, lifted his arms and let out a rather operatic cry. Well then! He immediately turned to his keyboard and let loose a flurry of instrumentation that my mind simply could not make sense of for a full minute. It was brilliant and crazy and wonderful. I didn’t have a clue as to what was happening nor what would happen next, it was all just a confusion of sound, and I love when that happens! Of course, you who know Max Tundra’s music, know that it comes together quite quickly into gorgeous techno/electro beat-driven music. And he chatted briefly in between every few songs, (I’m guessing they were mostly off his new album, Parallax Error Beheads You), but mostly he played… and played, and sang. Wow, can Max Tundra sing! I am still amazed at the vocal range he has, and at the combination of that kind of voice with that kind of music. How in the world did a person who can sing like that not end up in a more traditional musical genre? It was so interesting! And he was so charming. If you get a chance, go see him. Deastro’s music is complicated with lots of bells and whistles and aside from his new songs, it’s not what I would call lyric-driven. But next to Max Tundra, it’s downright melodic in comparison. As a fan of so-called “math rock” I found some parallels in this techno/electro music. The syncopation was just WILD sometimes. That always thrills me. Go see Max Tundra when he comes by you! It’s pretty indescribable! Am I crazy to think that I hear some Scritti Politti in here? I mean that as a compliment. Their first album was brilliant!

Setting the scene for all of this great electro music was Chicago’s very own Coltrane Motion. I’d seen them three or four times before and I always look forward to Michael Bond and Matt Dennewitz’s particular brand of semi-controlled chaos. They definitely brought it that evening, and as the random stranger said to me, “They sure get involved in their music!” Each show has a pivotal moment when the harmonica comes out, and Michael does this thing that no one has ever done with/to a harmonica (and I’m not sure that anyone else really ever should). I mentioned this to the random stranger and she was also very impressed with it, “he needs to do that for a much longer period of time! That just wasn’t long enough” she said. Later, when I told Matt and Michael about this important feedback, we all agreed: much more harmonica! Coltrane Motion is a duo you will be hearing more about, they have a new EP coming out soon. They’re just back from playing a show at Pop Montreal and they are constantly gigging here in Chicago. Go read more here and listen to tracks posted. xoxo