Today I bring you the first, in what I hope will be many guest posts, by a writer new to Chicago, Mike Gutierrez. He writes for QRO, Drowned In Sound, the Ampeater Review, and the Deli Magazine, and we’re very proud to have him dashing around here at the Shack! He’s also great company at a show, we had a blast at the Casiokids gig. They were really just too much fun, and even though I almost knocked down the guy in the monkey suit, I’m pretty sure he forgave me. No one could hold a grudge in that kind of atmosphere. They played all the upbeat songs from their new album, Topp stemning på lokal bar. But the one we danced the hardest, sweatiest and naughtiest to was definitely “Fot I Hose,” (literally translated, “foot in sock.”) Enjoy this really interesting remix by Captain Credible, and go buy the album, it’s gorgeous! Now scroll down and read Mike’s awesome show review.
Casiokids – Fot I Hose (Captain Credible mix) by Captain Credible
A somewhat sleepy Schubas Tavern played host to Norwegian quintet Casiokids on Wednesday night, with the final song wrapping up well before the witching hour. C’mon Chicago. Foreign Policy just named you the 6th most influential city…in the world. Show some swagger. Cinderella stays out later than you. As it was Casiokids had barely hit full stride by the time the set was scheduled to end. Tough luck. Our loss, because the boys sounded great, mixing impeccable synth melodies with percussion that ran the gamut between disco thump and jammy bump.
America must have unrealistically high expectations for Scandinavian bands because the ones that make it over here- the Hives, the Sounds, Peter, Bjorn and John, Mew and Casiokids- are all pretty phenomenal. What makes the Scandinavian scene special is that the musicians feel no guilt about making their sound as sleek and sexy as possible. This is the land that gave us ABBA and Ace of Base. Casiokids continue the same tradition with the very pragmatic point-of-view that you don’t need to be producing shit-fi to count as underground. Sometimes touring partners Of Montreal are a good stateside touchpoint for Casiokids. Elegant sounding sweaty electrofunk that isn’t afraid to come off as the weensiest bit frou frou. They both come from the “don’t be ashamed to look like you’re trying” school of indie music.
That’s another way of saying they’ve got talent and aren’t afraid to show it off. The dark-haired multi-instrumentalist, who began the night centerstage on synth, played with one hand riding the keys while the other anticipated each note with a conductor’s flair. He knew the songs so well that he sang along to the other’s vocal parts….even though he wasn’t miked. The real singing duties were split between the two guys on his wings: one was a big rustic bear of a guy, the other a more effete cosmopolitan type. A nice Town & Country combo that gives the band a wider range of appeal than they might otherwise have.
The real star though is the rhythm section. If it’s not a dance number, it’s not a Casiokids song. Sure, a wall of dance tunes can come across as fairly soulless on record, but a live show is a whole different situation. Disco, New Wave, Electro, Funk; the band went through a lot of iterations by the end of the night, and they were all designed to rock your body. Apparently though Chicago was not in the mood to have its body rocked. A lot of heads bobbed, a few hips swayed. Local openers Light Pollution were brought on stage for some cowbellin’ during what amounted to the finale of an encore-less show. Good stuff, but not even the man in the monkey suit grinding in the audience (hellooooo Flaming Lips) was enough to trigger the dance party atmosphere that is Casiokids’ bread and butter. Better luck next stop: Detroit. Or as I lamely replied to the darkhaired multi-instrumentalist after the show: De-Twah? Never make this lame joke; especially not to a continental European, because you’ll get a mouthful of real French tossed back at you, and will feel like the fool you are.
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