14 Sept 10

OH what a night, blogspot readers! It was an incredible night to rock around town with SouthSide as she covered not only one but THREE seperate shows! A feat never attempted before until now. First, she was at Elbo Room for a little country and some Blues with Ricky Stein (from Austin, TX). Then she danced with a panda bear and The Maybenauts and mellowed out with some of Violetness' emo/electronica music at Double Door. Finally, this reviewer ended the night with an appearance at Debonair Social Club to groove with Violet Winter. Whew - don't ask where she gets all of this energy to rock like she did...

Returning agan for another Elbo Room appearance before hibernating in Texas, Ricky Stein rocked the stage with a rousing yet passionate Country/Blues performance. This singer/songwriter (also part of a band The .44) grabbed SouthSide's attention through his raspy falsettos as well as the energy in which he acoustically performed his songs. A few had this rockin' electric twang coupled with some harmonics rhythm to give them that Blues sound ...meanwhile on acoustic guitar, there was this mellow calmness heard in his music. For example listen to Shreveport Blues - what a strong opening song filled with fiery emotions in the vocals and electric riffs. Or Now Or Never - in which Ricky passionately sang about his hometown through vivid imagery off the lyrics. Then there was Out On The Road Somewhere that had SouthSide feeling the road well-traveled via the lyrics within the soothing calmness of his voice. This ballad could easily as well as personally sum up his 2010 summertime travels since he logged over 30,000 miles on the engine. This reviewer also recommends listening to his new song - On The Rise (this will be featured in the next album) for the way it demonstrated the dynamic power and range of Ricky's emotions while singing about the aftermath of an apocalyptic event. Off The .44 CD - In The Red, SouthSide highly suggests listening to track 2, Trouble All The Same (the live acoustic version rocked the stage while the recorded version with the band added more fuel to the fire within his vocals) as well as recorded versions of Now Or Never (track 3) and Out On The Road Somewhere (track 4). The title track - In The Red, blew SouthSide away with its lively Country/Blues sound with Ricky behind the full band. Perhaps, The .44 will make an appearance in Chicago along with Ricky next summer. For more information, visit The .44 at www.myspace.com/the44music. Visit Ricky Stein at www.rickystein.com or www.myspace.com/rickystein.

Before heading to Debonair Social Club for a late night performance by Violet Winter, SouthSide stopped by Double Door to check out her friends, The Maybenauts, rockin' the stage. Fans thoroughly enjoyed the wild space ride which included a dancing (costumed) panda on guitar. Don't despair if you missed this free show sponsored by Old Style. They will be rockin' the stage again at another free show on Sept 25 at Cubby Bear (Wrigleyville). For more information, visit www.maybenauts.com or www.myspace.com/maybenauts. SouthSide also recommends checking out the dark emo/electronica sounds of Violetness. Not only will the music send chills down your spine but so will the haunting vocals of this band's female lead. Don't be fooled by how soft she sings, blogspot readers, she does pack a lot of emotion and fire into Violetness' lyrics. For more information, visit www.myspace.com/violetnessmusic. Expect full On The Town reviews on both of these bands in the near future.

Off to Debonair Social Club where SouthSide was excited to finally hear the live version of Violet Winter and its self-titled CD. This reviewer enjoyed how the band opened with track 10, Becoming - the perfect song to immerse the audience into the darkside of Winter's harsh ...cold electronica/rock. And it can get very cold and harsh while listening to this non-lyrical track since it emits the sense of someone's frustration and aggression against the clashing mesh of keyboards and guitars. Moving right into Disease (track 7) and Living A Lie (track 5), this reviewer liked the way Violet's front man, Oscar (also on guitar) wonderfully vented heated raw emotions of anger without ever turning the band's core sound into hardcore screamo. Also, the reviewer specially noted that the music itself had a vivid personality of its own. If there were no lyrics to such songs like Break (track 4) and Part Of Me (track 6), the angered mood and tone of the songs would be clearly evident inside the dark electronic keyboard rhythms and guitar riffs. SouthSide highly suggests listening to track 8, Find A Way, though the live version differed from the recording (which featured Malik Yusef), the live version still retained that haunting feel (sans the violin rhythms at the end) as well as Oscar's pain heard within the vocals. Also she suggests listening to Violet's current hit (and see the YouTube video) Abuse Me (track 2). SouthSide's favorite song had this delicious sensation of one can experience pleasure from pain and vice versa underneath its sultry electronica groove though it would have been better if they ran the video for a more visual image at Debonair. Still ...she was all tingling inside from hearing the song live. SouthSide says ...this season's color for winter is not white but violet and highly suggests checking out the darkside (if you dare) with Violet Winter at their next performance. Be on the lookout for their rockin' Nine Inch Nails' cover of Closer. For more information, visit www.violetwinter.com or www.myspace.com/vltwntr.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide