24 Sept 11 - Part1

"...I hooked on Pinto & The Bean ...Robot Wars is my favorite song..."
Freddie Wilson, Anthony and Tim

Hey, blogspot readers, it's "3 in 1" night for SouthSide's with some delicious Sangria on the side! That's right, she's attempting to cover three shows at three different locations around town in one night (again). Thank goodness, CTA's running (somewhat) on time. First, she's at a private house party to celebrate with friends, Pinto & The Bean on their record release - The Waiting Place. Then, it's off to Double Door to jam with new friends, The Buddies at their record release show. Lastly, it's off to Elbo Room to party the night away with touring friends, Star Persons under the disco lights. Whew ...what a fun adventure planned.

Witin the heart of the Ravenswood neighborhood, SouthSide enjoyed a Saturday evening sampling yummy spaghetti (homemade sauce was divine rivaling SouthSide's own secret recipe) and Sangria (or two - not telling). It was more than a celebration of Pinto & The Bean's album release, blogspot readers. This was rather a fun gathering (as well as mingling) of family, friends, and fans under the blue tarp roof in the backyard. Pinto and their house hosts truly know how to make their guests feel so welcome ...and throw a rockin' party. The highlight of the evening was Ivan's display of his cooking abilities and the homemade Sangria in which this reviewer gave two thumbs WAY up. Plus she highly suggests (especially local bands) checking out the husband-wife team of Good Evening Chicago (http://www.youtube.com/user/goodeveningchicago). As videographers, they, like SouthSide, rock the local scene documenting what's hot, new and more for their YouTube channel. Yet instead of one camera angle, they film with three thus giving bands that rock star video presentation. Also, SouthSide says you should meet and say "hi" to her new road buddies ...a fun trio of gents - Freddie, Anthony and Tim. They kept her feeling so absolutely fabulous and in stitches from laughing so hard ...and of course, they are HUGE Pinto & The Bean fans. Their favorite song - Robot Wars (which you can find on Pinto & The Bean's YouTube page).

Besides the guests of honor rockin' their specially built stage, other musical guests included Bad Bad Meow (http://www.myspace.com/badbadmeow) and Hemmingbirds (http://www.myspace.com/hemmingbirds) - both good friends of Pinto & The Bean. SouthSide highly suggest making your acquaintance with them at their next regularly scheduled local shows. Bad Bad Meow had some truly sharp claws when it came to their opening set, blogspot readers, as an acoustic duo. Alen (on guitar) and Sarah rocked the backyard with an upbeat, foot-tappin' sound yet full of fierce frustration and anger (at times). It was certainly amazing what a couple of PBRs could do to one's drumming throughout the set - not a bad thing ...but it did add a lot of that hidden emotional vibe into Meow's music. SouthSide recommends rockin' to their Touch You Where You Touch Em (fiery yet raw acoustic/alternative sound ...lots of intensity), La La La (more intense music and vocals that's coupled with a crescendo rise ...and surprises) and the Rape song (SouthSide's favorite song by Meow). Then Hemmingbirds featuring Yoo and Timothy acoustically took the energy down a bit but still retained that intense energy which warmed up the audience from Bad Bad Meow's set. SouthSide enjoyed the vivid imagery woven throughout their songs like Mellow Gold Haze and Treetops(this particular song given the reviewer the sense she was flying amongst the trees of the forest). The Hemmingbirds' new song was the highlight of the acoustic set that demonstrated how lyrically emotional Yoo's vocals could get under the right guitar intensity and rhythms. Then finally what everyone was waiting for - Pinto & The Bean (http://www.pintoandthebean.com) rockin' out their record release show! Despite some minor technical difficulties, the duo debut the live version of The Waiting Place album in front of their invited guests that included a spectacular surprise - a lit up drum kit during Let's Make Noise. And boy, did they ever make some noise, blogspot readers. SoutSide (before having to dash away to Double Door) stayed long enough to her favorite song, Robot Wars. She also highly suggests listening to Rebuilding Everything, Miss America and Wake Up - which rocked the stage under a Morrissey-like pop alternative sound.

Coming soon - part 2: Double Door and Elbo Room


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide