31 Mar 12

Burlesque, furiously rockin' music, brass band, Latin punk rock and MEDS? Oh my!

Hey, blogspot readers, welcome to SouthSide's itinerary for her fun Saturday night On The Town adventure this weekend. This time she's perched on the balcony inside Wicker Park's legendary Subterranean attending one wild and furious CD release party hosted by friend, Furious Frank. Headlining the show, Furious Frank invited a few friends - Descarga and Four Star Brass Band to help celebrate the release of their CD - the Map & the Territory (review coming soon). And as an added special bonus, MEDS performed a rare acoustic set which was followed by Lady Jack teasing the audience with her sultry burlesque moves.

SouthSide recommends rockin' your ears to the hardcore Latin mix of electro pop/punk sound and lyrical angst and frustration sung in Spanish by her new friend Descarga (http://www.reverbnation.com/descarga). Despite hearing too much reverb feedback off the monitors, this reviewer enjoyed the "furious" tone set by this band in which was paired with the fierce intensity of front man Hector's vocals especially when he's singing the words in Spanish. Plenty of spitfire and raw rage here, blogspot readers, while he's rockin' the stage amidst a tense stage presence of expressive body language easily conveying what he's feeling. Thus inspiring the rest of the band to feel that same energy too, Descarga pumped the audience with hardhitting electric riffs and drums when performing songs like Funeral, Party Girl, Chemtrails (cool song about the planes spraying the skies) and Dejame Sabor. Meanwhile, Four Star Brass Band (http://www.myspace.com/fourstarbrassband) continued with the party atmosphere with an intense brass and percussion sound of New Orleans-style Jazz/swing music. Though overshadowing the vocals throughout the set because of the music's boisterious momentum and energy, SouthSide did enjoy how this band approached each song such as Goin' Down to New Orleans and Radio with a fiery spirit and tone before getting everyone in the mood for a little sexual groovin' with the Marvin Gaye classic Let's Get It On. Still this reviewer would have preferred to hear more of Four Star's New Orleans' Jazz which had definitely had the crowd dancing to the lively music rather than hearing over covers like the theme to Sanford and Son or Jackson Five's I'll Be There.

Don't let the band name fool you into thinking they rock with a metal or hardcore guitar rock sound, blogspot readers, they could but don't. Actually it's the direct opposite. Furious Frank operates within the realm of eclectic eccentricities when it comes to their core rock music and sound which at times has the band going in different genre directions ...meshing one or two at the same time thus creating a "new" unique music for each song. This was no surprise for SouthSide when reviewing Frank's CD release set which featured a few songs off their the Map & the Territory album since she was expecting nothing but fun ecelectic rock music to highlight the whimsical tall tales heard in the lyrics. After opening with an intense "furious" intro to prepare the crowd for a highly charged show, Frank in the mood to party all night long wasted no time in hitting the ears with upbeat tempo amidst a fast-paced rush of sound to get your feat groovin' to band's music. This reviewer doesn't know any other band that can rock a stage with an electrified Americana folk and Latin tango rhythms (as heard in Undercover - loved the crescendo rises with a carnivale tone to it) or Irish folk rock (as heard in Whiskey Row) as well as Czech folk music for Frank's Czech Xmas in Texas (which features Czech lyrics) and gyspy (as heard in Lament). SouthSide warned you - this band's eccentricities is what keeps them not being boxed into a single genre or music category. Furious Frank produced the type of music that's meant for standing and listening ...it did inspire a few on the main floor (and balcony) to dance long to the whimsical vibe during Whiskey Row and their Doors' cover of Alabama Song (which had this eclectic mesh of Irish/gypsy sound). If you think that's a little off, listen to the story about Giles Corey which was performed amidst a bluegrass/rockabilly sound before getting furiously rocked by the band's intensity in Trust Yer Rifle. SouthSide highly recommends letting your own eccentricity shine while rockin' with her friend, Furious Frank, at their next performance. For more information about this band, visit http://www.furiousfrank.net or on their Facebook page.


Until next time, support your local scene,
SouthSide