01 Mar 13

 

Vintage Blue at sound check

Road trip!

Yep, that's right, blgospot readers, SouthSide has embarked on her first ever road trip away from Chicago's local scene for the bright college lights of Madison, WI! And boy, did this reviewer witness some things that she'll never forget. She along with a few fans, band Vintage Blue, a penguin and banana (more about those two in a minute) invaded the dairyland up north to rock out the stage inside High Noon Saloon. This venue, a stone's throw from the Wisconsin's capitol building and University of Wisconsin, offered a certain rustic charm of a Western-style saloon with dual bars on other side. There's plenty of balcony space to sit and observe the floor show below as well as video games (pinball machine too) and pool tables to keep you entertained between bands. And the main thing SouthSide enjoyed the most was High Noon's frosty cold bottles of root beer! Overall, blogspot readers, this place was quite relaxing ...friendly but be forewarned - it's definitely a college party bar too. Many of  U of W students hang out here so do expect some wild party times happening inside this bar like it did on Friday night.

 

Ifdakar rockin' the stage

Besides, Vintage Blue, tonight's lineup also featured performances by Ifdakar, Evergreen and Asparagii. Sadly, this reviewer wasn't able to stay for the entire show but she did catch part of Ifdakar's wild, tripped out set that not only was accompanied by art in motion but also a penguin and banana rockin' with the other shiny happy people to the eclectic hardcore psychedelic guitar rock, blogspot readers. What can SouthSide say? Except you have to check out this band. Never had she seen a band create instant reaction and motion to their band in a heartbeat ...these college kids (and some older adults like this grandma) were totally electrified and hyped to Ifdakar's vibrant instrumental groove especially during the epic-sounding first song. This reviewer while enjoying the weirdness happening around her (and she definitely means "weirdness") also delighted seeing a local artist creating his masterpiece ...bringing this portrait of a woman to life from the music he felt and (probably) heard from the band and it's digital-wizardry fusion. Each Ifdakar piece performed had its own unique sound, definition, rhythmic tone and more without losing a single melodic beat as it kept this crowd of bodies erratically gyrating (now insert the "weirdness" here) in front of the stage as well as near the back. Whew ...it was somewhat exhausting trying to keep up Ifdakar but they're definitely worth a listen, blogspot readers, especially if it's a live performance.  For more information about this band, visit http://www.ifdakar.com.
 

"Like to say they had beautiful sax together..." ~ Ben of Vintage Blue

 

SouthSide highly suggests checking out her new friend, Vintage Blue for the band's heartfelt yet energizing pop/alternative rock that featured harmonizing vocals and a hot horn section to jazz up the band's core sound a little. Only 1 year and half old as a band (that also opened for Sister Hazel during last year's Summer Fest), Vintage rocked the stage with plenty of toe-tappin', feel good music sound that had the audience swaying to the rhythmic beat after opening the set with a rousing organ vibe during Alone. And let's not forget the cowbell (oh, you gotta have MORE cowbell!) adding fun amidst the steady tempo within Here To Stay until the horns blasted vibrantly during Set You Free across the stage to really rev up this dancing audience to life. She was wowed by the harmonies especially from Katie who had some in the audience wanting to hear more from her whenever this vocalist popped the words to life. Now SouthSide isn't big on bands doing covers during their sets however there's always an exception to that rule ...and Vintage Blue was that exception, blogspot readers. This local band didn't simply perform these hit songs like their original composition or as heard on the radio. No, Vintage played around with the songs ...sometimes meshing together a couple of stanzas from a song or two thus turning them into an entirely different song though consisting of the same subject. For example, check out their mesh of eclectic funk/soul/blues while performing Wheatus' I'm Just A Teenage Dirtbag before moving into Fountain of Wayne's Stacy's Mom and then Huey Lewis & the News' Power of Love (which featured the lovely yet soulfully divine Kate on lead). This rockin' mesh definitely had the audience groovin' now ...including a grandma showing off her best moves! Even their closer, Unchained Medley consisted of the original song before hearing David Bowie-Freddie Mercury's Under Pressure and Vanilla Ice's Ice Ice Baby merging into it. Yet what truly made this particular song interesting was hearing the three different songs being lyrically sung individually at the same time. This reviewer recommends listening to Vintage's Speaker (a downtempo song but with enough kick to keep you dancing to the rhythms) and Chicagoan (which had some down home blues mixed by the funk and spunk within the alternative rock sound). For more information about Vintage Blue and where this band will be performing next, visit http://www.reverbnation.com/vintageblue.

 

Until next time, support your local scene,

SouthSide