House of Blues- Chicago
May 9th, 2010
By Anthony Kuzminski
{Photo Credit}
Arriving on the Chicago House of Blues stage in a slim fitting black leather jacket, jeans and a pencil-thin mustache (barely noticeable from more than five feet away), Butch Walker took his place behind the piano and proceeded to knock out three delicate and inconspicuous ballads; “Joan”, “Passed Your Place, Saw Your Car, Thought of You” and the Marvelous 3 staple, “Cigarette Lighter Love Song”. The crowd stood in rapt attention. It was almost if the ghosts of the characters from these three songs came back to life through the gusto of the performance. Walker pounded the piano and organ respectively with knuckle-bleeding devotion. As he drifted from the piano to center stage with a mere acoustic guitar, he unveiled “Going Back/Going Home” which found the crowd singing along to every last word on the personal confessional. Almost immediately Walker began “Closer to the Truth” where midway through the first verse his rock-solid five-piece band, the Black Widows, arrived one by one on stage and proceeded to pulverize the audience. For the next two hours, they never looked back. The new strapping arrangement (probably closer to the original unreleased version recorded for Sycamore Meadows) was unleashed like souls escaping purgatory. If this wasn’t enough, it segued immediately into the hands, hearts and guitar relentlessness of “Uncomfortably Numb”. From here on out, it was a full-tilt bursting at the seams rock n’ roll revue that captured the hearts and minds of the crowd, schooling them on what a rock n’ roll show is all about.
Songs from I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart flourished in the live environment. The lively “Pretty Melody” charmed the crowd, “She Likes Hair Bands” exudes wit while the ferocity of “Trash Day” expounded beyond the album version; the warmth of the organ, the full-bodied bass and drums and a three-prong guitar attack that flat-out oozes sexiness in its delivery.”They Don’t Know What We Know” wore its 50’s inspiration well and featured a searing electric guitar solo by Walker. The Black Widows did what any great band would do, they served the songs first and foremost but more significantly, they utilized their collective talents to evolve and elevate the material to dimensions unimagined. Drummer Darren Dodd proved to be the lynchpin to the operation with his sinister drumming. He adapts his style to the song but never relents and the rest of the band follows his cue. He pounds his kit like a baker beating bread layering the foundation that rivets your sonic taste buds. This was especially evident on The Rise and Fall… material (“Ladies and Gentlemen…” & “Too Famous To Get Fully Dressed”). “Laid/Taste of Red” was spritely (with a cowbell solo by Walker)) as the entire band exhibited Saturday afternoon playfulness which spilled over into the crowd. It’s one thing to play well and another to exude unadulterated joy, the Black Widows evoked the latter. Walker was in an ecstatic mood throughout the whole night demonstrated by his mischievous and off-the-cuff cover of “Afternoon Delight” which found the band picking up the beat almost immediately. Despite touring behind a new record, Walker performed eight songs from Sycamore Meadows his purging album of prayers from 2008. “Ships In A Bottle” continued the flow of emotions faster than any beer on tap. “Here Comes The…” and “The Weight of Her” (with an ever too brief snippet of “Baba O’Reiley” thrown in after the guitar solo) further exemplified the heightened emotions paired with show-stopping performances encompassing the crowd. “Ponce De Leon Ave”, an ode to inebriated freedom, was boisterous and a smidgen more belligerent than its album counterpart illustrating that even if you have seen Walker before, each show provides the fan a wholly matchless perspective into his artistry. He weaves varieties of music in the studio but in concert, he is a one-of-a-kind Godzilla talent whose persona and wit flies off the concert stage and hits you head on leaving an impression you won’t soon forget. One can only hope a few of these shows are being taped for not just posterity but so that the rest of the world can revel in their grandeur.
“Maybe It’s Just Me” and “The Best Thing You Never Had” commanded attention as Walker and the Black Widows had the audience in the palm of their hand. The adoration from the crowd extended beyond respect into a deeper, more profound, connection. These last two songs, which ended the main set, saw Walker relinquish his leather jacket and let the brimming sentiments of the evening take over for an epic finale. When you see Butch Walker, he’s doing more than perform but in some ways, excise demons every time he hits the stage. The music soared above us in this intangible atmosphere where it seemed unworldly. Where we all reached for the sky in search of something that may be unattainable, but we still do it because we believe that there is something out there for us. Kicking off the encore was a feisty and vociferous version of “The 3 Kids In Brooklyn” with Walker attacking his mandolin like a gladiator fighting for his life. The song featured an extended middle section featuring some first-rate grandstanding that few other acts can get away with. He resurrected the banjolin (which he used on his performance with Taylor Swift at this year’s Grammy Awards) for the Hall & Oates cover “Rich Girl”. He told the crowd to not be taken aback by his “little guitars” because ultimately according to Walker “little guitars = party”. Just when one couldn’t imagine the show being any longer or riveting, Walker dove into the crowd with his microphone only for “Hot Girls In Good Moods” where he sang the entire song from the crowd only to return to the stage, stand on top of his amp, plug in his Les Paul and wail on a guitar solo that would make anyone who plays the six-string gush with envy. Upon its conclusion, Walker and the band said their goodbyes and after two-plus blistering hours, no one was disappointed but the roars brought the band back finding Walker behind the organ for the sing-a-long “When Canyons Ruled the World” which ended with Walker alone sitting on the edge of the stage conducting the crowd in a whispered voice. Walker is a rare artist who on any given night may pull out the greatest rock n’ roll show you will ever witness from his back pocket. The blood, sweat and beers that go into these types of performances seem simple, but the humor, charisma, showmanship, musicianship and elation with which is all packaged is a rarity. Far too many acts hit the stage with no personality but Walker wears all of his influences on his sleeves never holding back and because of this, he’s unlike any other performer on the road at this moment.
Great music finds a way to entrench itself into you and a great concert can be an exorcism not just for the artist but for those in attendance. On these rare nights, we are able to lose ourselves in the music. In the early hours of a spring morning in Chicago, a bevy of lost souls sought guidance from a renegade rocker. We may have come seeking mere entertainment but in the end, the show was so much more, Butch Walker and the Black Widows brought us and our dreams to the road to redemption.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Remaining Dates
May 13 Grand Rapids, MI @ Mixtape Café
May 14 Detroit, MI @ Magic Bag
May 15 Newport, KY @ Southgate House
May 17 Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
May 19 Philadelphia, PA @ World Café Live
May 20 New York, NY @ Webster Hall
May 21 Baltimore, MD @ Recher Theatre
May 23 Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel
May 25 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
May 26 Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse
