This Friday will be a momentous night in Chicago, so it would be best if you put aside those plans you made with your couch, a bowl of ice cream and your television, and head down to the Empty Bottle. Submarine Races have put a ding in the veneer of subterrestrial pop with the release of their debut on In the Red Records last year. Frontman Ian Adams' knack for squeezing out jaded sweetness has finally frothed over his prior output with Happy Supply and The Ponys. Delivering a sound that feeds the satiated heart with a spoon of sarcastic wisdom, Adams' leanings toward gritty pop is a perfect fit. When coupled with the headliner, Dan Melchior's latest incarnation Dan Melchior und Das Menace, the night becomes a convention for the misunderstood and misanthropic. Melchior's history of strumming out instantly classic tunes that wash up wise and deadpan perfectly compliments his song writing and pleas of poetry without the lame berets and finger snapping.
The real reason to attend Friday's affair is the opening act, Sang des Loups, which is a beer-battered, chiggin-fried supergroup from Chicago featuring the soon to be departing Canderson. After years serving as the aorta of the rock'n'roll scene in Chicago, he has decided to pull up his stakes and head west. As a photographer who's pictures have appeared in every weekly in the city, numerous zines including Horizontal Action where he was the head photo editor, along with many glossies and countless album covers, his mastery of captivating the zeitgeist and ethos of the underbelly is unrivaled. His photos are instantly identifiable, go far beyond simply recording a moment and reveal a world that only exists within the confines of the feeting seconds that blaze by most of us unrealized while we sip our beers. As a frontman, Canderson pulls it all together. His stage demeanor walks the line between a dirtier Mick Jagger, crossed with a loathsome creep and a swashbuckled crooner. It's impossible not to get behind whatever this guys does, because there is no doubt that it comes from the right place. His enthusiasm and support for not just the music scene in Chicago, but across the country, is beyond inspirational and his absence here is going to leave a pockmark that will never be filled. Canderson's last week here is a pretty packed one too. This past Friday his other band Black Beauties performed at the Cobra Lounge as their final show and send-off with the Black Halos, which proved to be quite a bash. Tonight, Sang des Loups are performing at Ronny's in Logan Square, then of course Friday's show, and come Saturday morning when Canderson hits the wagon trail, Chicago will be noticably lamer. We'll all miss you, Candy!
check out a video clip of Dan Melchior und Das Menace right here:
