Music

STRANGE WEATHER (2014)

March 12, 2021

(YouTube) [Anna Calvi & David Byrne] I first saw Anna Calvi perform at Chicago’s Schuba’s back in 2011. If you haven’t been to Schuba’s, it’s basically a local bar with a bolted-on small stage and a fantastic sound system which, as it turned out, was perfect for Anna Calvi.

If you aren’t familiar with Anna Calvi, she’s a belter with a guitar. If her voice doesn’t bowl you over*, her prowess with her axe will. She’s fond of spaghetti western noodling, but also can craft a damn fine hook. Seeing her in such a small venue with her larger-than-life voice was a revelation, and I was eager to repeat the experience when she was scheduled to return to Chicago on April 2nd, 2020.

You know where this is going.

The show was canceled due to the pandemic, so I did what I’ve done so many nights before and since: watched the video of her cover of Keren Ann’s STRANGE WEATHER. Directed by Alan Del Rio Ortiz (who has also directed music videos for Ice Cube, Elle Fanning, and Solange) and featuring Kate Lyn Sheil (SHE DIES TOMORROW, YOU’RE NEXT), the video perfectly captures a specific sort of urban ennui: the surreal hollowness of frustratingly meandering through a city at the dead of night while trying to beat back the voices in your head.

  • STRANGE WEATHER isn’t exactly the best showcase of her vocals, as she’s rather restrained here. If you really want to hear her give her all, check out her JEZEBEL video.

DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA (2020)

March 10, 2021

(HBO MAX) I realized some time ago that I only have time for three media interests at once. Back in 2019, that meant that I was watching film, reading novels, and attending theater. Consequently, I let music, especially live music, slip by the wayside.

Granted, most of the live music I previously attended was of the small venue variety, crowded beer halls and the like — not intricately coordinated shows like DAVID BYRNE’S AMERICAN UTOPIA. It’s been long enough since I’ve seen a show like this — the last time was probably at Illinois’ Ravinia several years ago — but the staging here is phenomenal. Everyone is lock-step with each other, the lighting is phenomenal, and while the stage is sparsely adorned, the chain-link curtains that surround the stage are inventively used and abused.

It’s an undeniably fantastic, untethered performance, filled with joy and a few sobering moments, all amazingly captured by Spike Lee — no stranger to the stage — who effortlessly captures the above, all while making his own imprint on the show.

It’s the rare live musical performance that is almost as evocative at home as it would be in-person. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve watched it and, while I fully acknowledge that it’s severely idealistic, it’s a soothing balm in these times.

(If you’re interested in the nitty-gritty, check out this interview between Byrne, Spike, and Dennis Lim, and check out this interview for more on the choreography.)