Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin/Ohtis at The Coffeehouse
As some of you may have seen on my Twitter feed, this concert started out decidedly bad, through no fault of the bands involved. You see, my friends and I showed up just before 9PM Monday evening (this after coming by just before 8PM and finding out that the show was actually supposed to start at 9, a simple, yet important detail which no one employed at the Coffeehouse seemed to be aware of) and we quickly took a seat mere feet away from the stage at the rear of the shop. We sat, we drank Diet Cokes, we ate buttermilk biscuits and chatted about music. We watched the band set up, we heard them check their sound, and we saw the venue gradually fill up with hipsters from all around the Central, IL area.And then a man came to the microphone. He was not a band member. As far as I could tell, he wasn't even an employee of The Coffeehouse, or rather, he wasn't one of the baristas (the drummer of Ohtis, Jim, is an employee of The Coffeehouse). He came to the mic and announced that everyone in The Coffeehouse had to leave through the front door, out into the single-digit temperature night, only to come back in and pay the $5 cover fee. Now, I have no problem paying the cover, I had five bucks, no big deal, but to have everyone in the venue leave and come back in, well, that was just stupid. I offered to give the guy my five dollars right there so that we wouldn't lose our spot, but he refused, insisting that we join the huddling mass forming along Beaufort Street. As such, by the time we rejoined the crowd INSIDE, our choice spot was gone, there was a knot of people standing in front of the stage, and I was unable to actually see Ohtis perform. This is the best view I was able to get, with my arm over my head, which made me sad, given the excellent twangy sounds coming from the low stage.
My first thought when hearing Ohtis performing live was how much more pronounced their twang really was. And then the vocals hit a delightfully strange note, when Sam Swinson sounded like a dead ringer for Jason Lytle of Grandaddy. There were several other moments in the show when Mr. Swinson and the boys took on the sonic stylings of other ThaBombShelter faves like Modest Mouse and even Neutral Milk Hotel (especially when Swinson shouts, "I Believe! I Believe! I Believe!", I was immediately transported to The King of Carrot Flowers pt 2 and "I love you Jesus Christ"). They followed this twang fueled chameleon train through the night, slipping in and out of straight up indie, a wonderfully polished sound that stayed incredibly interesting.
When Ohtis took their leave, so did a fair amount of the smokers in the crowd, which was a fortuitous occurrence as it allowed my friends and I to make our way back to the front of the crowd in time for Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin. SSLYBY had an immediate chemistry that was palpable as they jammed out to tracks from their latest album, "Pershing" as well as several cuts from the older, "Broom". These four guys on stage looked like everyone's favorite indie band from back home, as approachable as the kids you hung out with in High School, as nice as the kid who gave you a ride to school before you had a driver's license. They're the band that Ohtis has the potential to become, a tight indie band that has earned their chops playing out in the neighborhood clubs and house parties, earning a loyal following long before they earn a living. They're the fun local band done good, fresh off a European tour and still going strong.
In fact, the band's energy level was at a solid eleven, it was like a rocking house show back in Columbus. I felt like there should have been some couches along the wall and a coffeetable tipped on it's end in the corner. Their show - and by extension their latest album - reminded me very much of what "Pinkerton" might have sounded like if it were released in 2009, if Weezer hadn't jumped the shark back in 2005.
After the show I was able to talk briefly with a few of the guys in the band, and they were just as approachable and cool as I imagined them to be. SSLYBY were far cooler than any of the hipsters passively bobbing their heads, affected apathy freezing their bored faces. Phil, Will, John and Jon, all four of them were great guys and I can't wait to see them again.
Check back tomorrow for some pictures and videos, in the meantime, check out these live tracks, including a brand new song, "Same Speed". Enjoy!
***NEW SONG***
"Same Speed (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
***NEW SONG***
"Gwyneth (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Heers (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Modern Mystery (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Oceanographer (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Pangea (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Some Constellation (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Think I Wanna Die (Live)" Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin
"Bloodshed on Cavalry (Live)" Ohtis
zip file with all of the tracks
posted by H-Bomb @ 5:58 PM
6 Comments:
sorry the cover charge experience is such a nuisance, however, that's just the easiest way to check everybody. I can understand the seating complaint, however if you have suggestions for a better way to account for everyone coming in I'm all ears, you can e-mail me at jason.gemini.metro@gmail.com
or
look me on facebook as Jason Callahan and I'll keep you posted on more shows coming here.
I should've included this earlier, but someone pointed out other things as well... Being the "man who wasn't in a band" and who "doesn't work at the coffeehouse" but instead being the one who BOOKS the bands, I thought it was generous of the coffeehouse and it's owner to allow show-goers to wait inside, as opposed to making you wait outside until after close, and after we move tables, and still after the bands set up, and to continue waiting up to 30 minutes outside in single digit weather, or we could let you wait inside, and inconvenience you for maybe, 5 minutes while you stand in line and pay the cover.
To me the latter really seems more reasonable, especially in "single digit weather." As before, look me up and I'll let you know of other upcoming shows. Perhaps if you'd introduced yourself explaining who you are and what you do, instead yelling at a person on the stage waving a $5 dollar bill in the air, giving off the impression, and not to imply you are, a particularly lazy individual, you would've gotten a more positive result to your inquiry. The Vidette staff writer Sam Schild, did just that, and he didn't wait outside for the 5 minutes, though he offered to do so if necessary.
I'm usually pretty flexible with individuals, however, like most people, a random face in the crowd doesn't always promote the willingness from within oneself to be compliant to the said random faces desires.
Thanks for the clarification Jason. Now I feel like a d-bag for not thinking to come up and ask to stay in. I'll get in contact with via other means to hash this shizzle out.
Not sure if you are aware of this but "Same Speed" is from the split 7" SSLYBY did with the band Puzzle along with the song "We Can Win Missouri".
Let me know and I can send you mp3s of the songs!
Ohtis fan here, just lettin' you know that "I Believe" is actually titled "Bloodshed on Calvary". Glad you enjoyed them as much as we all do :)
Awesome, thanks for the info, I'll fix the files shortly :-D
Post a Comment
<< Home