It's been a year since Local H, one my favorite bands and easily the best live band I've seen, performed a 7-night residency at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago. For those who don't know, Local H is a 2 member rock band, with Brian St. Clair destroying the drums and Scott Lucas taking care of vocals and guitar/bass - he rigged his guitar with bass pickups and a system of pedals and amps to play both parts at the same time. You may remember them from hearing "Bound for the Floor" on the radio back in the mid-90's, but the band really reached its peak with 1998's Pack Up the Cats (horribly underpromoted during a change in management at Island Records) and has released three more full-lengths since then. In the run up to the release of their new album 12 Angry Months, the band decided to play all of their previous albums, plus a night of b-sides and rarities, culminating in the new songs being played for the first time on the 7th night. Each performance was followed by an encore of covers and other miscellaneous songs. The schedule was:
Wed. 5/7 - Ham Fisted
Thurs. 5/8 - As Good As Dead
Fri. 5/9 - Pack Up the Cats
Sat. 5/10 - Here Comes the Zoo
Sun. 5/11 - Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?
Mon. 5/12 - B-Sides and Rarities
Tues. 5/13 - 12 Angry Months
I was fortunate enough to attend the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday shows as a birthday present/getaway with Colleen. The quality of the shows lived up to the high concept of the residency, with the band in top form - Scott, Brian, and guests clearly worked hard to do the records justice and put on a great show. The crowd was also great, with a minimum of the "High-Fivin Motherfucker" type moshing and plenty of participation and sing-along. Fan recordings of all 7 shows are available to download for free here, but in commemoration, here are a few of my favorite songs from the nights I was present (and a few others):
What Can I Tell You?
All the Kids Are Right
from Pack Up the Cats
Hands on the Bible (with Simi from Suffrajett on electric violin)
Tame Me (Baby Wants To)
from Here Comes the Zoo
Buffalo Trace (this was just utterly mind-blowing and that vocal effect sounded great)
Hey, Rita (with a nice LCD Soundsystem "All My Friends" outro)
from Whatever Happened to P.J. Soles?
I wasn't here for this, but it must have been fantastic live...
Manifest Destiny Pt. 2
from As Good As Dead
And finally, here is "President Forever" - put into retirement following the election, but still relevant at the time.
President Forever
from The No Fun EP
Lots of excellent records were released during Thin Mercury Sound's hiatus, so look for reviews in the near future...
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