Elvis Perkins Live at The Lakeshore Theater

I haven’t decided which is worse: a show review with terrible pictures or one with no pictures at all. Since we’ve already had one with terrible pictures, I’ll veer the other direction. Also, why we’ve still not done a full review of Elvis Perkins’ Ash Wednesday is a bit sad. Hopefully this will serve both purposes.

Drinking Buddy exposed me to “While You Were Sleeping” on the Feel As Good As A Boner mix a few months ago and I’ve been listening ever since. I’d picked up a few random tracks here and there and was even more convinced I should listen to him. I caught him during Bonnaroo performing with Dearland, collectively called Elvis Perkins in Dearland, and was overwhelmed. The acoustic singer-songwriter mentality of Perkins coupled with a jazz and folk background of Dearland might be the greatest thing ever.

Last Sunday, I finally got the chance to see him here in Chicago. It was about 40 degrees cooler and there were 4,000 fewer people watching and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. The Lakeshore Theater, normally reserved for comedy shows, holds about 350 people and its movie theater style seating could have detracted from the show, yet it seemed to fit in with the musical style. Opening band Brighton, MA, had a fairly large following and a drummer that absolutely loved the toms. Elvis took the stage clad in a ragged tie-less gray suit, several necklaces and the very essence of Dylan seemed to emanate from within him. Naturally, he opened the show with a solo piece with only his guitar, voice, and a harmonica.

As for the rest of the show, he played most of the songs from Ash Wednesday and a few unreleased tracks including my favorite, “Shampoo” and “Doomsday” (see below for live version of Doomsday). His music, while lyrically dense and verbose makes everything seem alright. Only Perkins can make you look forward to Doomsday. The songs from Ash Wednesday seemed to take on a life of their own. “Without Love” added a huge kick drum beat that was played while strapped around the drummers back as he bounced around the stage. The vocal lines were amped up and tinkered with just enough to catch your attention, yet not enough to distract from the lyrics or melody. Finally, to close the show, he played “While You Were Sleeping,” one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in a good long while. As the song increased in intensity, each member of Dearland (who had left the stage) came out individually and added their own sound until the cacophony of sound filled the entire theater. It was a brilliant moment.

And so, despite already owning the album and not owning a record player, I bought the vinyl that was on sale at the merch table after the show. I really can’t give any more strong of an endorsement of both Elvis Perkins album Ash Wednesday or his live show. The unique song writing, unusual presentation (harmonium, upright bass, trap set, harmonic, several keyboards, plus several others), and amazing vocals all come together for one of the best albums of the year and certainly one of the best shows I’ve seen in a while.

Elvis is currently on tour in Europe until the end of November, so to all our friends across the pond, check him out. He has a few dates set up for the east coast when he comes back. If you’re not in either of those places, check out the album. It’s definitely worth it.

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Elvis Perkins – Without Love

Elvis Perkins – Doomsday (Live)

Elvis Perkins – Live on KEXP from SXSW

Elvis Perkins – Live on KEXP with Dr. Dog and Cold War Kids

Check out both of these videos of Elvis Perkins strolling around France performing with La Blogotheque.

Elvis Perkins – “While You Were Sleeping” Video from La Blogotheque

Elvis Perkins – “Emile’s Vietnam in the Sky” and “All the Night Without Love” from La Blogotheque