Music Makes the Bourgeoisie Come Together

By chicago_chris in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 20, 2004 5:13PM

Tomorrow night's concerts offer a little something for everyone. At the Empty Bottle will be Camera Obscura, a Scottish band who is always lazily, but aptly compared to countrymen Belle & Sebastian. Not only is their sound strikingly similar, but Camera Obscura once featured current B&S drummer Richard Colburn and had a single produced by B&S front-man Stuart Murdoch. And both are most typically described by that elusive adjective "twee." For those of you mourning the loss of old-school Belle & Sebastian on the recent Dear Catastrophe Waitress - Chicagoist counts ourselves among you - check out Camera Obscura.

For the more mainstream set, Alanis Morrisette and Barenaked Ladies will play at the Tweeter Center – a venue that rewards its patrons for making the two-hour trek with bad sightlines and horrible acoustics. Thanks, guys! As the Reader astutely points out, the real reason to see this show – as is the case with most concerts – is for the opener. For this performance, it's young 'un Nellie McKay, the Manhattan jazz/cabaret impresario with a good sense of humor and a better voice. But with all the effort it takes to get out to Tinley Park and sit through some mediocre Canadian acts (redundant term?), Chicagoist thinks we'll just go with the lovelorn Scots.