Diane Izzo Remembered in Concert

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 29, 2011 4:20PM

Image Credit: Marco Zas

After a long fight with brain cancer, Chicago-bred singer-songwriter Diane Izzo died in February at the age of 43, but her dark, husky voice is still very much alive in Chicago’s music community. To celebrate her life and music, the Hideout is throwing the first annual Izzo memorial concert this Sunday.

Izzo only released one album - 1999's One - and it was received with critical acclaim. It prompted, for example, Tribune’s Greg Kot to call her “one of the most breathtaking young singer-songwriters to emerge out of Chicago in recent years.” But she’s perhaps as well known for her infectious spirit as her stunning music. Upon her death, Califone’s Tim Rutili told Gossip Wolf:

Diane was rare magic. She was dark and hilarious and truly a beautiful spirit. She could bend a lyric when she sang in a way that brought out the physical and the inexplicable feeling that can only be expressed with music. I haven't heard many people that can do that. That feeling poured out of her.

At the time of her death, Izzo was working on a film project with her partner Marco Zas and local photographer Jim Newberry. Titled Black & Gold, it relates the story of a young artist traveling the States trying to find her place in the world. Izzo had also recorded two albums beyond One and accumulated some 80 extra tracks - all unreleased. The tribute concert’s proceeds will go to mixing, mastering, and finishing some of this unreleased material.

The concert, titled Yeah, we’re pitiful but we’re gods! after a lyric from her song "Venice", will feature a handful of friends and artists who collaborated with Izzo. The lineup includes experimental blues rockers Califone, Souled American, Cheryl Trykv, and The Crooked Mouth String Band. It’ll also feature a reunion of Izzo’s band - Jim Becker, Ned Folkerth, Eddie Carlson, Lennie Dietsch, and Liz Payne - and several guest singers stepping in for vocals.

If you’re not familiar with Izzo, you can stream some of her songs over at her Myspace page or watch this trailer for the aforementioned Black & Gold:

The Diane Izzo Memorial Concert is Sunday, October 2 at the Hideout, 1354 W Wabansia, 5:30 p.m., $20, 21+