Thin Hymns, Jack Name And Dent May Bring Wildly Different Styles To Empty Bottle
By Casey Moffitt in Arts & Entertainment on Feb 6, 2014 9:30PM
The Empty Bottle played host to an eclectic show Tuesday evening, featuring Thin Hymns, Jack Name and Dent May.
Chicago's Thin Hymns kicked things off with their subtly psychedelic folksy songs. These tunes have sweet grooves thanks to the rhythm section of Kyle Vegter on bass and Michael Gillian on drums, which sets Thin Hymns apart from similar acts. The Hymns also features two guitarist/keyboardists in Michael Hilger and Justin Fernandez, who meandered with uninspired lead lines and keyboard washes. These two musicians are kind of missing a great opportunity as they have so much to work with in the tandem of Gillian and Vegter. Their parts are kind of in no man's land as they're not quite minimalist to get out of the way of the rhythms, yet they don't exactly complement the exciting rhythms either.
To their credit, Kilger and Fernandez do know how chase down a tone, and their instruments sound great. It would benefit them to rework some of their parts to add something a little more to what the rhythm section is giving them.
If you were familiar with Jack Name's debut album Light Show, you got something completely different. Name, a.k.a. John Webster Adams, hit the stage with a guitar, a laptop and a the accompaniment of Jamie Phillips. It was a stark difference to the dense instrumentation heard on Light Show, as Name stripped it down to a bass-heavy electronic beat, washes and guitar licks. Tempos were altered and it took a few moments to figure out which song was being performed.
The material on Light Show is very impassioned and it was a little disorienting to hear it reworked to emphasize a cold, steely core. Still, the music fit the open-ended lyrical themes of the songs.
Name began the set without introduction and moved from one song into the next without saying anything in between. The only interaction he had with the crowd is when he thanked them at the end of the set. It was a very workmanlike set by Name.
Dent May closed out the evening with his brand of milquetoast pop music. It's quite danceable, as May includes elements of disco and old surf music into his tunes. The crowd who came to see him was enthusiastic as May had them dancing along with each song. It was one of the rare times this writer has actually seen dancing at The Empty Bottle, even though the sign above the door will tell you it happens there all the time.
Dent's band is a wild amalgam of personalities. The bespectacled Dent has a clean-cut, boy-next-door haircut and we're pretty sure he donned a Hawaiian shirt on stage. Meanwhile to stage right, a heavy set bass player stood next to him with a wild beard, wilder curled locks and sleeveless shirt. To stage left, a keyboard player was dressed like he was ready to head over to Rush and Division for an after party when the set closed. Perhaps this odd mix is done on purpose to represent the unpretentious aspect to his inoffensive music and inclusion of all into the May musical family. Maybe this writer is just reading a little bit too much into it.