Last Minute Plans: Ours, School Of Rock At Chop Shop
By Tankboy in Arts & Entertainment on Jun 30, 2015 9:40PM
We don't know how tonight's bill at Chop Shop flew under our radar for so long, but it's so wild we think it's worth checking out. Headliners Ours caught our attention with 2001's Distorted Lullabies; the album was an excellent showcase for Jimmy Gnecco, the singer and guitarist for Ours, distinct vocals and songwriting style. He and the band take a little of the classic-era alt guitar anthem attack and lay Gnecco's soaring vocals over the top to create vast swathes of melodrama (in the classic sense of that word). At the time, when looking for an elevator pitch about Ours to win over friends to give the band a listen, we often said they sounded like Radiohead meets Jeff Buckley.
The group really is at its best when its attacking bombastic arrangements with great gusto, so we're hoping tonight's set focuses more on that portion of the Ours sound. But we know that you're now probably looking back at the beginning of this piece and wondering just what we meant when we described the bill as weird. Ours has three different School Of Rock configurations opening the evening—School Of Rock from Waldrick, New Jersey; School Of Rock from Saddle Brook, New Jersey; and the Chicago School Of Rock. We anticipate the energetic and honest passion of those opening bands full of youngsters experiencing the first flush of excitement playing live rock and/or roll will push trigger the adult headliners into shifting into performance overdrive.
I mean, who doesn't want to see them get even more over the top than this? If anyone can push 'em to those levels, it's the School Of Rock crew.
The show is tonight, June 30, at Chop Shop, 2033 W North Ave, 6 p.m., $15, all ages