The dynamic, daring, dazzling, dapper duo of Jack Black and Kyle Gass—better known as Tenacious D—brought their Post Apocalypto Tour to Chicago for two sold-out evenings at The Riv. It was as glorious as you might imagine: JB and KG, backed by an excellent group of musicians rocked their butts off. In all of my decades of shows at The Riv, I’ve never seen the place more crowded than it was for the D, nor a more enthusiastic fan base.
The first half of their set showcased their most recent work, Post-Apocolypto, which is both an album and a YouTube series. The band performed behind a screen with the series projected on it. Later, the screen dropped and they played a killer “greatest hits” set.
Tenacious D’s tour heads to Canada in December and I strongly encourage my neighbors up north to grab tickets. They make you laugh and they make you rock—is there anything better?
NEW RELEASE PICKS: Foghound, Awaken to Destroy (Ripple) The new LP from doom-riff behemoths Foghound arrives with non-musical heaviness relating to the death of the band’s bassist Rev. Jim Forrester last December (RIP). After overcoming health problems delaying the recording of Foghound’s follow-up to their second album The World Unseen, Forrester was gunned down in Fells Point in Baltimore. Rather than fold activities, the band rallied and finished the LP (Forrester had been part of the basic tracking) and have recruited Adam Heinzmann to continue forward. The perseverance directly relates to Forrester’s memory, but Foghound also have a smoking album on their hands, one that’s raw and pummeling and engaging until the very end. Amid this enduring style, one of the year’s best. A-
Jacco Gardner, Somnium (Polyvinyl) Gardner is tagged as a baroque pop multi-instrumentalist, but one with a penchant for integrating ambient and kosmische elements (the promo text mentions Bo Hansson, Vangelis, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Eno, and Oldfield). The album’s title is in direct reference to Johannes Kepler’s book from 1608 that’s been cited as the first science-fiction novel. This reinforces the considerable retro-futurist spaciness of the whole, but there are also appealing tendrils of psychedelia manifest in part through injections of fuzz guitar (and longer pedal-driven washes). It’s altogether an inviting ride, expansive yet crisp, with passages reminding me of Laurie Spiegel, the BBC Workshop, and even David Axelrod (so this would pair well with the Pride reish below). A-
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: Michele Mercure, Beside Herself (RVNG Intl. – Freedom to Spend) Between 1983 and ’90, Pennsylvania-based synth composer Mercure self-released a handful of cassettes through tape-trading networks; until this 2LP retrospective covering her early work, 2017’s Eye Chant (the first release on Freedom to Spend) was her only music to grooved into vinyl. The 19 pieces collected here, while unmistakably from the 1980s, are refreshing in how they navigate and transcend the aura of the period. At times, like when she manipulates audio taken from TV news program, her circumstances as a denizen of the underground come to the fore, but as the collection unwinds the surprises pile up, with “An Accident Waiting to Happen” just one of the standouts. Another revelatory release from RVNG. A
The Germs, “What We Do is Secret” (ORG Music) I was just chatting with a pal the other day about the cornerstone LPs of classic LA punk. We came to a consensus over Los Angeles by X, Group Sex by the Circle Jerks, The First Four Years by Black Flag (which is a compilation, I know), and (GI) by the Germs. There are other fine full-lengths sure, but this is an effective starter kit for the scene. “What We Do is Secret” is not as massive and essential as (GI), but its best moments aren’t far behind, and its eight songs would serve as a fine introduction. Well, better make that seven songs, as one track consists of captured banter from a 1980 gig at the Starwood that, rather than superfluous, magnifies the band’s essence (and segues into a pair of worthy cuts from the show). A tidy taste of disheveled glory. A
Vancouver, CA | Vancouver’s only classical record store calls it quits after 40 years. In a business dominated by Spotify and Amazon, Sikora’s Classical Records just can’t compete anymore. This is the story of a love affair that ends in heartbreak. Only for Ed Savenye, the sorrow comes from the decision to close Sikora’s Classical Records, the business he poured his heart and soul into for over 20 years. “As you can imagine, it’s pretty much the range of human emotions. There’s obviously sadness … and I’ll be honest, anger in that a lot of people, for the sake of a couple of bucks, they just deserted us.” Record and books stores are the serial victims of new technology and online commerce. Sikora’s managed to keep going beyond what seems reasonable in a Spotify and Amazon world by offering human service in a niche market. But reality finally caught up with the store at 432 West Hastings, and on Feb 28, 2019, exactly 40 years after Sikora’s first opened, it will 
Rochester, IN | BIZ BUZZ: Record Farm opens new location in Rochester: The Record Farm, located inside the State Theatre building on the 300 block of Market Street, is expanding to a second location in Rochester. Similar to its pairing with the State Theatre, the new store will be located inside the Times Theater at 616 Main St. in downtown Rochester. The Times is currently closed while raising funds for a restoration project. Like in its Logansport location, the Record Farm’s new store will sell new and used vinyl records, tapes, CDs, turntables and musical accessories like guitar picks, strings and straps. The Rochester store will also sell Fender guitars, basses and ukuleles and offer consignment on used musical instruments. Matt Swisher, who is co-owner of the Record Farm along with Adam Wilson, says the Rochester location is slightly larger than the Logansport location, allowing it to stock 
NEW RELEASE PICKS: V/A, 3 x 4: The Bangles, The Three O’Clock, The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade (Yep Roc) A lot of scene-oriented regroupings/ get-togethers are hindered by a sense of self-congratulation, but this endeavor by four key Paisley Underground bands, with the above-named participants covering each other’s songs, doesn’t give me that vibe at all, partially because this celebrates a movement that was initially a rejection of “gotta-make-it-big”-ism in favor of classic stuff (as listed by Steve Wynn in the booklet; VU, Nuggets, Syd-era Floyd). They all sounded so good though, that making it big (to varying degrees) was basically inevitable. This has three songs each by all four, and if you ever wondered what the Bangles covering “That’s What You Always Say” would sound like, well wonder no more. A-
Tav Falco, Cabaret of Daggers (ORG Music) Memphis titan Tav Falco came to prominence as arguably the finest, and less contentiously, the deepest of the post-punk (as in after punk) champions of pre-Beatle rock ‘n’ roll and sweet Southern roots. I consider it hard to dispute that he was the most striking personality of the bunch, and his flair has extended into his later work, which has retained its relevance through a consistently expanding sphere of interests, including tango music. Accompanied by his Unapproachable Panther Burns, Cabaret of Daggers sounds markedly different from Tav’s thing in the 1980s, though the man’s huge presence integrates it quite nicely into his oeuvre as a whole. That he gets political in “New World Order Blues” (and a cover of “Strange Fruit”) is a welcome bonus. A-
REISSUE/ARCHIVAL PICKS: The Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band, Almost Acoustic (ATO) I know this one well through the Deadheads in my life, but I’ve never owned it; ‘tis nice that I can rectify that with ease. Recorded live in San Francisco and Los Angeles, this 70-minute set of bluegrass, blues, and roots reinforces both Garcia’s talent as a guitarist and his pretty-much unfaltering taste in material, as he chooses a bounty of traditional songs, “Blue Yodel #9” from Jimmie Rodgers, “Oh, Babe, It Ain’t No Lie” from Elizabeth Cotten, two from Mississippi John Hurt, and more. The entire band is in top-notch form (of special mention is the record’s producer Sandy Rothman on mandolin and dobro) and they roll with clear delight all the way to a concluding version of “Ripple.” You know the crowd loved it. I do, too. A
Bauhaus, “The Bela Session” (Leaving), Press the Eject and Give Me the Tape & The Sky’s Gone Out (Beggars Arkive) For Bauhaus lovers, the EP is the crown jewel in this batch of 40th anniversary reissues, as three of the five cuts are previously unreleased (one is “Boys” from the ’79 “Bela” 12-inch in its original version). Those who like but are not bonkers over Bauhaus might be wondering if these tracks hold more than historical interest, but it’s really getting to hear the band before they totally solidified their direction that makes it all such a treat. Press the Eject is the ’82 live alb; it’s solid but skippable if you’re on a budget. Third LP proper Sky holds signs of strain but is strong enough that their positive trajectory was essentially maintained. The opening cover of Eno’s “Third Uncle” rips. A-/ B+/ A-
Shanghai, CN | The last of the musical dinosaurs shuffles toward extinction: It’s been quite the hustle in the narrow dead-end at 64 Fenyang Road over the past few days. People, young and old, have come to bid farewell to an old friend. “Classic Music Store,” a record shop that has been there for 14 years, closes for good on Sunday. Fenyang Road, a tranquil street in Xuhui District, is sometimes called “the street of music,” for this is where Shanghai Conservatory of Music is to be found and was once home to many music shops. But Classic is the last record shop standing in the street, perhaps one of the last of privately owned record stores in the whole country, a dinosaur, struggling to survive with an out-of-date shopping style in the face of the rise of the smart little mammals of e-commerce. First DZMZ (Dazimingzhong) market, a sacred place for album lovers, was demolished in 2008. Then, more and more record stores hidden in backstreets and lanes disappeared. Copyright regulations tightened, digital music rose and the tiny bright lights of “real” music, were slowly snuffed out, 
Dun Laoghaire, IE | ‘We don’t listen to albums the way we used to’ – The Vinyl Festival celebrates record revival: Oscar nominated director Lenny Abrahamson and actor Adrian Dunbar are among the high-profile guests sharing their love of vinyl at The Vinyl Festival this weekend…Born out of a conversation between local record shop owner Brian O’Flaherty and graphic designer and fellow vinyl enthusiast Neil Goodman last year the three-day event also boasts guests including Bronagh Gallagher, Don Letts, Joe Jackson, Gavin Friday, Julie Feeney, Steve Averill and more, with 2FM’s Dave Fanning and Today FM’s Tom Dunne moderating. It’s clear 
