Last night went to Scott Free's muscial extravaganza Alt Q indie LGBTQI thingie at Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music - actually in Lincoln Square - and
fell in love with a bunch of the featured artists. One in particluar that merits a special mention, pic, and link to his site is Chris Garneau , who's haunting melodies still linger - especially cuz we bought a CD ["Music for Tourists"] that we can't seem to stop listening to. His voice can be described as lying "somewhere between liquid and matter on the scale of all that is and ever was..." And like gin, it took a hot second to acquire a taste for it...but after that, all was lost to Mister Chris. Scott said that the first time he heard him he started to stalk the guy (adoringly), and we can see/hear why...We especially loved this Alt Q event for the amazing diversity Scott assembled on the stage and in the audience... Diverse across gender, gender expression, age and ethnicity --- a very special night that showed us all what we can truly be
if we stopped getting so lost in one particular letter or another in the alphabet soup we so obsess ourselves with, too often limiting our interactions to only community members of one stripe or anotherChris's tour, by the way, started in Chicago and is coming to a city near you soon, if you are lucky...
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Tour Dates 2007:: Sat 5/12 :: Chicago, IL @ Old Town School of Folk Music Sun 5/13 :: North Manchester, IN @ Firehouse Tue 5/15 :: Columbus, OH @ Bourbon Street Wed 5/16 :: Washington, D.C. @ Rock and Roll Hotel * Thu 5/17 :: Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda's * Fri 5/18 :: New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge * Sat 5/19 :: Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall * Sun 5/20 :: Cambridge, MA @ Middle East Upstairs * Tue 5/22 :: Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Tavern Wed 5/23 :: Newport, KY @ Southgate House Parlor Fri 5/25 :: Urbana, IL @ Iron Post Sat 5/26 :: Madison, WI @ Cafe Montmartre Tue 5/29 :: Seattle, WA @ Crocodile Wed 5/30 :: Portland, OR @ Holocene Thu 5/31 :: San Francisco, CA @ Hemlock Tavern Fri 6/01:: Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe Sun 6/03 :: Phoenix, AZ @ Stinkweeds Tue 6/05 :: Dallas, TX @ The Cavern Wed 6/06 :: Austin, TX @ Emo's Lounge Thu 6/07 :: Houston, TX @ The Proletariat Fri 6/08 :: Lafayette, LA @ Cafe Cottage Sat 6/09 :: Atlanta, GA @ Drunken Unicorn Sun 6/10 :: Nashville, TN @ The End Tue 6/12 :: Chapel Hill, NC @ Local 506 Wed 6/13 :: Norfolk, VA @ The Boot Thu 6/14 :: Washington, DC @ The Red & The Black Fri 6/15 :: Philadelphia, PA @ First Unitarian Church Chapel
* with Frog Eyes & Alex Delivery
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I first discovered Chris Garneau in September of 2006 at the Idapalooza Fruit Jam in backwoods rural Tennessee. One of the reasons I attend this off-beat and very queer music festival is for the opportunity to be surprised by fantastically talented performers like Chris (who I'd probably never encounter in Nashville where I live.)
ReplyDeleteNeedless to say, after one song, I was mesmerized. The songs are sheer poetry, and the austere and sometimes eccentric arrangments really compliment.
I got by listening to the "self" bootleg Chris sold me for a year or so until Music For Tourists was released.
Definitely worth the green - and a great chance to buy music through a non-traditional vendor (Absolutely Kosher) at a great price.