It only took a sold out show to warp Schuba’s Tavern into a hipster haven. In the back room of what is normally a typical, neighborhood bar, dozens of Thurston Moore’s and Lou Reed’s mingled with Joan Didion types. They awaited the indie fest of rookie rockers, Papercuts and Beach House, both nearly the same band in a constructively, incestuous manner.

While two borderline nihilists chatted about Facebook and what not, I at once came to the realization that I was in hell. Blame it on the three hours of sleep the night before, the lingering jet lagged feeling that remained from the morning, but I felt the heat of Hades, only damn was there a great soundtrack.

There’s something uncanny about Shuba’s that is unlike anywhere else, in Chicago at least. Where there’s a stage reserved for touring bands, there’s an audience right at bay, without any distance whatsoever. It’s a small stage too, something out of an old playhouse from the 1800’s, in fact, the entire room bears similarities to the ol’ pub house that Brom Bones might frolic about in, spinning up stories of Headless Horsemen. When there aren’t house lights or stage colors, tiny candles shine from the side walls, cascading shadows everywhere that dance to the creak and moaning of the old wooden floors.

What a perfect setting for the moody, downbeat, hollowed out sounds of Papercuts. Hailing from the sunny West coast, San Francisco to be exact, it’s surprising to hear such somber music. Vocalist and guitarist Jason Robert Quever started off rocky, sounding more like strep throat ridden Matt Bellamy than the more expressive Neil Young he chiseled out to be later on. Unfamiliar with their work, I can’t recall a song title to save my life, but it sounded great.

Familiar face Alex Scally kept things intact with sustained organ lines that didn’t variate much, but held some consistency and carried the songs through and through. Maybe it’s just watching Quever rock band and forth like a depressant induced Jack Black, but this band woke me up and scraped my spine a bit. It’s a little Yo La Tengo meets Neil Young at Jim James’ birthday party.

Can you tell I’m exhausted?

Replacing the typical track stage lighting, aquamarine blues and greens splashed around the room, awash of mysticism and psychedelics, all of which are fitting for a band like Beach House. Taking the stage in a white, cult-like robe that would make The Polyphonic Spree proud and Stevie Nicks envious, vocalist and keyboardist Victoria Legrand, from behind a few locks of scruffy brown hair, smiled at the audience before jumping into “Wedding Bell” off of Devotion.

Even with Legrand’s spacey antics, including some twitching and Indian-styled body movements, nobody could compete with the allure and resourcefulness of Scally. Lending the keys to Legrand, Scally instead slid on a Fender guitar and fiddled about with a variety of pedals and switchboards. It was nice seeing Quever again, who enrolled himself in percussion and drums. I said these two bands seemed incestuous already, right?

Some highlights of the set included a stellar performance of the haunting, enigmatic “Gila”, where Legrand’s vocals took a seat on the corner outside, reaching far and wide. With the moody lighting, songs “Turtle Island” and “You Came to Me” were fitting. When the three grew tired of Devotion material, the band shimmied into a duo, leaving Legrand and Scally to fend for themselves, while Quever sat on the side of the stage bobbing his head to the sounds off the band’s self titled debut.

Both bands are immeasurably talented; however, much of Beach House’s latter half of the set started to blend and even if it’s a spectacle to watch two or three people create that many sounds (a trend that’s gaining popularity lately, e.g. Menomena), I could have used some more diversity in maybe sound or presence. Ironically enough, the band I knew nothing about (Papercuts) evoked more from me emotionally, as far as live performances go. Then again, let’s not forget I was listening to beautifully, lulling music with a numbed out brain and a pair of eyes, that had been carrying a much too heavy load of baggage.

On that note, I think I’ll leave the judgment to the hipsters with insomnia.

Check Out:
Papercuts [MySpace]
Beach House [MySpace]

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Categories: Concert Reviews, News
Tags: Beach House, Papercuts