Toadies still deliver signature sound after 14 years

I've missed seeing the Toadies live four times in six years, and three times this summer alone.

I missed the show at CPR Fest in Biloxi, Miss., at Lollapalooza in August, and at the Varsity Theatre in Baton Rouge, La., on Aug. 27. When I heard they were playing at the Metro on Oct. 19, I was determined to not miss them again and made a beeline down Clark St. to the box office to get my tickets. Six years was worth the wait.

After a few songs into their set, Toadies lead singer and guitarist Todd Lewis promised they would play one of their most iconic songs.

“Don’t worry guys; we always play ‘Tyler,’” he said.

The Toadies made their second appearance in Chicago this year at the Metro on Oct. 19 since they opened their 2008 tour at Lollapalooza. The Texas alt-rockers delivered songs with an easy cohesion of their first two records and material from their new album, “No Deliverance.”

There’s hardly a difference between the album released in August and their first record released more than 14 years ago, and the band’s definitive aggressive sound and Lewis’ distinctive voice are even more present in the live show.

Not even an eight-year hiatus from touring or releasing a new album – the last record was the 2001 release of “Hell Below/Stars Above” – changed the Toadies’ signature style of a mix between alternative and Southern rock. The up tempo opening guitar riff to “Hell in High Water” off of “No Deliverance” has a familiar reference to “I Come from the Water,” a track from 1994’s “Rubberneck.”

There was barely a pause between songs which added to the solidity of all three albums. New material such as “So Long Lovely Eyes” and “Song I Hate” blended effortlessly with the breakout hits “Possum Kingdom” and “Away.” The songs all sounded as if they could have been from the same record, and in this instance, no change can be a good thing.

The Texan trio incited a mosh pit when they launched into their harsher, heavier tracks such as “Plane Crash” and “Push the Hand.” However, the mosh pit was relatively tame, consisting mostly of guys who looked like they were old enough to be in high school in 1994 and remember when “Rubberneck” came out that year.

Not even a technical difficulty with one of Lewis’ microphones changed the dynamic vibe of the show. He brushed off the glitch with a laugh and kept singing into the other microphone, and nobody seemed to notice or care.

This show was a reminder to that the band is back with the same style that made Toadies-lovers stick around in the first place. The same songs that became radio relics in the 90s still draw the faithful to shows, even on a Sunday night where the band didn’t take the stage until almost 10:30 p.m.

The Toadies seem to appreciate the loyalty of those diehards. Their two-song encore began with the new “Hell in High Water” and closed, as promised, with “Tyler.”

The Toadies perform "Possum Kingdom" live at the Metro on Oct. 19:

The Toadies perform "Nothing to Cry About" live at the Metro on Oct. 19:

For more information about the Toadies, visit thetoadies.com or myspace.com/toadies.

Local Chicago band Color Radio finds surprises, success in its first year

Jonathan Ifergan didn’t know his band, Color Radio, was on mtvU’s Best Music on Campus Web site. Although he signed the band up for it, he didn’t know they were actually on the site.

“We were featured on there? I had no idea,” the band’s guitarist and vocalist said.

It’s no surprise the band is on the MTV site after playing a show at music venue Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, Iowa, on Monday as part of MTV’s Choose or Lose Tour, but while it took years for several of the other bands who performed there to reach that level, Color Radio only took one.

Photo courtesy of Color Radio

In addition to the MTV concert, the one-year-old Logan Square pop rock quartet has already been a semi-finalist in the 2007 International Songwriting Competition, received airplay on radio stations Q101.1 and WXRT-FM, released its first EP last month – “Feeling Like You Used To” – and played shows at well-known Chicago venues such as the Metro. This fast-paced momentum is indicative of the band’s progression in a short amount of time.

“We’re happy where we’re at with only being together for a year, especially playing with bands that have been together for five years and they’re in the same position as we are,” keyboardist Tohm Ifergan said.

Weeks after the band formed it got off to an impressive start. Jonathan Ifergan already had a lot of material for a song, so the band made a cheap recording just to have something to give out at their shows. On a whim, he entered the song, “Hangover,” into the songwriting competition.

“There were thousands and thousands of entries, so it was cool to end up as a semi-finalist,” he said.

View the video for the song "Hangover" below:

Another surprise was the phone call from MTV. Tohm Ifergan, who is Jonathan Ifergan’s younger brother, said the call came after the band signed up on Sonic Bids, a company that serves as an electronic musician’s press kit, and sent their material to MTV.

“I didn’t think it was going to happen because there was like 250 bands who submitted to be in the concert,” Jonathan Ifergan said. “We got to play with bands from New York that have been together for a long time that are doing what we want to do – touring and playing great shows.”

Even the way the band found their bassist, Nick Morford, took almost no time at all. Tohm Ifergan said his brother put an ad on facebook for a bassist. Morford was the only person to respond, but he cliqued with the other guys – including drummer Josh Stillman – right away.

Photo courtesy of Color Radio

“After one audition, it was pretty much set in stone that I was going to be in the band,” Morford said with a laugh.

After playing a few shows around Chicago, the guys wanted to put out more music. They spent the summer recording with Brian Zieske, who has also worked with bands such as The Hush Sound, Sars Flannery and The Academy Is.

Tohm Ifergan said the guys wanted to record a full-length record but decided against it because it would be cheaper to do an EP with only five songs. “A lot of local bands that aren’t as well known don’t do full-length records because you can’t access the people who haven’t really heard of you, so it has to be cheap,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of praise and support so hopefully it’s money well spent.”

For Jonathan Ifergan, the process was time-consuming and draining, but worth it to get their music heard. “The biggest thing you want to do as musicians is to keep putting music out there,” he said.

The guys said Color Radio’s present goal is to establish a bigger fan base and keep getting their music heard. They have an extensive online presence on sites such as myspace, iTunes, Rhapsody, Last.fm, pure volume and several others that have launched the careers of artists such as Sarah Bareilles and Colbie Caillat.

While excited about their evolution in just a year, Jonathan Ifergan said he knows that most bands spend several years recording and touring before they reach the level Color Radio is already at.

“I think our biggest problem is that we’re trying to get so far so quickly,” Jonathan Ifergan said. “But we played a show where Fall Out Boy played at Knights of Columbus Hall [in Arlington Heights, Ill.], and look where they’ve gone.”

Color Radio’s next show is Saturday at 9 p.m. at Reggie’s Music Joint. Admission is $5.

For more information visit myspace.com/colorradio.

“Election Day” 2004 still relevant on Election Day 2008

On Nov. 4, when millions of Americans cast their votes for the next president of the United States, at the Landmark Century Centre Cinema there will be a reminder that this voting process doesn’t always go so smoothly.

This Election Day, the Midwest Independent Film Festival will be screening “Election Day,” a documentary that followed voters on Election Day in 2004 and examined problems in the American voting system. Several camera crews in locations throughout the country followed 11 people to illustrate what happens when ordinary Americans visit the polls on Election Day.

A volunteer on the Pine Ridge Reservation prepares to mobilize Native American voters on Nov. 2, 2004.

Photo credit: Alan Jacobsen

Although the film takes place four years ago it was released last year, winning an Official Selection Award at the South by Southwest Film Festival, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival and the Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival. The documentary also appeared on PBS’s “P.O.V.,” a show dedicated to airing independent non-fiction films.

Midwest Independent Film Director Mike McNamara said screening the award-winning film on Election Day was a “no brainer.” Besides several locations in the documentary that take place in the Midwest and the filmmakers’ ties to Chicago – Director Katy Chevigny worked in the city for several years, and Producer Maggie Bowman currently resides in Chicago – McNamara said the film’s relevance is especially important today.

A pollworker on Nov. 2, 2004, labels a spoiled ballot envelope at the end of the night.

Photo credit: Kristen Johnson

“This is such a critical time for this country and the world,” he said. “The film really captures the spirit of the voters. It’s a cross-section of Americans that hopefully, ultimately, make a decision on who leads this country of ours.”

The concept for this film came in the summer of 2004. Chevigny wanted to know what was on Americans’ minds following the controversial presidential election four years earlier. During the 2000 election, Florida drew national attention when thousands of ballots were disqualified due to voter error and computer technicalities. Similarly, more than 120,000 punch card ballots in Cook County did not record a presidential vote, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times from 2001.

“The 2000 election brought to life lots of problems with the voting system,” Chevigny said. “It was a wake-up call to mainstream America that our election process wasn’t working as well as it should.”

“Election Day” observes many of these problems in action from different perspectives. Republican poll-watcher Jim Fuchs was at a polling station in Chicago when he held up a punch card and said, “I don’t know how many people voted thinking they were poking holes, but none were poked.”

Australian international elections observer Shanta Martin was in different parts of St. Louis to determine if polls met international standards. She talked to a frustrated woman who stood in line for more than two hours to vote. “I was born in this country. My right is to be able to vote. This is intimidating. No telling how many people have left because of this situation,” the woman said.

In Shaker Heights, Ohio, several volunteers and workers at a polling station attempt to locate and recount missing votes.

“The problems our characters encountered showed that we haven’t made a lot of progress since the 2000 election,” Bowman said. “There are still a lot of lessons to learn.”

Several of these issues that surfaced in the 2000 and 2004 elections are just as relevant today as then; Florida is still having problems with their ballots, and absentee voting for military overseas has become a huge logistics problem.

“The film exposed a lot of problems with the election process that should not be happening,” Bowman said. “We didn’t know what was going to happen, but the cameras brought back a story we couldn’t ignore, and it’s that our election system is broken.”

Although the film exposes disparity in the voting process, there are several people in the film who do more than stand in line to cast a vote. In Cincinnati, Dan “Buzz” Deters’ brother is a Republican write-in candidate for county prosecutor, so he hands pencils to voters as they go to the polls.

“There are hundreds of people devoted to making their vote count and helping others’ votes count,” Chevigny said. “The film is not just a cynical message. Things are broken, but we’re working to get them fixed.”

“Election Day” is part of the First Tuesdays with the Midwest Independent Film Festival. The film screens on Nov. 4, at 7:30 p.m., with a pre-show cocktail reception beginning at 6 p.m. at Landmark Century Centre Cinema. The post-screening reception is at Forno Diablo at 433 W. Diversey and includes a Q&A session with Producer Maggie Bowman. Admission to the film including entry into all of the night’s events is $10. Visit www.midwestfilm.com for more details.

Watch the trailer for "Election Day:"





Edited 10/18/08 at 3:28 p.m.

“Pushing Daisies” playfully pushes practicality

It’s been nine months, two weeks, five days and 23 hours since the last episode of “Pushing Daises” aired.

“Pushing Daisies,” which airs Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on ABC, buzzed into its second season last week after a long hiatus due to last year’s Writers Guild of America strike. The show centers on pie maker Ned’s (Lee Pace) ability to bring back the dead with a touch, although the second tap turns the living into the deceased again. After bringing his childhood love, Charlotte aka Chuck (Anna Friel), back to life in the first season, Chuck, Ned and private investigator Emerson Cod (Chi McBride) use Ned’s gift for solving crimes.

In this season’s premiere, bee-loving Chuck buzzes undercover at Betty’s Bees to solve the stinging murder of Kentucky Fitz, the best Bee Girl at the beauty-based business. Although undercover, the new job causes Chuck to seek her independence and move out of Ned’s house and on her own, which love struck Ned is unhappy about. The other end of this love triangle, Olive Snook (Kristin Chenoweth), who is in love with Ned, has a nervous breakdown under the pressure of keeping secrets and runs off to a nunnery. Meanwhile, Chuck, Ned and Emerson attempt to solve Kentucky’s murder.

This visually captivating show looks like a hi-tech Crayola wonderland, with every scene vibrantly transitioning to the next like turning the page of a colorful children’s pop-up book. The office building of Betty’s Bees is shaped like a big beehive with bright orange and yellow honeycomb-shaped doors and walls on the inside. Ned’s popular pie place, The Pie Hole, is shaped like a portly pie. The Emmy-award winning aesthetics of “Daisies” is not surprising coming from Executive Producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, who also won an Academy Award for visuals in “American Beauty” and a nomination with “Big Fish.”

Besides its lovely looks, another unique ingredient of the show comes from wordsmith and creator, Bryan Fuller. He indulges his appetite for fantasy and bending the rules on life and death yet again in “Daisies,” similar to his other shows such as “Heroes,” “Wonderfalls” and “Dead Like Me.”

This fantasy reads cleverly like a Dr. Seuss book, sprinkled with charming alliteration and quirky puns. The narrator makes statements such as, “Kentucky’s affairs were clearly a bee in Betty Bee’s bonnet.” While incognito, Chuck sympathizes with Betty Bee’s plight when she says, “That would make me stinging mad.” When asked why she stopped delivering pies, Olive replies with, “I’m really flakey.”

Pace brings loveable charm to doe-eyed Ned. He constantly has his hands in his pockets so he does not accidentally touch Chuck, but this body language along with his googly-eyed expressions also effortlessly depict his school boy crush on the girl.

However, the on-going love story between Chuck and Ned is notably lacking in this episode. It is the most appealing plot point, and it’s mistakenly buried six feet under Olive’s breakdown and the Kentucky murder mystery.

Additionally, Olive is a little over the top. Screaming in the middle of the diner and hiding out in a convent make her more of a caricature than a character.

“Daisies” is not everyone’s slice of pie. This fantastical fable, with its nursery rhyme narration and scenes suggestive of strolling in Seussville, may be too much of a stretch of practically. But that’s what fantasies are, a heaping serving of imagination, including all 43 minutes and 32 seconds of “Daisies.” This pie may be a little overdone, but it’s still got a good taste.

A preview from the season two premiere of "Pushing Daisies:"