The Sleepwalkers. Photo by Kim Esbona
Ah, New Years Eve: the day there are always too many shows to see and only enough time to catch a few. This year, I sided with a show in Oshkosh’s wonderful bar/venue The Reptile Palace. It was my first visit there despite multiple strongly-worded recommendations from my friends and I must say, it lived up to all the talk that’s surrounded it for a few years. It’s an excellent venue that’s perfectly suited to my kind of show, the type that’s almost a ghost of those legendary drunken Replacements shows where everything is on the verge of collapse yet somehow goes right and creates something memorable. Luckily for me and everyone else, this show proved to be just that.
My sincere apologies go out to the Haunted Heads who I only caught the tail end of but was suitably impressed by. I’ve recently come in to possession of their debut LP and damn is it good. It’s got a sort of Guided By Voices meets early Weezer sound running through it and it’s easily one of the best Wisconsin releases I’ve heard this year (if I would’ve picked it up a few days before I did, it would most certainly have been in my top 25). From what I saw, their live show lived up to the promise clearly displayed by the album. Although it was only a song, I was still extremely impressed. The band was concise, loud, and energetic. Rock ‘n roll is most certainly not dead.
There was a brief time period between the Haunted Heads set and the start of Charley & the Cynics set. I cannot, and I stress this, cannot say enough nice things about Charley & the Cynics. This is old-fashioned rock ‘n roll done right. For a band with no official release out, they’re one of the tightest bands playing out in Wisconsin today. All of the songs have structure and dynamic worth envying. The band boasts two of the finest guitarists our state has to offer in the somewhat understated (but incredibly effective) playing of frontwoman Charlotte Nooe and the somewhat unbelievable lead-work by Jason Vergetsen, who also transitions to a very tasteful lap-steel guitar for a few songs. However, even when a band has seriously talented guitarists, it can fall flat if it’s not bolstered by a rhythm section. Thankfully, Charley & the Cynics is rounded out by one of the better ones I came across in 2011. The band as a whole, though, is functioning at a level rarely seen at this stage of a band’s development. Their songs are familiar in an odd way yet come across as fresh. Blues-tinged rock ‘n roll that owes as much to the past as it does to the present. They’re always a joy to see live and finished out the year (literally, as their set was still going on when the clock struck midnight) as one of my absolute favorite discoveries. This particular set only further solidified that fact. To push this point home, I’ll offer an anecdote: My girlfriend, Kim, doesn’t really get that excited about shows or local bands very often, but all throughout their set, she was swaying and dancing in her stool and snapping pictures, then wanted a shirt and an album when they wrapped. I think that might be the strongest evidence I can offer, without forcing you to see a show, to how great this band is.
Finally, The Sleepwalkers began setting up for the evenings final set. Every member (especially frontman Ian Olvera) was dressed for the occasion and more dapper than I’ve ever seen. Then the whole drunken Replacements thing I mentioned before hit its peak when the band kicked in to the first song. I’ve seen The Sleepwalkers more times than I can count on fingers and toes but I’ve never heard them sound as good as they did during this show. Their whole old-fashioned rock ‘n roll (think 90′s alt-meets-Elvis Costello) got played to its greatest strengths. In addition to that, I don’t think I’ve seen them look like they were having that much fun when playing. Throughout the set, the songs were ramshackle instead of refined and Ian in particular seemed like he was pouring a lot of energy into it. There were memorable moments littered throughout, like Arielle Smith joining the band for an excellent rendition of one of their debut album, The Reckless Kind’s many standouts ”Laundry & Cigarettes,” or a punched-up version of “Derailed,” which incited one of a surprising number of drunken sing-a-long moments. Let me repeat this, to be clear, rock ‘n roll is not dead.
Although Kim and myself ended up leaving to get back to Point before The Sleepwalkers finished their set, we left late enough for each band to have made their own distinct impression and create a pretty great memory when strung together. Hell, they all created great memories even when separated. Each of these bands deserves any and all acclaim that falls their way and should be taken notice of. All of them are on ascending paths and headed in the right direction. I can only hope that enough people care as much as I do.
The Haunted Heads will (somewhat unfortunately) be taking a break as their drummer leaves for India for a few months in a very short while, but The Sleepwalkers and the Cynics both play out regularly and are increasingly appearing on the same bills. If you’re lucky enough to have them come to a venue near you, I’d highly recommend taking that day off in advance and going.
Then you’ll know, too: Rock ‘n roll is not dead.
