I’ve been accumulating a lot of posts in my drafts here, of shows long since past. It seems a shame to delete them all because I never managed to make real, coherent thoughts. I don’t know what to call them, as  they don’t quite rise to the level of “concert review”. “Concert blurb?” “Concert your-blogger-is-lazy-and-unmotivated-so-all-you-get-are-a-pictures-and-a-couple-of-sentences?” I don’t know. Leave your suggestions in the comments.
Adopted Chicagoans (via their affiliation with Bloodshot Records) Ha Ha Tonka brought their rowdy, spirited alt-country badass rock to Lincoln Hall, in a set that wasn’t nearly as attended as it should have been. Their website describes their music as “foot stompin’ indie rock”, which is ridiculously accurate. People who arrived just to see Langhorne Slim missed out on an awesome set of music. Lead singer Brian Roberts’s voice manages to cover all the bases, from joyful to menacing, and everywhere in between.
Ha Ha Tonka are playing tomorrow night at the third anniversary party for Reggie’s Rock Club. They’re also playing a show with Rocky Votolato at the Beat Kitchen on October 15.
Langhorne Slim, the stage name of Sean Scolnick (who hails from the town of Langhorne, Pennsylvania), opened his set with a solo acoustic cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Tonight Will Be Fine”. It was a subdued moment, easing the crowd into the show, but if you thought the show was going to be a slow, quiet affair, you would be pretty much completely off the mark. The whole band is phenomenal; I was particularly captivated by David Moore on keyboards and banjo, who was probably one of the most energetic performers that I’ve ever seen. Definitely made me want to go back to playing the piano, and follow through on seeking out banjo lessons.
Also entertaining in an oh-god-why-can’t-people-control-themselves sort of way was the drunk girl who sprawled out on stage, clapped loudly and very, very off-beat (seriously, you could hear her lone hand-claps up in the balcony) and eventually got up to drunkenly dance on the stage. This is why we can’t have nice things, people.
Ha Ha Tonka: Official Website | MySpace | Twitter | Store
Langhorne Slim: Official Website | MySpace | Facebook | Twitter | Store