It’s really, really easy to hate Owen. Go ahead, try it! Walk around a college dormitory on a bitter, cold evening, when the winds of Mike Kinsella’s poetry have wistfully blown into the heart of a heartbroken loser with an acoustic guitar and a penchant for writing lyrics that employ the word “shackles” on multiple occasions. Based on their slow, incessantly droning songwriting and their “I’m so very lonely, can you feel it in the air?”-style of lyrics, chances are this doofus has the complete Owen discography, possibly even the complete Kinsella brothers discography (speaking of which, a friend determined that when in the midst of a hipster/elitist record collection battle, the ultimate one-upper is to say you have “Cap’n Jazz on vinyl”). Now, it’s not fair to judge a guy’s work by the way his fans have butchered his style and, admittedly, Kinsella’s a professional with a knack for writing delicate finger-picking and all that crap. But with the talent comes the task of writing something with at least a minuscule amount of entertainment value—don’t look for it in Owen. (Andy Seifert)
November 24 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, (773)281-4444, at 7pm.
Not Dead Yet: A Preview of Dead Sara at Beat Kitchen Dead Sara is one of the best rock bands you’re not listening to. Its raging music is infectious, filled with searing guitar riffs and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. Emily Armstrong is an unforgettable frontwoman, whose gritty vocals have earned praise from Grace Slick and Courtney Love.
Never Give Up: A Preview of Fantastic Negrito at Martyrs' When Fantastic Negrito emerged onto the music scene in 2015, he looked to all the world like a new, emerging artist. In fact the man born Xavier Dphrepaulezz—winner of that year’s Tiny Desk Contest for his song and video “Lost in a Crowd,” which showcase a sound that builds upon the blues, but didn’t conform to most people’s ideas about…
It’s really, really easy to hate Owen. Go ahead, try it! Walk around a college dormitory on a bitter, cold evening, when the winds of Mike Kinsella’s poetry have wistfully blown into the heart of a heartbroken loser with an acoustic guitar and a penchant for writing lyrics that employ the word “shackles” on multiple occasions. Based on their slow, incessantly droning songwriting and their “I’m so very lonely, can you feel it in the air?”-style of lyrics, chances are this doofus has the complete Owen discography, possibly even the complete Kinsella brothers discography (speaking of which, a friend determined that when in the midst of a hipster/elitist record collection battle, the ultimate one-upper is to say you have “Cap’n Jazz on vinyl”). Now, it’s not fair to judge a guy’s work by the way his fans have butchered his style and, admittedly, Kinsella’s a professional with a knack for writing delicate finger-picking and all that crap. But with the talent comes the task of writing something with at least a minuscule amount of entertainment value—don’t look for it in Owen. (Andy Seifert)
