Seattle musician Michael Benjamin Lerner rolls into Chicago this week, bringing with him his onetime one-man act, Telekinesis. Lerner was quick off the mark, signing to the epoch-making Merge Records in 2009, just a year after starting Telekinesis. His debut album, “Telekinesis!,” is a neat indie-pop artifact which no doubt benefits greatly from the expert production of Death Cab For Cutie front man Chris Walla. A sweater-and-glasses-wearing song-styler, Lerner may be the mild-mannered Clark Kent of the indie-verse, but his ability to write infectious compositions that avoid being trite belies his pop superpowers. While Telekinesis probably won’t be the next big thing, and in fact can come off as a rehash of the last big thing, its clean, no-frills writing deserves more than cranky critical parsing. Treating on such banner themes of youth as battered hearts, a lover’s smile remembered in juxtaposition with sunny coasts, and adrenaline-amped dreams of far-off wonderlands, Telekinesis makes it easy for the listener to buy in. (David Wicik)
March 4 at Schubas, 3159 North Southport, (773)525-2508, 10pm. $10 (advance), $12 (door).
For “Want” of a Change: A Preview of Rufus Wainwright at Ravinia Park Rufus Wainwright isn’t the first singer-songwriter to reinterpret earlier work through an orchestral lens. And much of Wainwright’s third and fourth albums, “Want One” and “Want Two”—whose twentieth anniversaries are the prompt for this new tour—is fully scored. But when Wainwright hits the Pavilion stage at Ravinia tonight, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will be behind him.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
RECOMMENDED
