It happens all the time, right? You walk into to your local bar and pounding drums, swirling organs, and measured guitar. You turn to look at the stage there you see a man in a peach dress were a sort of headdress make out of flowers and banging on sheet metal. Well, it is only happened to if you had walked during a performance by the Chicago legends ONO like I did last night at The Whistler. ONO has been perfecting their wild performance art since 1980, and completely wowed the crowd. Lead singer Travis merged the presence of Saul Williams, the darkness of Mike Patton, and the fashion of Courtney Love. His is a frightening crooner that often breaks to the darker side of things.
Following ONO was the psychedelic furry or Moonrises. This band was a sonic explosion and they played with passion and plenty of feedback. They combine elements of popular acts like Wolfmother or The Black Keys, but adds a fierce darkness to their sound.
The night was incredible, but I had to leave before the gentler Lesser Birds of Paradise took the Stage. Coach House Sounds had done it again, combined inventive music with live literary reading and created an atmosphere charged with creativity.
You can catch ONO and witness the madness in person on Feb 26th @ The Woodlawn Collaborative with Suckling Pigs and Anemrosetone.