Giovedì 4 Feb 2010, 2:40
Thu 28 Jan – WIUX Presents: Cast Spells, Prayer Breakfast, Osteoferocious
*Reposted from original post on WIUX Radio website.
The Bishop was buzzing with chatter and anticipation Thursday night as young music fans gathered in the venue for an evening of music. WIUX presented a great all-Midwest lineup with Osteoferocious (Muncie/Bloomington, IN), Prayer Breakfast (Bloomington, IN), and Cast Spells (Chicago, IL). The show was excellent and as a real treat for fans of the former Cinemat venue, the projector screen was set up during the show so that bands could play to the backdrop of a video of their choice. Osteoferocious took the stage first, with Seinfield onscreen.
Being a big Rodeo Ruby Love fan, I never imagined what it would be like to see their tall, gangly, bashful bells player in another band. Well, this Thursday I experienced Erik Fox in all his glory dominating the drums and vocals along with guitarist/vocalist Aaron Bragg in the new Indiana punk duo, Osteoferocious. Armed with their new 7’’ vinyl release O.F., Osteoferocious took the stage in (incoincidental) matching outfits and warmed up the crowd just right. They played songs from the album as well as a cover by the Ramones and had part of the crowd moving along for most of the set. Osteoferocious recently signed to new Bloomington-based label, Flannelgraph Records, and I am excited to see where their music takes them this year. The band is currently touring the Midwest in support of the O.F. release.
Next, the lovely supergroup Prayer Breakfast graced the stage and promptly headed into their usual set, playing songs from their 2008 release Small-American. I was surprised to see them work the crowd favorite “Soon Enough” into their set early (third) as opposed to closing with it, but the set still flowed wonderfully. What I always enjoy about Prayer Breakfast is how chill the band members are on stage. They just rip through their songs (usually with some minimal but entertaining banter from Mike Dixon in between), and are completely in the zone while playing. Each of the five members is off doing their own thing, sometimes not even looking at one another, and the sound just comes together in a wonderful, musical jam. I hope that a new album is in the works for this band. They are great musicians who each offer a little something for a great collaborative sound.
Finishing out the night was Cast Spells which consisted of Dave Davison playing solo as opposed to with his (ever-changing) band. He warmed up the set by entertaining the crowd with an Auto-Tune version of “Every Place is A House” a song from his other band, Maps & Atlases, via an iPhone application, before jumping into “Pioneer Scalps”. He played all of the songs from 2009’s Bright Works and Baton EP, as well as some extras like “Three Years Old”, a track Maps&Atlases leftover, and a few fun new tunes inspired by interesting sites and stories acquired on the road. These songs had crazy titles and themes like “Knife Crazy” and “Tire Kingdom” and had the crowd laughing along, but still enjoying the beautiful tunes. The set took a small and intimate shift, as Davison switched to an older, worn-out guitar and played a new favorite of mine, “Letters”, before continuing with the set and closing with the extended intro version of “Potted Plant”. Cast Spells is headed out for a European tour in late February with another Davison project, HEY!TONAL Let’s cross our fingers that a new album is in the works (there are already hints that the new Maps & Atlases album is in its final stages!).