On Saturday April 15th, Jaime and I had the good fortune to attend the Subtle/Fog/Jel event at the Abbey Pub in Chicago, IL. Opening the show was Jel. He has done solo work for years, work with Sage Francis, Dose One (primarily with Themselves), and others for years. Much of it has been released under the Anticon label. With his latest release, "Soft Money," he has finally come beyond something that I have always thought to be the anticon signature sound that he and Alias share. This is where all the samples have a noticeable bitrate. With recent albums, both have gone beyond this thankfully (though it is not entirely without charm) and Jel has really come into his own. It's been a long time coming, but it's been worth it. Jel's set was awesome. Particularly excellent was his performance of "Soft Money"'s opening track "To Buy a Car."
Next up was Fog. I was extremely excited for this. I didn't know what to anticipate. I do have one great live Fog recording. This live show was nothing like it! The live stuff I heard sounded like 10 people playing. This was only THREE people playing music. AND the bass player shared vocal duties which was beyond bizarre. No horns live. No turntables. It came off like a bizarre weird mix of Dylan and Nirvana...and Fog. It was eggcellent.
Subtle followed! Kaboom!
I have about 8 songs between the three acts on video. I think it turned out well. It turned out well for my usual luck. Sometimes the lighting is bizarre but the lightning is always aces.