Saturday. night, music fans were treated to a great double bill when Hot Water Music teamed up with Quicksand to play a show at Concord Music Hall. Either one of these bands alone would be headline worthy of that venue, having both on the same bill was something pretty special.
First up was Tim Barry, who was a solo act with an acoustic guitar. Listening to Tim’s performance, you’d be hard pressed to realize he was the singer for Avail! Tim’s solo music is very much rooted in folk music and you might even get a little taste of country in there as well. Tim’s songs were really enjoyable, as was his vocal delivery. He talked quite a bit between songs and came across as very humble and appreciative of the warm reception he received from the crowd. Speaking of warm reception, a good segment of the audience not only knew his songs, but sang along to the key moments in some of them. It was clear that Tim has a lot of fans that really enjoy his solo records and the half-hour set was very good.
Next up was Quicksand. This trio, led by Walter Schreifels who has played in such beloved bands such as Youth of Today and Gorilla Biscuits, has been active on and off since way back in 1990! They had a fairly long hiatus but have been pretty active the past few years and even released a new album in 2021. Quicksand has always been a very creative and powerful band, and in a live setting this three-piece has the power of a six piece when the perform. They were loud (in all the best ways possible) and their playing was energetic and spot on. They started their set off with “Omission” from their classic first album, Slip. One couldn’t help notice that both guitarist/vocalist Walter Schreifels, and bassist Sergio Vega were often times smiling while playing, showing that their music even makes themselves smile. The band played quite a bit from Slip, but also touched on a few songs from the most recent album, Distant Populations. Their 45 minute set was flawless and left you wanting even more when they finished. They are an act not to be missed and are something pretty special. We’re lucky to have them back as an active band again!
Speaking of active bands, Hot Water Music are celebrating 30 years of being an active band with this current tour. In the last three decades, the band has put out a lot of really great records and built up quite a loyal fanbase. They also have been putting on memorable performances all this time. They took the stage to a huge round of applause from the crowd and then immediately tore into “Turnstile”. They were playing with the energy and enthusiasm as they had when they started 30 years ago, maybe even more! The back packed a hell of a punch in the delivery of every song, yet still kept the hooks and melodies that won over legions of fans and had most of them singing along to this evening.
The band played songs that spanned their entire career, and didn’t spend a whole lot of time talking between them, but they did stop a handful of times to share their appreciation to the crowd for how supportive their fans, and Chicago in general has been to their band all this time. They mentioned the “good old days’ of the Fireside Bowl (a place that was pretty special to the Chicago punk scene) and things got a little nostalgic in a good way, and then they’d proceed to keep blowing us all away with one amazing song after the next. For as good as their records are, you really have to see them live to really feel how great of a band these guys are, it takes their songs to a whole different level.
The band blazed through a 20 song set, the first 19 being their own songs and appropriately enough they ended the night with a cover of Avail’s, “Simple Song”. Their performance was close to 90 minutes long and it was perfect from start to finish!
