Put Your Hands Together and Welcome Brother Ali

Brother Ali will save us, or at least independent rap. He was born legally blind as a result of a unique genetic condition known as Albinism, which also causes the eyes, skin and hair to lack their color. This condition, combined with his teenage conversion to Islam, give Ali a unique message and view of the world that he relates skillfully within his lyrics. Brother Ali's words combine with the motownesque instrumentals and beats laid down by his producer Ant (of Atmosphere fame) to create a complete sound I have rarely been able to find in a rap album.

Ali has released three full-length albums and two EPs under the Rhymesayers label. His first, and in my opinion his best, Shadows on the Sun, was followed by his Champion EP, then The Undisputed Truth and his follow up EP The Truth is Here, which was accompanied by a DVD. His latest album Us was released September 22, 2009. Over these albums Ali raps about and takes inspiration from R&B and Soul greats such as Donny Hathaway and Al Green, he discusses his youth, political and social issues, love and hate, and delivers a passion that makes his music truly one of a kind.



His latest album Us has allowed Brother Ali and Ant to experiment, rapping over gospel choirs, trumpet blasts, and xylophones. Ali has yet again given us a solid album but has shown an exciting progression that shows he won't rest on the laurels of his former success. It's no Shadows on the Sun but I give Brother Ali's Us a favorable nod and a eager anticipation of things to come.

The dance rock trend

After buying Phoenix's new album, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix, a few weeks ago (I love it, by the way), it made me think about all of the enjoyable bands out right now that play a brand of dance rock. 2009 has already seen at least two outstanding releases from this category with the Phoenix album and Passion Pit's Manners.

2008 also saw its fair share of great dance rock albums. M83, Cut Copy and Hot Chip all released solid records combining dance beats with guitars, bass and keys. You might even be able to throw TV on the Radio's Dear Science in this category as well. And would MGMT's debut have been anywhere near as popular as it was if it wasn't for "Electric Feel" and "Kids"?

The trend is even showing up in unlikely places. Animal Collective's 2009 release Merriweather Post Pavilion is practically all electronic with a full-out raver ("Brother Sport") as the final song. Even the likes of My Morning Jacket got in on the action on their latest album, Evil Urges, with "Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2."

I'm not going to say we're experiencing an "electronic dance rock" era or anything. But it seems like there are so many good options out there right now. (Let's not forget probably the best option from this category -- LCD Soundsystem.) So I'm wondering if people agree with me, or if this maybe is just a type of music that I have gotten into recently, and that I wasn't paying attention as much before.

The Best Show Ever

Possibly a bit of an overstatement, but given the circumstances I don't believe I could have been more pleasantly surprised.

Dan Auerbach guitarist from the super duo The Black Keys and his new band the Fast Five were playing with the young, up and coming Kentuckians known as Cage the Elephant in a Lollapalooza aftershow at Schuba's. That venue, which barely holds 200, with either act has the potential to be a great show, but both of them together makes it a no miss, even when you consider that it came at the end of a long hot second day at Grant Park.

Or at least it sounds like a good idea, until you reach the end of Lolla that day and standing in a small room with poor ventilation and a hundred or so sweaty dudes seems only slightly ahead of throwing yourself into oncoming traffic. Maybe a little harsh but coming from the remember we used to be great set, known as Depeche Mode, my level of excitement and energy had just about run out.



Luckily Cage front man, Matt Shultz, would provide enough excitement and energy for the entire room. If you have never heard of Cage the Elephant you may want to check out Paul's Lolla preview to better prepare you for the young hard hitting southern rock band. The stage, or any for that matter, was much too small to contain the band's sound let alone Matt as he jumped on, in and through the crowd, hung from the rafters and frequently stared and screamed through the front row of people. I was now revived and ready to see what Dan and the Fast Five had to offer.

After a short break Auerbach and his band took the stage that was already teeming with there instruments, keyboard, multiple guitars, a bass, and two drum sets, while additional fans filtered in knowing that the main act was about to begin. Dan played a loud energy filled set that extended the excitement in the room set by Cage.

Photos taken by Kristen Waszkowski.

JT and the Clouds

In the spirit of "no show is too small," I thought I would fill Claptrappers in on a recent 8/27/2009 show of JT and the Clouds at the Empty Bottle with Moxie Motive and the Blueheels opening. The Blueheels (a Madison, WI based band) opened with a strong set to a fairly empty bar. Instrumentally the band was spot on, but the lead singer failed to provide any decent support vocally. Moxie Motive was preceded by a verse from Thax Douglas who we convinced to check out JT. As the crowd started to fill in and the Beam shots and Old Styles (due to the special of the night) started to flow, Moxie put on a terrific set. Though a small stage, the lead singer made terrific use of each spare inch, dancing, throbbing, and knocking into his string section. Moxie is a band that I would like to see more of in the future.

Coming into the JT and the Clouds set, I was expecting to hear more of their last soulful album "The City's Hot, Yeah the City's Hot" as opposed to their first album "Delilah"which tends to be more alt-county/folk rock. I was surprised to hear mostly new stuff from an upcoming album due out in November. Overall, the music was still a lot of soul and very upbeat, and the band had the crowd dancing. Though only hearing 3 songs that I knew (Lover's Prayer, Wildin' Blues, and Clouds Ain't Heavy), I will stell very pleased with the songs (could have been the Beam and Oldstyle's).

Keep an eye out for this band as they play in Chicago pretty often. You may also see them listed under the lead singer JT Nero and possibly performing with Po' Girl. For now, they are a lot of fun to see for tickets as low as $10. As they pick up on their touring and become more Bit Torrent popular, I expect them to become a harder show to see in the coming years.