I finally managed to see local Champaign act Santa perform on Monday night at The Canopy Club in Urbana, IL, and there happened to be a few other acts on the bill, all worth mentioning. Sadly none of my pictures from that night would turn out, so you get to deal with some great stock photography.
Matt Wageman (MySpace)(PureVolume)
I walked into the show partway through Matt’s set, so I didn’t catch much. I’m also told he normally performs with a drummer, but this particular set was solo. Matt did a solid job, although the music wasn’t really my style. Check out a couple tracks from Matt’s MySpace, and head there for more information, since I can’t download the songs.
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Doug Robinson (Website)(MySpace)
Next up for the night was Doug Robinson from Sugar Grove, IL, which is right next to Aurora, IL, for those of you who are Wayne’s World fans. Doug performed a solo set on keyboards and vocals. I wasn’t sure what to expect from Doug, but he had a solid performance, in particular his song “Your Love” as well as his rendition of “Wonderwall.” Stan from Santa and I discussed “Wonderwall” being an odd choice to cover, but considering Doug’s style and his unique approach to the song, I think it’s a pretty worthwhile listen. These tracks are from his 2006 Live Demo, which he generously handed out for free at the show.
Doug Robinson – Your Love
Doug Robinson – Wonderwall (Oasis Cover)
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The Divorce (Website)(MySpace)
Can’t say I recall a lot of the Seattle band’s performance, I was catching up with some friends by then. The songs I did catch I liked, but I can’t recall them by name or remember too much of them, and I can’t download anything from MySpace since it’s the most useless site on earth, so just go to their MySpace and stream some tracks.
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Santa (MySpace)
The headliner performance for the evening – and the reason for my attendance – was Santa. I wrote a little bit about these guys a few days back in anticipation of the show, as I’ve been listening to them for quite awhile but had yet to see them. The band finally took the stage around midnight, as the crowd filled in the entire front room at Canopy. The set consisted mostly of tracks off of their Santa EP, as well as a new track and (to my absolute delight) a blazing rendition of Talking Heads’ “Burning Down The House” that would have caused David Byrne to shed a tear. If anything, I preferred it to Phish’s cover of the tune, and that’s saying a lot. Back to the set, however, I seem to recall some extensive jamming on top of the songs’ studio compositions and much more layered vocals in person. “Is What Sweet You So” is quickly becoming a personal favorite of mine, as is the more bouncy “Language Hearts,” which reminds me of Bob Dylan for whatever reason. Anyways, great job by the band of packing the Canopy, not an easy feat, and for coming to the table with a great performance. Anyone who gets an opportunity to see these guys, don’t hesitate, you’ll enjoy it. Here’s the two tunes I mentioned previously from the group’s EP.
Santa – Is What Sweet You So
Santa – Language Hearts