The music of Johnny Profane and Kimmie F’n Green Eyez was comfortable, casual. This was friendly music, music you would listen to around a campfire or at a cookout.

The lyrics might have been a little repetitive, but they were catchy. The guitar playing was not

groundbreaking musically, but it was performed well. Their songs were simple, and I didn’t have to give the music my full attention to enjoy it.

Not many people showed up for their show at Rachael’s Cafe, and it seemed like Johnny and Kimmie were not expecting them to. “We heard that this is a place where people like to study, so we hope you like listening to our music while you’re here,” Kimmie said.

Johnny played guitar, while Kimmie provided vocals and occasionally played guitar as well. Kimmie’s voice reminded me of June Carter Cash – although it doesn’t sound like she’s been technically trained, her voice sounds good with the music. She has a distinct style – a little bit country, a little bit folksy.

The song that summed up their style best was probably “Another Shot of Liquor”. The song was about the rat race, and their unwillingness to get caught up in it. “No matter how big I think, someone’s thinking bigger/…I got nothing to prove, just pour another shot of liquor!”

Most of their songs were about getting knocked down and pushed around, but rolling with the punches and doing what they wanted to do despite what other people thought. It was a little jarring at first to hear a woman in her late fifties, a grandmother, singing about smoking weed and drinking whiskey and cursing like a sailor while her 3-year-old granddaughter ran around the café.

Like their stage names, Johnny and Kimmie’s lyrics were much darker and edgier than their music. The lyrics talked about Kimmie losing her religion, about children burying their mother, about various illegal substances that I won’t list here, but Johnny’s acoustic guitar just kept playing quietly along in the background, twangy and pleasant.

Although the lyrics and music didn’t seem to match, it somehow worked for me – probably because the calm music distracted me from the not-so-calm lyrics.

The performance itself was casual. Johnny and Kimmie were not trying to put on a show – they didn’t demand attention. They were content to play for anyone who would listen. They took a ten-minute intermission and invited their son, who was in the audience, to come onstage and play while they were taking a break.

They deserved a larger audience, in my opinion. Their performance wasn’t polished, but they seemed happy just to be playing music whether or not there was a crowd listening. Like their song said, they “got nothing to prove”.

Post by Victoria Fater

For the week of 4/16-4/22/12:

1. Apache Dropout / Three Man Band, Split single (Glory Hole)
2. The Flaming Lips, And Heady Fwends (Warner Bros.)
3. Animal Collective, Transverse Temporal Gyrus (Domino)
4. Lee Hazlewood, The LHI Years (Light in the Attic)
5. Beach House, Lazuli single (Subpop)

Johnny Profane w/ Kimmie F’n Green Eyez
@ Rachael’s Cafe
Wednesday, April 25
9 p.m.
$5 cover charge

The best way to describe the music of Johnny Profane and Kimmie F’n Green Eyez is “old school.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although some of the lyrics might be angry, their message is the same as the message of the counter-culture of the 1960s: “live and let live.” They write songs about life on the edge and about rebellion, but also about accepting others for who they are. Both performers favor the acoustic guitar, and they write catchy (but surprisingly mellow) songs that should be relaxing to those who catch the show in the middle of Dead Week.

Post by Victoria Fater

Cults

When Cults’ self-released seven-inch first went up Bandcamp in 2010, few predicted that their debut album would be released on an imprint of Columbia Records in 2011 and they would be an elite live act in 2012, but that’s what happened. The songs were great, of course, but in the rarely meritocratic world of major record labels, that means little. So maybe the cuteness of singer Madeline Follin and guitarist Brian Oblivion as a couple had a little bit to do with why execs picked up on them. Big deal. Today, they’re here, and based on the strength of their live performances, they will be for a very, very long time. Read the rest of this entry »

It was a desolate wasteland.

There were very few signs of life in the back of the dark and eerie space. Tumbleweeds blew through as a patron walked through the Bishop’s plywood door. Another followed. Then came a sound, a call from a higher power perhaps. More people filed in at the call of a sound-checked guitar.

“Hello. We’re Charlie Patton’s War.”

No more than 15 people were there for the beginning of the set. It was an odd feeling listening to such great music with so few people. I know Little 5 weekend is tough to compete with, but come on, 15 people?

As Charlie Patton’s War worked through about an hour long and incredibly fun set, a few more people managed to show up and dance along to a few tunes.

Unfortunately, the next act – Brooklyn’s Sundelles – slowed down the hyped pace that CPW worked so hard to build up considerably. More than a few people went to the bar to get another drink or stood outside to grab a smoke. That’s not necessarily Sundelles’ fault, they just didn’t quite fit the bill or the pace of the evening.

After a brief intermission that allowed a few more eager patrons to stumble their way back in it was time for the main event – Hanni El Khatib.

LA-based El Khatib’s garage-soul energy was just what the Bishop needed to get the crowd moving again. The front of the room began to fill up as El Khatib played songs such as “Build.Destroy.Rebuild” and “Dead Wrong” from his album Will The Guns Come Out.

Elbows were flying and feet were stomping the ground while El Khatib used every inch of the Bishop’s stage, winding in and out of the cord from his guitar. El Khatib pumped up the volume by bringing along a drummer and an extra guitarist while on tour. The result was pretty fucking awesome.

A wall of distorted sound hit you from the front while the dude dancing a little too hard hit you from the back. No one gave a damn, though, when an inadvertent elbow flew in – it’s a show. Throw one of your own and get on with it.

At the end of an extremely energetic show that far too few people actually witnessed, El Khatib closed with one of his more popular tracks, “Fuck It, You Win.”

Nearly all of the first two rows were singing the lyrics right along with El Khatib – not like you could actually hear them. They were playing loud. I mean, really loud.

“OH FUCK IT, YOU WIN!”

Everyone in the room jumped up and down. A couple people jumped side-to-side, presumably because their brains had already been melted and they didn’t know any better.

Then just like that it was over.

“Thanks for coming out guys. That’s it, we’re done.”

Hanni El Khatib grabbed his beer, walked off the stage and the lights came up.

Post and photography by Jonathan Streetman

Cults
w/ Spectrals and Mrs. Magician
Rhino’s Youth Center
Saturday, April 21
8 p.m.
$13 advance/$15 door
All Ages

Cults will play Rhino’s on Saturday not because it’s Little 500 but because Saturday is when Bloomington happened to fit into their tour routing. It’s way more fun to believe that they’re here because of the summer-welcoming bike race, though, so let’s do that:

The Three Biggest Reasons Cults Is the Perfect Little 500 Band

3. Dresses – Cults frontwoman Madeline Follin doesn’t rock the conventional T-shirt-and-jeans look onstage, opting instead for gorgeous, simple sundresses. They’re usually black – fair enough – but they’re also a fashion statement worth imitating on a weekend overrun by frat-glasses and tank tops.

2. The Season of Love – Follin is no stranger to love. She plays the mercurial object of the title character’s affection on last year’s WEEKEND-approved “David Comes to Life” by Fucked Up, but more importantly, she’s in a long-standing relationship with her Cults bandmate Brian Oblivion. Their onstage chemistry during duets “Abducted” and “Bumper” is a lot more adorable than the hookup you’ll see in the corner if you spend Saturday night at KOK.

1. “Go Outside” – Cults’ biggest hit is also the first Cults song most people ever heard. In addition to boasting the best use of glockenspiel in a pop song, it’s also a rousing call for action: Don’t stay inside and sleep the light away this Little 500 weekend, regardless of how bad your hangover is. Go outside, damn it!

Post by Brad Sanders