Hideout Block Party, Day One: Neko Case, Monotonix, Black Mountain, and more

For twelve years, Hideout Block Party has signaled the wind-down of the summer festival season in Chicago. This year's solid lineup was matched by great weather (we’re all happy it wasn’t last weekend!). Shortened by a day this year, neither Sunday nor Saturday appeared to hit capacity, but still brought out sizable crowds that gathered in vast parking lot adjacent to the cozy Hideout confines to indulge in the diverse performances.

While Neko Case and The New Pornographers likely drew most attendees, there were plenty of notable moments leading up to the headliners' sets.

On Saturday, in conjunction with Chicago’s World Music Festival, Budapest’s Little Cow added some sunny gypsy-tinged party music to the bright afternoon with two drummers, an accordionist and the occasional kazoo. Next up was The Plastic People Of The Universe, a Czech band that served jail time in the ‘70s after being arrested by the Communists for “disturbing the peace.” While they  didn’t deserve that arrest, they certainly weren't disturbing at Hideout, either. Looking like ZZ Top with violin and saxophone thrown in the mix, their rock was a bit flavorless.

In contrast, Monotonix set the parking lot ablaze-- literally-- with its fiery set, which included flaming drumsticks and cymbals. Launching the performance at the foot of the stage they were supposed to be gracing, the Israeli trio officially kicked the fest up 50 notches with a brash and dirty screamed, punked-up and riveting set. At first, from my vantage point on parking lot level, all I could see was a crowd around them, with an occasional foot, arm or leg popping out of the crowd. After a bit, guitarist Yonatan Gat popped up to solo for a minute before jumping back in the crowd. Later, singer Ami Shalev crowd surfed while spitting out lyrics, wearing little more than a pair of red, diaper-esque skivvies (unfortunately, not the last bandmate we’d be seeing in undies through the course of the weekend). Another time, he emerged in a garbage can. But it was the drummer, rising like a percussive phoenix as he and his drum kit were boosted up into the air by the crowd, that was truly awe inspiring.

How do you follow that up, you ask? Nothing on Saturday was quite as jaw dropping, but humorist Neil Hamburger's drunk spelling be came close. Inside Hideout, participants did a shot for every word they spelled correctly. I spoke with fifth-place speller Cynthia Plastercaster, who was still standing but pretty wasted a few hours after the competition; I could only imagine that the winner was passed out or puking somewhere in the city. All the while, outside on the main stage, Black Mountain played a mix of jammy psychedelic meanderings which sounded good, but felt a bit too reverent of Led Zeppelin. 

Later, Mali’s Vieux Farka Touré, son of the late legendary Ali Farka Touré, was nimble with his guitar melodies, his set a whir of infectious beats and rhythms that ushered in the night and had the crowd dancing. It was enjoyable but eventually felt repetitive, though the band's rendition of U2’s “Bullet The Blue Sky” was intriguing.

Saturday night headliner Neko Case is especially loved around these parts, as well she should be. The former Hideout bartender has a voice so commanding and true that she can captivate even a tired crowd drunk from heat and booze. Unfortunately, it was hard to hear her from the farther reaches of the parking lot, and most of her set was marred by a bad mix. Closer up, “I Wish I Was The Moon” and “Favorite” were achingly palpable via her siren voice. She was joined by a powerhouse band, including former Chicagoan and longtime cohort Kelly Hogan, local singer Nora O’Connor, and Jon Rauhouse, who played killer pedal steel.

Amid the fables of Fox Confessor Brings The Flood and the heartbreak of Blacklisted, Case tested a few new tunes from her forthcoming album Middle Cyclone, which she told us was “very scary” to do. But she pulled off her cover of Harry Nilsson's “Alimony” and another upbeat, catchy original. Afterwards, she revealed it was a song about “elephants and killer whales together,” but from the lyrics it sounded more like a relationship-gone-awry tune. After she capped off the night with a brilliant “That Teenage Feeling,” the crowd-- at this point comprising very few teenagers-- dispersed to rest up for Sunday’s festivities.

Stay tuned for coverage of Hideout Block Party, Day Two.