The M's Release a Record with a Party

The blog below is by Brent Kado, a new friend of the Live Music Blog. I’ve caught his blog FlowFeel just recently and really liked the stuff he was posting. I asked him to peep me to some of his live show experiences and here’s his first (and hopefully not the last).

The M’s
Empty Bottle
Chicago, IL
Feb. 24, 2006

In over five years of hitting the Empty Bottle, I had never heard the words “Show’s Sold Out” from the doorman.

On Friday night, the M’s had done just that.

The internet order list was long, my name buried in the hundreds and the crowd was filing in quickly as DJ LA Jesus finished up his set. As the second opening band Archer Prewitt began to play, the Bottle was nearing capacity and Urban Outfitters was representing. The heavy mainstream publicity that this show got (RedEye, WXRT) had been marked on the calendar of yipsters across the region. It has been awhile since this place had seen such a straight group. But the crowd isn’t the reason we came and when the M’s began their set, energy and expectation was high.

The rising rockers did not disappoint. From the horn and string section the band crammed onto the stage to the ease they linked with the crowd, the M’s know how to throw down a rousing show. Their communication on stage appears strong for a indie rock band (Bassist Joey King and Drummer Steve Versaw locked in with repeated contact keeping the rhythm robust and fluid) The band’s vocal forte and forthright instrumentation heard on studio work achieves a sincere life on stage even from an standard sound system like that of the Bottles. The bands ability to play alongside horns and strings without missing a beat was solid as well. The M’s proved that they have the presence and flair to become a player in the music biz as Chicago bands gain more and more notice on the national scene.