On this assuredly frigid Friday evening, Bobby Burg, a member of Chicago’s long-running Joan of Arc, brings his solo project Love of Everything to Mike ‘N Molly’s cozy upstairs. Burg has been a longtime player in the Chicago indie scene, but he first became known for his work in Make Believe, a band featuring (Joan of Arc mastermind) Tim Kinsella and (Cap’n Jazz/Owls bassist/guitarist) Sam Zurick. Make Believe’s complicated, uncompromising brand of math rock serves as a good template for what to expect from Burg’s work with Joan of Arc, a thread that also permeates Love of Everything to a degree. This isn’t a Headlights show — things might get weird at this one.
Aside from Make Believe, Burg has performed in a variety of groups, joining Joan of Arc in 2004 and playing on Joan of Arc, Dick Cheney, Mark Twain, considered by many to be their defining album. Burg found a degree of success as well with fellow Chicagoans Chin Up Chin Up. You may remember the minor hit they had back in 2004, “We Should Never Have Lived Like We Were Skyscrapers“.
While Chin Up Chin Up called it quits after a tour in late 2007, Burg kept making music with Joan of Arc, solo as Love of Everything, and in Vacations, a band he formed with other former Chin Up Chin Up members. When not touring with Joan of Arc, Burg devotes most of his time to Love of Everything. While JoA’s oddball tendencies are still somewhat present, Love of Everything functions best when mixing the the poppier tendencies of Chin Up Chin Up with a decidedly lo-fi aesthetic. The result sounds like Owen on a bad acid trip, as filtered through New Weird America production techiniques. In other words, highly addictive lo-fi with a rich sonic palette. Plus, look at that video. That looks awesome!
Support comes from locals The Palace Flophouse and Anna Karenina/Anna Karina, a new band composed of Luke Bergkoetter (Take Care, fireflies, Mit’n) and Cole Rabenort (Elsinore). The Palace Flophouse have just released a rough mix of a new song entitled “Addicts Victorious”, which is set to appear on on their as of yet untitled second album, and this is Anna Karenina/Anna Karina’s first show. Burg will be back in Champaign on February 5th with Joan of Arc (heads up: that show has just been moved from Highdive to Cowboy Monkey).
Love of Everything performs tonight (Friday) at Mike ‘N Molly’s with opening acts the Palace Flophouse and Anna Karenina/Anna Karina. The show begins at 10 p.m.