popwreckoning

Christopher Crisci tends to wear many many hats. One of the hats happens to the Saddle Creek Records band Old Canes.

The group, comprised of members of great Midwest bands like Appleseed Cast, Minus Story and Casket Lottery, will set out on the road supporting their most recent release, Feral Harmonic.

As a Kansas native and a journalist lucky enough to catch these bands at my convenience in their home state I cannot stress enough how much you should catch this band on one of the following tour dates:

10/15 Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
10/16 Chicago, IL – Mayne Stage
10/17 Indianapolis, IN – The Volliath
10/18 Newport, KY – Southgate House
10/20 Pittsburgh, PA – Brillobox
10/21 New York, NY – Saddle Creek Showcase CMJ – The Delancy
10/22 Philadelphia, PA – The Fire
10/23 New Brunswick, NJ – The Court Tavern
10/24 Washington D.C. – The Red Palace
10/25 Charlotte, NC – The World Famous Milestone
10/26 Wilmington, NC – The Soapbox Laundrolounge
10/27 Orlando, FL – Backbooth
10/28 Athens, GA – The Caledonia Lounge
10/29 Atlanta, GA – The Drunken Unicorn

The highlights on Old Canes‘ Feral Harmonic are proof that acoustic singer-songwriting can still be exciting. Driven by a frantically strummed guitar, the best songs are fantastic.

Highlights like “Little Bird Courage” contain an urgency, horns, and bursts of celebratory da-da-da’s. The everyday voices responding to his call infuse the song with a party atmosphere. The sad lyrics on “The Last Collapse” contrast with the celebratory rat-tat-tats of the snare, the soaring vocals, and smattering of chimes. “Trust” follows the same formula, with lyrics of love and strained vocals over a boisterous drum and acoustic guitar.

Feral Harmonic starts out really strong, but starts to wander in the middle with songs like “Sweet,” which saps the energy of the previous five songs with a chugging raga. “Under” pokes along, the strained vocals now sounding tired. The album picks back up with the upbeat “I will Be The Sun,” another of my favorites, and makes the B side well worth a spin.

Track Listing:
01. Intro
02. Little Bird Courage
03. The Last Collapse
04. Trust
05. Next
06. Sweet
07. Under
08. I Will Be the Sun
09. Stuck
10. Flower Faces
11. Black Hill Chapel
12. Southern Radio

Old Canes: myspace

KC/Lawrence’s Old Canes celebrated his Saddle Creek debut and his second studio album, Feral Harmonic, with a CD release show at Lawrence’s Jackpot Saloon.

Old Canes features Chris Crisci (of the Appleseed Cast) and friends on various instruments.

Following a short intro Old Canes played through songs off both albums: “Bird Courage,” The Last Collapse,” “Both Falling Bright,” “Blue Eleanor,” “Trust,” “Face It,” “Next Flood,” “Then Go On,” “Sweet,” “Life Is Grand,” “Taxi on Vermont,” and “Flower Faces.”

There was a lot to love about the show from the diverse instrumentations, amazing drumming, Crisci’s voice, and the audience participation on tambourine. The crowd yelled for an encore, but Crisci admitted he barely knew the lyrics to the last number. Perhaps after the warm home reception, Crisci won’t make his fans wait so long again (I believe it has been about five years since the last Canes show) and return to his hometown soon for another show once he’s a bit more warmed up with his crew and can have an encore prepared.

Catch Old Canes on tour now.

Old Canes: website | myspace

Saddle Creek’s newly signed Old Canes begins their fall tour in support of their Oct. 20 release Feral Harmonic today, Oct. 13 in their hometown of Lawrence, Kansas.

Check out one of their new songs:

.“Little Bird of Courage”

Then check them out on tour.

Old Canes is the brainchild of Chris Crisci (The Appleseed Cast), who wrote and recorded Feral Harmonic in his basement studio. On tour, he is joined by Kelly Hangauer (4th of July), Taylor Hollenbeck, Lucas Oswald (Minus Story), John Momberg (Appleseed Cast/Dactyls; drums on the West coast leg of the tour), and Jeff Stoltz (Drakkar Sauna; drums on the East coast leg of the tour).

Old Canes tour dates:
Oct. 13 – Jackpot / Lawrence, KS
Oct.15 – Vaudeville Mews / Des Moines, IA
Oct.16 – Bottom Lounge / Chicago, IL
Oct.17 – Ribco / Rock Island, IL
Oct. 18 – The Video Saloon / Bloomington, IN
Oct. 19 – Beachland Ballroom / Cleveland, OH
Oct. 20 – Bug Jar / Rochester, NY
Oct. 21 – The Space / Hamden, CT HAMDEN, CT
Oct. 22 – Knitting Factory (CMJ) / Brooklyn, NY
Oct. 23 -  Brillobox / Pittsburgh, PA
Oct. 24 -  Southgate House / Cincinnati, OH
Nov. 12 -  Slowdown / Omaha, NE
Nov. 13 -  Hi-Dive / Denver, CO
Nov. 15 – Kilby Court / Salt Lake City, UT
Nov. 16 -  Terrapin Station / Boise, ID
Nov. 18 -  Sunset Tavern / Seattle, WA
Nov. 19 -  Bond’s Garage / Eugene, OR
Nov. 20 – House of Shields / San Francisco, CA
Nov. 21 – The Wire / Upland, CA
NOV. 22 – Viper Room / Los Angeles, CA
NOV. 23 -  Che Cafe / San Diego, CA
NOV. 24 -  Modified Arts / Phoenix, AZ
NOV. 28 -  Mohawk / Austin, TX

Old Canes: website | myspace