Califone,
All My Friends Are Funeral Singers
Copresented by Empty Bottle and the MCA
For this truly special live event, the acclaimed experimental roots-rockers perform their just-released album as a soundtrack to Califone frontman Tim Rutili's feature film. All My Friends Are Funeral Singers. The film, also premiering at this concert, is a kind of companion piece to the album: the screenplay and many of the songs were written at the same time and incorporate related images and characters. Shot in an old, rickety house in Indiana, it stars the respected cult actress Angela Bettis (Girl, Interrupted; May; Carrie).
The music is a vibrant collection of fully realized pop songs, with rich and soulful melodies of folk and electrified blues interwoven with the sonic experiments in collaged sounds and textures. This is Califone’s most ambitious and exciting album yet.
Tickets $20, MCA Members $16, Students $10
Post-show CD signing, Califone's All my Friends are Funeral Singers
Califone
Photo: John AdamsAbout the Artists
- Califone have always been stupidly underappreciated, and the further we stumble into the 21st century, the more this music starts to feel both familiar and necessary.
-Pitchfork
The multitalented members of Califone—Joe Adamik, Jim Becker, Ben Massarella, and Tim Rutili—have redefined the musical landscape with an orchestra's worth of instruments, from the more typical (guitar, bass, piano), to the unusual (optigan, prepared piano, stylophone). Since the release of their first self-titled album in 1998, the Chicago-based Califone has earned critical acclaim for their ability to cross-pollinate musical genres. Their acclaimed 2006 Roots and Crowns was described by Pitchfork as "one of the most quintessentially American records imaginable." Califone often makes music that is cinematic, and has contributed live, improvised soundtracks to silent films. Songwriter/vocalist Tim Rutili has made his own surreal short documentaries, music videos and experimental films; and All My Friends... is his first feature film. For more on Califone Purchase the album from the MCA Store
Few modern sound painters close the gap between studio experimentation and . . . forms such as blues and folk with as much grace and invention.
Chicago Tribune
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