Thoughts onThe Veils and Foreign Born Live at the Empty Bottle in Chicago 7.23.09

Photos by Oliver Pangborn

Last Thursday, The Empty Bottle welcomed a pair of indie rock doppelgängers to Chicago: Foreign Born and The Veils. They're two bands that by all rights should be bigger than they are, who always seem on the cusp of wider stardom but never quite pull it off. I've covered both of them on Dead Flowers (and previously on Glamorama) since their respective inceptions, so seeing this show made me feel a bit like a proud papa whose kids are all grown up.

A Foreign Born live show is always an appealing proposition, even if they sometimes fall flat on record. Evident from the moment they took the stage was the mysterious replacement of original sticksman Garrett Ray, a tour de force behind the kit whose absence was noticeable, if not debilitating. The band played a set consisting almost entirely of material from their new album Person to Person, with the exception of their cover of Leonard Cohen's "Lover Lover Lover". Supplemented with a keyboardist and an extra percussionist, the band's play was confident and brimming with energy. "Vacationing People" sounded like a bonafide hit, and newest single "Winter Games" made more sense when injected with a bit of live gusto. A good portion of the crowd took away the lesson that Foreign Born are a band on the up, and I would tend to agree. Now if they could just write a big single (or at least bring back "We Had Pleasure").

"Vacationing People" by Foreign Born

This was my second time seeing The Veils at The Empty Bottle in as many years, so it's hard not to compare this show to the previous one. As with the first show, Finn Andrews and his band offered
up a generous helping of second album Nux Vomica, a record fast approaching classic status. Fans of debut album The Runaway Found, on the other hand, had to be content with a Finn solo rendition of "The Tide That Left and Never Came Back".

"Calliope" by The Veils

Their third and most recent album, Sun Gangs, composed the remainder of the set: the band gave us a powerful take on "The Letter", a moving version of "Sit Down by the Fire", and an abbreviated version of "Larkspur", which felt a bit hurried (and suffered because of it). New drummer Raife had a tendency to overplay, an unwelcome change from the tactful and subtle stylings of previous drummer Henning Dietz. I suspect that problem will correct itself as he plays more with the band and gets more comfortable. Overall, The Veils played a set filled with drama, but one that didn't swing for the fences. Theirs was a performance for the already converted rather than the uninitiated. As such, this disciple was pleased.

Dead Flowers Foreign Born Interview
Foreign Born Myspace
Foreign Born Wiki
Foreign Born on Amazon

Dead Flowers Veils Interview
Veils Myspace
Veils Wiki
The Veils on Amazon