Shortly after singer-songwriter Michael Hall moved to Chicago from Austin, he was booked in a New York club for the CMJ music conference. Hearing that the Chicago quartet Dolly Varden was playing the conference as well, he called up Varden principal Steve Dawson and asked if the band would back him in New York–and at an upcoming solo Chicago show as well. “Uh, sure,” Dawson said. Later he asked Hall why he’d called them. “That’s how we do it in Austin,” Hall replied.
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
In coming years Chicago is going to be seeing a lot more action like that, particularly since Hall and Poi Dog Pondering violinist Susan Voelz have successfully transplanted Austin’s much loved “hoot nights” to Chicago. The first, mounted at Schubas just before Christmas, though put together with just a few days’ planning, turned out to be a thoroughly enjoyable concert experience. Built around a theme, hoots are slightly more organized than open mikes. Chicago’s debut hoot had “Santa Versus Satan” as its theme. Hall treated a surprisingly large crowd to his terrific “Merry Christmas From Mars,” Syd Straw warbled “The Christmas Twist” and the Pretenders’ touching Christmas song “2000 Miles,” Poi Dog multi-instrumentalist Dave Crawford led an all-star aggregation on a furious, funny medley of the chorus “Gloria in excelsis Deo” and Van Morrison’s “Gloria,” and Dag Juhlin fronted a rousing recitation of Bruce Springsteen’s take on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.” Colors was the theme for hoot number two, just a few weeks ago. Highlights: Dolly Varden’s Dawson and Diane Christiansen belting out “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” Voelz’s take on the oldie “Red Rubber Ball,” and Jason & Alison’s run at “Raspberry Beret.”
“The main difference between Chicago and Austin,” he reflects, “is that Austin is a city of musicians, while Chicago is a city of bands, and there’s not as much interplay between them. In Austin there’s a whole subpopulation of people who play in each others’ bands. Susan’s a perfect example.”
