On New Year’s Eve, I could have gone to any number of large concert halls where popular bands were playing packed shows. Instead, I headed to Beat Kitchen, where three of Chicago's upcoming bands put on a tremendous show.
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Head of Femur with Catfish Haven and Canasta
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 Entertainment
Art
Beat Kitchen
Chicago, Ill.
December 31, 2005
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Canasta, Catfish Haven, and Head of Femur showcased three different sounds, but each played an energetic show. They were all playing their second show of the day, but didn’t show any fatigue.
Canasta kicked the night off with their full, fat sound, which included a guitar, bass, violin, two keyboards, and the occasional trombone. Their three best performances were of "The Microphone Song," "An Apology," and their well-known "Slow Down Chicago." "Slow Down Chicago" invoked a feeling of gliding on Lake Shore Drive near midnight, enhanced by its lyrical mention of downtown locations.
Showing their range, most of the band shouted out the chorus of “Microphone Song,” which used a driving beat and a rising melody to raise the audience’s energy level.
Catfish Haven was next, presenting quite a change in tone from Canasta. They had a stripped down sound, with a plugged-in acoustic guitar, bass and drums. The singer’s gravely voice complemented the raw power of their songs. Their angst and minimalism formed a nice contrast to the other bands.
The Beat Kitchen is deceptively small once you enter it, but upon opening the back door, you emerge into a musical cavern with a stage at the end. Coat hooks line either side, though about half are broken and therefore are mere decoration. As the clock ticked toward midnight and the start of Head of Femur’s set, more and more people entered the room, pushing it to capacity.
Head of Femur is usually an octet, but a few members were missing from their lineup. Luckily, the members that were there more than made up for it, playing an up-tempo, lively set. They've obviously been influenced by "Sgt. Pepper" and "Pet Sounds," and even named one of their songs after an obscure Robert Altman comedy.
Lead singer Matt Focht danced around the stage whether singing or not, and his shirt was soaked in sweat by the end of the show. Their set included two covers, notably a funky version of “Burning Down the House," complete with the syncopated keyboard beat.
Head of Femur came back for two encores, and on the second, the mics failed in the middle of the song. They went into what Spinal Tap might call a "freeform jazz odyssey". None of Femur’s members seem flustered. Instead they improvised new instrumental verses of the song while a Beat Kitchen employee leapt onstage to fix the problem. Soon, the mics came back on, and the band sang a rousing conclusion to the song. This was a perfect ending to the show, and to the 2005.
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