BARR Preview

BARR
Logan Square Auditorium, Chicago
Saturday, February 25, 2006

“How do you start something? You start it.” These are the first words out of Brendan Fowler‘s (aka BARR) mouth on Beyond Reinforced Jewel Case, giving the immediate hint that this record might be out there — a ways.

Fowler’s songs often sound like dizzied diary entries done at the height of whatever emotion he just so happens to be feeling at the time. Not that it’s uncommon for a frontman’s lyrics to sound straight from a journal, but Fowler is blatantly literal with this concept, layering his thoughts, daydreams, ideas, and rants — never singing — over free jazz percussion. Sometimes it’s humorous, like “My List Of Demands,” which bitchslaps rude, heckling concert patrons at his shows: “Should we all address you as shitface? Or should I just make arrangements to physically destroy you outside afterwards?” Other times it’s poignant: “Us” is about the struggle of coming to grips with a parent’s death. These are the moments where BARR appeals to us in the same way The Hold Steady’s Craig Finn does: a confessional, literate, scatting vocalist who understands the balance between wittiness and seriousness.

But other times the man behind BARR simply sounds bonkers. Remember in college when you would go watch your friend play his acoustic tunes during Open Mic Night at the café down the street? There was always that one guy or gal who would get on stage with just a notebook and pour out their emotions in such a violently spastic way you thought the discomfort of those in the room might spark everyone to spontaneously combust? That’s Fowler on “Anthems And All”; that’s Fowler on “Lights Out.” And that’s when Beyond Reinforced gets irritating.

Now it’s time for, what’s known in writing circles, as the conclusion. How do you end something? You end it.

BARR opens for Animal Collective. First Nation is also on the bill.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download BARR’s “My List Of Demands.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly