Fast Times At Oswego East High

Black Wire
Oswego East High School, Oswego
Friday, February 10, 2006

No, we’re not in the business of promoting turnabout dances. But among the less obvious places for a British band to make its Chicagoland debut is Oswego East.

Giant Pecker Records’ founder Björn Forsell and ex-Oswego East teacher/business partner Meredith both have freshman at the high school. Knowing kids their age aren’t entirely attuned to the international underground music scene, they wanted a novel way to show off their Leeds-based signing– how they got the Giant Pecker name past the school board is anyone’s guess. Hence, Black Wire will have the market cornered on Aurora teenagers. The concert is open to the public.

At first glance, the three very young, very skinny English lads who make up Black Wire look like run-of-the-mill punk rockers attempting to imitate the genre’s better-known forebearers. The musical influences on Black Wire fit the image: The Clash, The Stooges, The Cramps, Suicide. Still, not all of the band’s U.S. debut is predictable. Most notably, a traditional drummer is nonexistent. A drum machine accounts for all the sparse percussion, giving these tracks a definite dance mentality.

Even without a drummer, the trio reportedly still puts on a reckless live show, which is a testament to the energy these three create with just vocals, bass, and a jangley guitar. As good as the instrumentation is, it is singer Dan Wilson who seals the deal. “I’m hard to love, but easy to lay” he shouts on “Hard To Love.” It’s hardly subtle, but it fits.

— Joseph Simek

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly