The Court & Spark Preview

The Court & Spark
Beat Kitchen, Chicago
Saturday, July 1, 2006

Some people mock rock critics’ habits of summarizing one band by comparing it to another. They call it lazy, even irresponsible. Maybe sometimes it is, but often it’s the most direct path to making a point. But how many comparisons are too many?

Take San Francisco’s The Court & Spark, for example. Townes Van Zandt; Lou Reed; Mojave 3; Uncle Tupelo; Scud Mountain Boys; Souled American; The Flying Burritos. Those are just a few you might see when reading up on the group, which formed in 1998 from the ashes of Ex-Ignota, a band that featured Court members M.C. Taylor, Scott Hirsch, and James Kim. But our guess is any musician would rather be compared to a bunch of bands than just one. It means you’re mixing it up, and The Court’s newest release, Hearts (Absolutely Kosher), certainly earns that description. Dabbling in dusty country rock, tender folk, and fuzzy psychedelic, the band (Teri Loewenthal completes the current lineup) never stays in one place too long, instead sticking with one style just long enough to get it where it needs to go, before peeling off to the next destination.

The Court & Spark co-headline this show along with Shearwater. Gaberdine and former Court & Spark member Tom Heyman open.

— Trevor Fisher

Click here to download a live version of The Court & Spark’s “Sundowner.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly