Ed Pettersen preview

Ed Pettersen
Uncommon Ground, Chicago
Saturday, February 10, 2007

The New Punk Blues Of Ed Pettersen (SL) is neither punk nor blues, and has an album cover modeled on those iconic jazz records of the ’50s and ’60s. But it isn’t jazz either.

Pettersen wears a lot of hats on his newest album and some of them certainly work better than others, creating an uneven listening experience. It’s hard to ignore “Chelsea” because lyrically it’s amazingly similar to Elvis Costello’s “(Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea,” though it’s “Been There Before” that sounds more like Costello’s slower burners. The landlord rant “I’m Not Coming Down” steams forward like a testy Drive-By Truckers b-side, starkly contrasting “Burning Up,” which edges deeper into MOR territory the longer it goes.

So where’s this “punk blues”? That might be a nod to the Bakersfieldesque tonk of opener “Gather The Family ‘Round,” or maybe it’s the fresh approach to topical songwriting, such as behind a missing child’s eyes (“Tabitha”) or watching war on TV (“Baghdad”). It’s that sort of meandering that defines The New Punk Blues Of Ed Pettersen, even if it’s never really clear what that is.

Wes John Cichosz headlines; Catsplash! will open.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download “Gather The Family ‘Round.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly