Apostle Of Hustle live

Apostle Of Hustle
Schubas, Chicago
Wednesday, June 27, 2007

The clattering sonic wake of Broken Social Scene has never been useful when trying to account for its parts. It’s hard enough to track the contributions of Leslie Feist or Stars or Metric — forget lesser-known quantities like Andrew Whiteman, aka Apostle Of Hustle.

While one could draw Radiohead-y parallels between BSS and the modestly rocking title track to this spring’s National Anthem Of Nowhere (Arts & Crafts), Wednesday’s gig — the end of a month-long Schubas residency — fled toward the equator.

Greatly inspired by trips to Cuba, Whiteman whipped the stage into a Latino lovefest, going so far as to singe the aforementioned title tune with an oppressive sunlight. While way short of the Buena Vista jazz that wooed a planet, Whiteman’s touch feels more personal than the abstractions of Calexico’s panorama. “Energy Of Death” might have been a Crosby, Stills & Nash love child from a forgotten Mexican vacation, and “Fast Pony For Victor Jara” jutted down its path with errant notes but came together with a flourish.

Somewhat ironically, the show was opened by an international-looking, English-singing local group with a Spanish name, Allá (pronounced aye-ya). The quartet gave the impression of pedal jockeys, but the shoegaze sheen steadily faded into a Stereolab loll meeting occasionally with spastic Boredoms tics — a mix that needs more ironing out but showed promise.

— Steve Forstneger

Category: Live Reviews, Weekly