Eef Barzelay preview

Eef Barzelay
Schubas, Chicago
Friday, April 21, 2006

It’s not like when you go see Clem Snide you aren’t really there just to see Eef Barzelay anyway — most people think his name is Snide and those other guys are the band. So while this solo LP seems extraneous, keeping it acoustic respectfully nods to the rest of Clem Snide and doesn’t try to replace them or take what they do lightly.

Divided into two parts, Barzelay tones down some of the jokey charm on Bitter Honey, going so far as to wish his death’s impact on another, reveling in “the thought that we’ve never been closer.” Even so, “Ballad Of Bitter Honey” gives a four-dimensional spectrum of his songwriting — something he was evidently aware of, since it’s the only track whose lyrics are printed — giving a jokey monologue from a hip-hop video dancer (“That was my ass you saw dancin’ next to Ludacris/it was only on screen for a second, but it’s kinda hard to miss”) before diving into a failed nurse selling her looks because she knows “what this world is all about.”

The City On Film, featuring Bob Nanna of Braid, open. This show is a separate, 10 o’clock event from the Jerry Joseph/Will Crum set beginning at 7 p.m.

— Steve Forstneger

Click here to download a sample of “Ballad Of Bitter Honey.”

Category: Stage Buzz, Weekly