BARR and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone in Chicago, Saturday, March 17, 2007

An evening of beats meeting prose

By Andrea Hart
Published: March 20th, 2007 | 1:22pm

Green attired drunks paraded down Belmont, while BARR and Casiotone for the Painfully Alone delivered their prose. Their Saint Patrick’s Day performances at Chicago’s Beat Kitchen were unlikely testaments to modern literature.

BARR’s shattering opener performance was an intense icebreaker. The audience was rendered motionless by Corey Dieckman’s thunderous bass, and slammed by Kevin Shea’s forced drumming. Shea brutalized his drum set, breaking a chunk of his stick off mid-song, which then struck an audience member’s chest.

Lead “singer” Brendan Fowler was a contortionist poet with both his body and words. Rattling and screeching his verse, Fowler turned provocation into motivation. He gripped the microphone, evoking the rawness of an old-school hip-hop lyricist.

Fowler began the set layered in winter wear. He unraveled his scarf and exposed his ideologies with an engaging confidence.

During between-song rants, Fowler would scream, “Go Big” to fuel the band’s boisterous fury. Feeding off of Fowler’s passion, Dieckman would float his bass tail above the audience.

All the while, Fowler grinned like a familiar teacher, the one who did away with conventional wisdom and guided you with honesty. It becomes obvious why the audience must be immobile — children learn best when still.

BARR’s abrasive educating left the audience stupefied. Enter Casiotone for the Painfully Alone. Owen Ashworth is a downtrodden man, beaten before his prime, and a contrast to Fowler. Adorning a dingy brown sweater with a bright green collared shirt popping out of the top, Ashworth’s demeanor beckoned for hugs.

Singing of failures in love, and dreams incomplete, his vocals conjured up a Tom Waits-esque grumble. Ashworth’s most intimate moment came with the heartwrenching “Scattered Pearls.”

He drowned his sadness in hip-hop beats and occasional techno rages. Gazing at his numerous Casio instruments, meticulously tweaking and pushing, Ashworth resembled a mad musical scientist.

The scruffy Ashworth surprised the audience by covering “Streets of Philadelphia.” His electronic reinterpretation maintained the gritty emptiness of Springsteen’s original take on the city of brotherly love.

Ashworth’s set ended more hopeful than it began. He slammed his hand across the keys and with eyes wide opened he raged, “I’m going to Graceland.”

For more information visit Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and BARR.

— Photos by Meghan Murphy Gill