Musically Speaking: Heartless Bastards at Durty Nellies. 7/14

Let me first start off this post by saying that this is the first show I've been to in my area that is actually worth blogging about and I couldn't be happier that it was a Heartless Bastards show. This band is absolutely INCREDIBLE live! Seriously, they're a tight band and you can tell they've been doing this a long time. I first heard them on WXRT 2 years ago, when their most recent album Arrow was released. The song that I heard was Parted Ways and I was floored at how powerful singer Erika Wennerstrom's voice was, I haven't heard anything like it in my life! I immediately researched them and found out that they were discovered in Ohio (they're from Cincinnati) when a demo was given to the Black Keys drummer Patrick Carney. He passed it along and they ended up being signed to Fat Possum records in 2004, such a cool story! I had been wanting to see them for a few years but school always interfered so I didn't get the chance but I finally saw them live and it was well worth the wait. The show was in my hometown too, which is crazy considering where I live and the lack of decent venues that are here. For those unfamiliar with Durty Nellie's, it's a bar/restaurant that has pretty good food and live music most weekend/weekday nights. It's definitely worth checking out if you're ever in the area and the Metra station is literally 2 steps out the door, so it's also convenient if you live in the city. Heartless Bastards ended up playing around 10:30 after the two opening acts, which by that time everyone was ready to see the main act. Anyways, the band consists of Erika the guitarist/singer, Jesse Ebaugh on bass, Dave Colvin on drums and Mark Nathan on guitar. They're all extremely talented and I have never heard drumming or guitar playing like that in my life! Erika was really nice and they genuinely looked so happy to be playing music with each other. They mainly played songs off of Arrow and every single song they played was even better than the previous. They are reminiscent of the Black Keys (which contradicted what I said in my last post about them haha) and have such great energy on stage. I enjoy bands that don't require any kind of production to make themselves sound/look better than they are, so this band is perfect for someone that just enjoys great music. I would definitely be seeing them again and hope they come back to the Chicago area soon!

Gotta Have Rock N Roll (Video from YouTube)