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Concert Wed Jun 18 2008
Here are My Hands
It was nearly a year that I saw Wisconsin’s Venna open for Page France. Playing to a crowd of twenty, the group, powered by the vocals of Heather Hladish, sat in chairs in front of the stage and played a beautiful acoustic set. Seated next to Heather was husband and guitar player Marky Hladish (The Felix Culpa), and you could tell by their occasional glances and grins that these songs were crafted with love and passion. As Heather sang the chorus of "Eulogy", “here are my hands”, I realized that this was her offering to the world. These songs were an intimate extension of her, who she is and who she wants to be.
That night they handed out free homemade demo ep’s wrapped in paper bags, tied with red string, with a Venna pin on top. Inside there was a vintage postcard, a hand-written note, and the 3 track demo. It was clear that this band had a sense of presentation that was both honest and crafty. Now as they release their official debut ep on Chicago’s Common Cloud Records this flare for presentation has been carried forward. The beautifully printed cardboard case came wrapped in green twine only adding to the mystery of what might be inside. The booklet inside was creatively photocopied and hand-stitched with green thread mapping out the lyrics in an interesting way. The six songs on the ep include a rerecorded version of “Eulogy”, but also songs like “Paper” that expand their sound instrumentally. Crafted with care, this is an exciting debut from Heather and Marky’s hands to yours.
Venna will be opening for Cotton Jones Basket Ride on June 21 at The House Café in DeKalb, IL. The show starts at 8:00pm and tickets are $8.
marky / June 19, 2008 11:03 AM
Thanks for the review, Jason! I'm glad you enjoyed the ep.