Review Thu Dec 03 2009

Review: Winter Gloves @ Empty Bottle

By Michelle Meywes

When Winter Gloves were here for their first Chicago show in May, they put on a high energy act despite playing to a nearly empty room. Their show on Tuesday at the (not so) Empty Bottle was no different, but this time there were more bodies to share in and amplify the enjoyment.

Perhaps anticipating a similarly small audience, lead singer Charles F started the show pointing to the floor space in front of the stage saying "We need you right here otherwise we're not playing." That turned out not to be a problem as a small dance party ensued among the modest but energetic crowd. You would never call their tunes "dance rock," but definitely danceable and turned out to be infectious--I even spotted members of the opening band, Conductive Alliance, joining in the party. Charles F's energy is hard not to absorb given his enthusiastic delivery and bouncy antics like jumping up on his stool and drumset (which left me wishing I had brought a photographer, or at least my own camera). Most of their set came from their 2008 LP About A Girl, but they also threw in a few tracks from their remix album released this year, A Way To Celebrate.

Since I'm a fan and have already reviewed their live show before, I was worried that I would have nothing to say about this performance, but there were things I noticed this time that I hadn't realized before. For one, Charles F's vocals. He has a pleasantly smooth, yet powerful voice with incredible range, moving effortlessly into falsetto and back again in a way that you almost don't even notice--he makes it look/sound so easy. Another thing was the amount of piano in their songs. The stage was littered with keyboards (4 to be exact). This is a trend I'm noticing more and more recently (maybe I'm just more attuned to it). Usually when I think piano in pop music, visions of Billy Joel and piano bars fill my head, but bands like Spoon and more recently White Rabbits have made powerful piano a prominent yet well-blended part of their music.

This having been the last night of their tour, they decided to "play Santa Claus" and hand out some free CDs toward the end of the show. The night ended with the dancing crowd chanting "one more!" But, Winter Gloves left them wanting more. Wondering when you'll get the chance to hear more? The group is currently heading home to Montreal to work on a new album for the spring, which, of course, will be followed by another US tour.