Califone and Kiran Leonard

The Chicago experimental jazz/blues/dustbowl music act Califone has been a prolific band since their formation in 1997, yet they remain a rather shadowy, elusive bunch who have flown under the radar – and that’s in spite of regular critical praise. Formed by Tim Rutili after his previous band Red Red Meat disbanded, he’s been ably supported by a number of players over the years but Rutili is the creative force behind Califone’s best records. Quicksand/Cradlesnakes and Heron King Blues are collections which mix folk, murder balladry, blues and modern sampling and taping/cutting techniques and are endless fascinating records. Being an old punk, Rutili is very independent of spirit and being in a band or lumped into a particular genre and that means no two Califone albums ever sound the same. This means that Califone live shows are unpredictable affairs; tracks like ‘Michigan Girls’ sound fairly faithful to the album versions, but there’s fun to be had by stretching out ‘Funeral Singers’ so it becomes a long-form blues dirge. There are a couple of songs that are always well-received by the fans as well: ‘Fisherman’s Wife’ is often played solo by Rutili on acoustic slide guitar, his low croon an absolute treat and ‘Your Golden Ass’ is ten minutes of experimental noise punk. It might not be a euphoric experience seeing Califone live, but it should be endlessly involving.

Marc Riley has been raving about 19 year old (as of March '15) Kiran Leonard for around a year and only just recently did I pay attention. Kiran played with his excellent band members at The Harley in Sheffield and it was astonishingly good.

When buying a CD afterwards, their manager explained that the venue (similar to others they would be playing) meant that some of the more pastoral sounds from Kiran's album Bowler Hat Soup would not be heard.

From my experience this meant some heavy, complex rock. I personally heard Jeff Buckley, Mars Volta and Biffy Clyro but even that does not do justice to the empathetci, thoughtful and intelligent lyrics and arrangements put forward by Kiran and the band. The lyrics certainly defy his years but our years as well. You won't hear mention of smartphones or tablets, it will more likely be more traditional activities adapted to portray something humane.

There was so much energy, cohesion, expression and exrtion in the performance. The first song went on for almost 20 minutes and was constantly captivating. The guy is still at university and one has tto hope that he will continue writing, playing and projecting.