Review: Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power
Saturday night I went and saw Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power at the Middle East upstairs in Cambridge. I’ve got a friend who I now call “Indie Dan” that is constantly throwing new bands my direction. After the fourth time he bugged me about going to this show I gave a listen to the 2008 release Dark Developments from this combo and decided to go. Good thing I bought my ticket in advance because these Athens, Georgia indie dudes sold it out day-of-show. In fact the hand-written piece of paper read, “TONIGHT’S SHOW IS SOLD OUT FOR REAL”.
Chesnutt, from his wheelchair which he is bound to after a car accident, had an abrasive but playful interaction with the crowd all night as he explained the meanings behind some of his songs and humorously turned down song requests. Especially comical was his explanation that a song titled Teddy Bear was in his words “About fucking…”. No, it wasn’t about fucking a teddy bear. Three songs into his set, Chesnutt confirmed what I had thought was going on: That they were playing Dark Developments in its entirety. Chesnutt’s low and somewhat raspy voice sounded as good live as it does in the studio.
Here’s some video from a show last year at the Santa Fe Brewing Company:
READ ON for more of DaveO’s review of Vic Chesnutt & Elf Power…