IF YOU DON'T GO, YOU WON'T KNOW

It was worth it to feel like this. 

So last night Love of Everything played an early show at the Vaudeville Mews. They played Wichita the night before, and apparently that show was a surprise highlight of the Chicago duo's brief tour in support of new album Best in Tensions. A "two for the price of one" drink special will do that, I guess, even on a Sunday night. They weren't so lucky here, drink-wise, but a lot of the all-ages crowd stuck around after the local bands, and their reward came in the form of a short but sweet set: Bobby Burg making with the naive-punk punning and friendly banter as drummer Elisse La Roche beat out simple rhythms and smiled back at him. Their husband-wife dynamic made them look a bit like Matt and Kim, if Matt dressed more like Sufjan Stevens. Oh, and they actually did the tennis ball thing! (As seen in the video above.)

Only your mother laughed as I apologized for being.

Burg has been involved with a bunch of Chicago bands-- Joan of Arc, Chin Up Chin Up, Vacations, that whole community-- and he first caught my ear six years ago with Total Eclipse of the Heart, which suffered the misfortune of being reviewed (with effusive praise!) by me. His sound has changed a bit since then, with a sensibly lo-fi screen of distortion over Burg's high, vulnerable vocals, and the addition of La Roche on drums. But I'd actually been thinking about that older record recently even before I knew Love of Everything (a) had a new album out or (b) were coming to Des Moines. One of my favorite-- albeit in a modest, personal way, the kind of thing you feel weird pitching to quasi-objective arbiters of taste like Pitchfork-- discoveries this year has been a Southern California singer/songwriter who records as Nicole Kidman. He has put out a couple of CD-Rs on Bridgetown Records, and his voice is a lot like how Burg's used to sound, his  rudimentary arrangements a lot like Burg's, too. (Daniel Johnston is another decent comparison). Release-wise, a particular favorite is 20 Years Old and No Boyfriend, a tape of songs about Nicole Kidman movies, plus a cover of Kidman hubby Keith Urban. Also see if you can find "I'm in Love With a Jehova's Witness". But the tracks on the MySpace page should be a great introduction either way.

Coming up this week: some semblance of a Des Noise summer concert preview. Woo.