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May 31, 2012 Rubblebucket By John Everhart

Rubblebucket are a Brooklyn act emblematic of the current world music milieu raging in indie rock, recalling the likes of ‘80s Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon. Their joyful noise is rife with roistering brass swells, and a taut rhythmic sway, but it’s singer Kalmia Traver that sets them apart from legions of indie acts currently aping the aforementioned holistic sound. She shimmies and convulses through this tour de force live filmed at Chicago’s famed Double Door on October 14, 2011, alternately bringing to mind the universal connectedness of Patti Smith and the eccentric brood of Gang Gang Dance’s Lizzi Bougatsos.

It’s an unlikely amalgamation, and like Rubblebucket’s kitchen-sink approach, sometimes mixes like water and vinegar. But at other times the band find a groove driven jam, as on the sublime “Silly Fathers,” and remind us just how viscerally powerful their disparate elements can cohere on a live stage, like a deranged, hippie Voltron. No, they’re not the finest band in Brooklyn by any stretch, and they have a downright odious name, but onstage they’re clearly at their best, and seem legitimately happy to be there, worlds removed from so many slovenly flavor of the month acts.

This is an eminently enjoyable DVD and live CD combo that makes you actually want to see the band play out, which is perhaps the ultimate compliment you can pay to a concert film, the likes of which are often seemingly mailed in. Rubblebucket Live In Chicago isn’t staid in the least, finding the band galvanized like a sparkplug, delivering a performance that hints that this band may have a great studio album in them yet.

(rubblebucket.com)

Author rating: 5/10