Roman Candle – Worth Missing 4th Quarter For

In Chicago, football is more of a religion than a sporting event. This was especially true for this year’s 3^rd preseason game, pitting the former-Bears-now-Broncos quarterback Kyle Orton against the former-Broncos-now-Bears quarterback Jay Cutler. Sort of like running into your ex-boyfriend when you’re out with the new guy – lots of bad blood and dirty looks while everyone tries to look their best. Now, for me to walk away from this game to go to Schubas there had to be a pretty impressive band playing.

Luckily, there was. And they had to good sense to start in the middle of the 4^th quarter after the Bears already had a commanding lead. Roman Candle was in town, bringing a little southern twang and a small cheering section to the Northside venue.

After a pre-game huddle on stage, the band kicked off the set with “Eden Was a Garden” off their full length “Oh Tall Tree in the Ear.” Before jumping into “Why Modern Radio is A-OK,” lead singer Skip Matheny told a story about fellow Tar Heel fans taking over the Duke football stadium, which I took as a sign that I made the right decision about not going to Duke. There’s a fair chance that I was not the main purpose behind telling the story, but I’m sure they would have supported my choice.

After a few more tunes, it became clear that Matheny may be moonlighting as a standup comic, which paid off during the hilarious between-song-banter. Unfortunately, the true comedy fans were in the bar’s upstairs lounge for open mic comedy night, not in the back with the band and their 20 or so fans. If the lack of crowd bothered the band, it didn’t show, and the set continued with all the energy of a packed house.

For those who are unacquainted, Roman Candle songs tell stories in a way that you don’t get from pop or repetitive power-cord rock. There’s a place for all of these genres, of course, but sometimes you want to a bit more from a song and Roman Candle easily delivers. Although, during “One More Road,” our narrator “walked the Spanish Steps across the streets of Rome,” which is problematic, as the Spanish Steps aren’t nearly long enough to cross Rome, and in fact are on a pedestrian section, not on an actual street. But I was probably the only one who cared.

Soon enough, Matheny was introducing “A Heartbeat,” not to be confused with “Heartbeat” by Amy Grant. He made sure that we were aware not only of the difference in the songs, but also of his extensive knowledge of Amy Grant and her discography. Duly noted.

As Schubas is entirely without a backstage, the encore portion lacks any real surprise, but it’s always funny to watch the band walk down the stairs of the stage and then just stand there. This time, in a twist, only Matheny returned to the stage for a final song, “You Don’t Belong to This World” while the rest of the band hung out and watched. It was amusing, if anti-climatic (and dark) ending.

Soon enough Timshel Matheny, farfisa player, was selling merch and signing t-shirts (ardent, if small, fanbase). Perhaps the Sunday night vibe brought on the abrupt ending, but I certainly would have supported another couple of songs. In any event, the audience was happy and the set was great. I can only hope that the poor attendance doesn’t keep them from coming back to Chicago on their next tour.

Courtesy of Roman Candle, feel free to take a listen to “They Say” off their latest “Oh Tall Tree in the Ear”

They Say by Roman Candle

*By Jesy: Go Bears.

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