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Tortoise opened for Wilco at the UIC Pavillion last Sunday and Monday. I missed their set because Jam Productions restricts the movement of photographers to the point of making them wait in the hallway til the headline act begins! I watched some of their set through the curtains. I heard the rest of the set from afar, I'll write about them in general. Tortoise, made up of Dan Bitney, John McEntire, John Herndon, Jeff Parker, and Doug McCombs. It is, by far, the best band you have never heard of! Tortoise has the some of the most skilled musicians of any band in Chicago. Doug McCombs and John Herndon began playing together in 1988. You can read about the band's entire 20 year history here. All of these guys have played A LOT. Johnny Herndon is one of the best drum set players in Chicago, he is self taught and just amazing. And in this band there are 3 great drummers. Herndon, Bitney and McEntire! McEntire and Herndon drum head to head in the middle of this clip starting around 12:00 All three are true percussionists, playing any and all percussion instruments. Bitney also plays bass. It is hard to keep up with who is playing what on stage!
Jeff Parker is a Chicago legend on guitar, he also plays bass occasionally. He has a huge Jazz vocabulary and plays effortlessly. Doug McCombs also plays guitar and bass. He is an outstanding guitar player. Just listen to these guys. They are not a Jazz band, they are not a Rock band, they are somewhere in the middle and very comfortable where they are. They are not trying to be anything but spectacular musicians and they succeed brilliantly. Go to their site and leave the window open and listen. Tortoise will slowly win you over with their power!
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Words by LEE KLAWANS: Please click here for more great stories
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