Saturday, June 09, 2007

Inspector Owl: Under-Covered, Well-Merchandised


Went to bed at about 3:30 a.m., woke up around 7:30 a.m. What kept me up so late? A fine show here in Madison, whose highlight, for me, was Illinois band Inspector Owl. (I've posted about the band before.) Also there: Milwaukee's Those Royals, Madison's always tight and infectious Awesome Car Funmaker, and a newer local group, Romance Language (missed their set, unfortunately). Basically, a solid four or five hours of happy. What got me up so early? Well, perhaps a subconscious urge to start sippin' from my Inspector Owl coffee mug. The band's selling these for a thrifty $5 at its shows, and it brings some much-needed flair to my bachelor's kitchen. No idea at what point they decided it was worth having coffee mugs, but I'm glad they do. Maybe it will kick-start their marketing strategy, or something, and help their new EP and excellent shows attract the attention they're worth. Last night's show sounded a bit better than IO's last stop in Madison. Perhaps they had a better sound guy this time, but whatever it was, everything, including the violin, keys, and ocassional trumpet, came through much clearer. Appropriate, as the new EP sounds bigger and fuller than their previous records.

I've also previously mentioned Kid, You'll Move Mountains before. Corey, who sings lead and plays guitar in Inspector Owl, also plays in KYMM, and he says they're working on an actual album.