#chase johnson

Liz Cooper Brings New Tunes to Music Hall of Williamsburg

Liz Cooper – Music Hall of Williamsburg – October 9, 2021

At the end of their impressive opening set on Saturday, New Madrid singer Phil McGill asked the Music Hall of Williamsburg crowd: “Y’all ready for Liz?” I don't think he was trying to evoke the original Space Jam theme (“Y’all ready for this?”), but if he had been, the hype was warranted. As her ensuing headlining performance proved to all within earshot, ready or not, Liz Cooper is here. Just like with Hot Sass, released last month, her show kicked off with “Slice of Life,” Cooper singing, “Up to no good, so we all join in,” the first of many full-band rock-outs taking little time to ignite the room, her guitar slung on her shoulder like a cigarette dangling precariously from a lower lip, a curl of sonic smoke constantly emerging from the tip.

The cover of Hot Sass is drenched in a saturated red and the live act has an overwhelming red feel to it. Cooper’s band—Ryan Usher on drums, Joe Bisirri on bass, Chase Johnson on keys and percussion—was almost entirely dressed in red, with a pop of bright lipstick, generously applied. The color has many connotations and associations and the set evoked many of them. “Heart Shaped Candy,” with its dueling lyrics of “Let’s strike a match on gasoline” and “Everything is beautiful today,” begins quiet and moody before finding its heat, a bright-red atomic-fireball candy that’s both sweet and spicy. “Motorcycle,” with its early–Talking Heads groove and grime and “Burning Down the House” drum fills, was the fire-engine red of a sports car zipping down the highway at top speed, while the addictive Beatles dance-rock of “Je T’aime” was the Valentine’s Day red of passion and love.

Cooper and the band picked up steam as they went along, hitting all the vermilion hues they could along the way. A long feedback jam to open “Lucky Charm” had Cooper on her knees fiddling with knobs as the band churned in fury, creating an edgy tension before finally releasing into the song, Cooper crooning, “Are you happy now?” feeling a bit ironic as everyone in the crowd worked their cheeks rosy dancing along. The tail end of the performance featured expertly layered guitar jams in “Getting Closer,” the sweet-and-somber “Shoot the Moon”—which centered on Cooper’s voice before the band entered toward the end—and the guns-a-blazin’ punk-out of the title track. Although the show was confined to the new record, played almost song for song in tracking order, fans were treated to one older tune in the encore, a solo version of “Mountain Man,” the usual rocker feeling like a cowboy song sung in front of a campfire, the audience content to stare into the dancing scarlet flames of Liz Cooper one last time for the night. —A. Stein | @Neddyo

Chili Bowl Nationals Results: January 12, 2021

Full race results from the day two of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Chili Bowl Nationals Results: January 12, 2021

Full race results from the day two of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Chili Bowl Nationals Results: January 12, 2021

Full race results from the day two of the Chili Bowl Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma