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Billy Bragg

BY JORDAN MAINZER

Young talents and old legends.

Boogie, Reggie’s

For the most part, Everythings for Sale, the debut album from Compton rapper Anthony Dixson, aka Boogie, is one of the better first major label efforts in recent memory. Short, concise, cohesive, and brimming with ideas, Boogie dexterously plays off downtempo instrumentation and beats to share his anxieties about leaving a legacy and being in a relationship. Ultimately, it paints a realistic picture because he never truly leaves his darkness.

From the start, Boogie is stuck in a rut and wants to die. Experiences like those on “Silent Ride” don’t help much, as he recalls the story of passing out drunk, his girlfriend giving him a ride home and looking at his phone for directions but ultimately going through his phone and uncovering dark secrets. She’s mad about what she saw, and he’s mad she violated his privacy, and he expertly details their silent tension over appropriately awkward flutes and beats. That the source of their conflict comes from a betrayal and lack of communication is the inherent problem behind “Lolsmh”, too. The title may be a cheap reference to overused text abbreviations, but Boogie has a point about how non face-to-face interactions cheapen emotions. “No, my skin ain’t thick, it’s thin, it prolly bleeds soon as you touch me/I love if you hate me, I hate that you fuckin’ love me,” he confesses, still wanting everything to be alright even through his crisis of confidence. And “Whose Fault” starts with a skit of fighting parents, Boogie in a spiral of self-awareness about his faults as a parent and stereotypes of black fathers: “I'm too pissed I say ‘no bitch, go tell your nigga do it’ uh / Another stereotype that I couldn't prove wrong.” Horns from none other than contemporary master Christian Scott aTunde Adjuah add emotional weight to the song.

The best songs are when Boogie takes the leap, moving forward even when he’s in a bad place. “Swap Meet” is a slow jam that doesn’t see him commodify a woman but comparing his lack of traditional currency--money--and plentiful emotional support to a bargain. He wants to “change your view on a bad day,” and you can’t ask for much more. So on “Skydive”, over gorgeous acoustic guitar, he laments our generation’s insecurity over commitment, comparing it to the title, a thrilling experience your average adult (born in a generation where marriage occurred much earlier in life and plane technology was worse) would consider scary. “Live 95″ provides a bed of calming smooth jazz over which Boogie is able to “find bliss in the abyss.”

What prevents Everythings For Sale from being a great album is a mixture of filler and misfires. The JID-featuring “Soho” is nothing more than a nervous sounding banger. “Self Destruction” is another radio ready track that’s both a thematic outlier and kind of pointless, Boogie wavering between appropriating mumble rap/ignorance and harping on it. The worst is “Rainy Days”. Boogie’s signed to Shady Records, Eminem’s label, which is easily ignorable save for Eminem’s awful guest appearance on the song. (I cannot unhear Em’s nadir,  “I left my legacy hurt? Fuckin' absurd / Like a shepherd havin' sex with his sheep, fuck what you heard.”) Thankfully, though, Boogie admits his faults on brief closer “Time”, featuring a gorgeous guest vocal spot from Snoh Aalegra, wherein he declares that he just can’t help himself, whether it comes to sexual escapades, the desire for self-harm, or even just making the occasional bad song. At least he’s honest.

7.5/10

Rappers KB. Devaughn, Bobby Sessions, & R I L E Y open.

Billy Bragg, Lincoln Hall

Folk punk singer-songwriter and activist Billy Bragg’s currently on the One Step Forward, Two Steps Back tour during which he delivers a set spanning his entire career. Expect to hear mostly his solo material, though perhaps a song or two from his beloved collaborations with Wilco as well as plenty of covers.

Eels, Thalia Hall

We previewed Eels’ set at Thalia Hall last year:

Mark Oliver Everett, E, MC Honky–those are all names currently or at once ironically adopted by the only consistent member behind depressed rock band Eels. Their new album The Deconstruction provides the exact sort of sad-sack music you’re used to from this band. While it doesn’t reach the same epic levels as an album like 2005′s Blinking Lights and Other Revelations or doesn’t have anything nearly as catchy as classics 'Novocaine For The Soul' and 'Mr. E’s Beautiful Blues', it’s another solid entry in an ever-expanding catalog.

Rock band The Inspector Cluzo opens.

Makaya McCraven, Empty Bottle

Jazz drummer Makaya McCraven takes Universal Beings back to Chicago tonight. When we saw him at Big Ears Festival last month, we wrote:

“Makaya McCraven, whose Universal Beings was a relatively global album (despite what he says) offered a blissful, nimble set of slow-burning grooves from that record and Highly Rare, with a band that included bassist Junius Paul and guitarist Jeff Parker of Tortoise.”

Who he plays with and what he plays may be different tonight, but the qualities should remain the same.

TRUCKFIGHTERS

Bottom Lounge | Chicago, IL

10/10/17