#sima cunningham

BY JORDAN MAINZER

The last time I saw a performance of Jeff Tweedy’s solo material was, too, during a time of severe uncertainty. The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election was coming down to the wire, the passing of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was announced an hour before the show, and COVID-19 was about to begin its fall and winter surge. Last night, I kept checking Tweedy and Metro’s Instagram pages to make sure the show was still going on and not postponed in light of concerns over the Omicron variant--words that even a year ago wouldn’t have made sense. Much has changed, yet much has stayed the same. We continue to ask ourselves what we’re willing to risk to partake in various communal experiences, though there are those that undoubtedly show up from an entirely selfish point of view. I think of a line from Tweedy’s “Having Been Is No Way To Be”: “Now people say, 'What drugs did you take? And why don’t you start taking them again?' / But they’re not my friends / And if I was dead, what difference would it ever make to them / If I got high, from time to time?” Though it refers to Tweedy’s past addiction and his fans’ perceived positive effect drugs had on his music, the sentiment remains the same: You are putting on a show for me, even to the detriment of your health.

Thankfully, last night, in addiction to being all vaccinated, the crowd complied with the city of Chicago’s mask mandate about as well as I’ve seen in a concert during the COVID era. After performing “Opaline”, Tweedy remarked that he couldn’t tell whether the crowd was smiling; as someone in the front row lowered their mask to demonstrate a smile, Tweedy said, “Don’t bother taking your mask down; we have thumbs!” The “mask up, thumbs up” gesture became a running theme throughout the show, the crowd’s sign of approval whenever James Elkington would rip a guitar solo or Ohmme’s Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart’s harmonies and backing vocals wowed, like on “Low Key” or “Half Asleep”. For Jeff’s son Sammy’s 22nd birthday, the crowd clapped instead of sang “Happy Birthday” as he walked on stage. Just like with his words, Tweedy always knows how to make the best out of a bad situation, turning the challenging of a social norm into a grand unifier.

And how about that band? Cunningham, who sang backing vocals last time around, filled in on 48 hours notice for her brother Liam Kazar on bass, while Stewart’s violin provided additional depth on “Love Is The King”. As always, Elkington’s slide guitar was a beautifully wincing constant, while Jeff’s drummer son Spencer added a steady pulse and subtle brushwork to almost every song. As a whole, the band’s chemistry is second-to-none, even with the limited amount of touring they’ve done in the year since Love Is The King came out. Whether bops like “Gwendolyn” or waltzes like “Evergreen”, they’re tight and loose when they need to be, changing tempos and giving each other space to flourish with ease.

It's time for Beginnings, the podcast where writer and performer Andy Beckerman talks to the comedians, writers, filmmakers and musicians he admires about their earliest creative experiences and the numerous ways in which a creative life can unfold.

On today's episode I talk to Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart of the band Ohmme. Based in Chicago - where they've been hailed as "the heart of Chicago's music community" - Sima and Macie are both classically trained musicians and established players within the Chicago music scene who have collaborated with everyone from Richard Thompson to Jeff Tweedy to Chance the Rapper to Ken Vandermark. Though they have collaborated with each other for many years, Ohmme is their first rock band together, and their debut album Parts was just released this summer by Joyful Noise Recordings, and it's wonderful!

(Photo by Alexa Viscius)

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Sam Beam sang at Brooklyn Steel with his band last Tuesday, Nov. 14th. I braved this concert alone since most of my friends were busy/going to other concerts. I got there promptly at 7pm. Brooklyn Steel is a pretty cold, open venue- a warehouse type of feel. They were selling these amazing mozzarella sticks and fried chicken parmesan balls?! ...incredible. I walk in and grab a Lagunitas IPA and read my book until the opener, Ohmme, started playing at 8. The place was relatively full for Ohmee, which was cool. They played some awesome stuff. Look up: Fingerprints 

Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart got together in 2014 to start their “experiment in voice and sound”. Both are extremely talented vocalists and musicians. Their music is interesting in that it reminds you of everything good you’ve ever heard, but it is also uniquely different and quite original. Look up: Woman 

They are unreal live. So so talented. Can’t wait to see more of what they do because it seems like they are just getting started. I love going to a concert to see someone I’ve been a lifelong fan of only to discover an amazing new band along the way. 

Sam started playing at 9:15. The place was PACKED! Amazing for a Tuesday night concert. He opened with The Trapeze Swinger from his album Around The Well. This was an amazing opener for all of his long-time fans. Very sentimental and beautiful. I almost cried. He then continued to play for the next two hours with an encore. He is so much fun live- so kind, he interacts very well with the audience. There was a dude next to me who was screaming all night at Sam about how much he loved him. Sam responded well, even when it got to be a bit much. He mostly played songs from Beast Epic, his most recently released album. One thing about Sam is that he continues to produce amazing music after many years. I know lots of good artists that have come out with maybe one album that was pretty awesome, but Iron & Wine pretty much has nailed every release they’ve had. 

There's no better way to experience music than in a live setting. While we've come a long way with technology over the years, streaming and bluetooth hold little to feeling and seeing a song performed the way it was meant to be. Sadly, live videos often fall short of mimicking this experience and as such, often fall short of post-able. That is not the case with Homme's new live video of them performing their single "Bully Clouds" in New Orleans last month. 

There's no better way to experience music than in a live setting. While we've come a long way with technology over the years, streaming and bluetooth hold little to feeling and seeing a song performed the way it was meant to be. Sadly, live videos often fall short of mimicking this experience and as such, often fall short of post-able. That is not the case with Homme's new live video of them performing their single "Bully Clouds" in New Orleans last month. 

There's no better way to experience music than in a live setting. While we've come a long way with technology over the years, streaming and bluetooth hold little to feeling and seeing a song performed the way it was meant to be. Sadly, live videos often fall short of mimicking this experience and as such, often fall short of post-able. That is not the case with Homme's new live video of them performing their single "Bully Clouds" in New Orleans last month.