Haunted House: Lesh is More Review

83/100

For some reason the sound of tinkling ivories is not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of outsider pop music.  Guitars, synths, violins, violas, homemade musical gadget, hell,  even keyboards as background instruments, yes, but front and center?  This unique choice of musical arranging helps to separate local group Haunted House from other bands creating similar music and allows them to be one of the most consistently rewarding bands in the local scene. Following up last year’s solid, if under appreciated, Guess Who is Coming to Dinner, the group is back again with their latest LP Lesh is More (yes, it is in honor of the Grateful Dead bassist).

If the songs on Lesh are More sound like companion pieces to Guess Who is Coming to Dinner, it is because they are.  The albums were recorded around the same time in 2008 (along with the album Ravage through the Bum’s Hair”) and show that Haunted House (led by lead singer/keyboardist Matt Watton) lacks any problems creating for both quantity and quality.  Like Guess Who is Coming to Dinner, Lesh is More sounds like a whacked out pop dream centered around Watton’s propulsive keys and disjointed vocals. The album seems to be both expansive and wide eyed while maintaining a stifling, claustrophobic feel. Starting with the driving “stairway to the airplane” and continuing throughout the 10 song album, the tracks on Lesh is More are melodic and poppy in the same way that Captain Beefheart was (minus the delta blues).  Namely they are not for the huddled masses and could possibly scare children, but for those of us who like their pop music a little bit outside the box these are downright anthemic.  From the spaced out “hypnotize the girl in the yellow coat,” which is like a movie soundtrack on acid with tounge tied vocals to the almost circus pop of “The Devil,” no weirdo pop stone is unturned on this ambitious album.

Lesh is More is an album that is harder to describe than it is to enjoy.  In a day and age when it seems like more people write crappy pop songs for diaper commercials than actually try to write engaging and challenging music, Haunted House is one of the many great bands in the Minneapolis scene that help keep my faith in new music. 

     -Josh

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‘It makes your heart feel good’ Harvest Pow Wow provides lessons in Native American culture.(Neighbor)

Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) September 24, 2010 | Cilella, By Jessica Byline: Jessica Cilella Daily Herald Correspondent Participating in Native American powwows is part of Melanie Minafores life so much so she planned her wedding around one.

“We made sure we were able to attend the Harvest Pow Wow and that it didnt conflict with anything,” said the Schaumburg resident, who got married last weekend.

On Saturday at Naper Settlement in Naperville, the annual gathering will mark its 16th year with all the dancing, drumming, crafts, artwork and food Minafore, a member of the Arikara tribe, along with hundreds of members of other tribes have grown to love.

“It makes your heart feel good,” Minafore said. “You get all wrapped up in it.” Midwest SOARRING, which stands for Save Our Ancestors Remains & Resources Indigenous Network Group, hosts the Harvest Pow Wow each year in an effort to educate people unfamiliar with Native American culture and to bring Native Americans together from across the country.

“A powwow is a gathering of all nations, all people coming together for the same purpose,” said Shawndra Campbell, a South Elgin resident who serves as a board member of Midwest SOARRING. “Its a social event, its a good place to rekindle relationships with old friends and meet new friends, and its just a really good time for everyone involved.” There will be plenty of activities for guests to participate in from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 25, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 26, but only if there is the constant presence of a particular instrument: the drums. web site native american culture

“You can never really have a powwow unless, of course, you have a drum,” said Campbell, who is also a jingle dress dancer. “The drum is the heartbeat of the people and thats what brings us all together.” Campbells 13-year-old and 15-year-old daughters, both fancy shawl dancers, will be just two of the dozens of performers expected to attend from numerous states and tribes. Dancers will make a grand entrance at 1 and 7 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

Native Americans wont be the only ones in on the fun.

“If youre a spectator you are allowed to come into the circle and actually participate and partake in everything that is going on during an intertribal,” Campbell said.

Other highlights this year include Al Jewer playing native flute; singer Mark Jourdan, who will perform at 5:30 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday; and presentations featuring a bald eagle from noon to 5 p.m. each day by Save Our American Raptors, an organization dedicated to the conservation of native birds of prey.

A special kids corner will be available from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days for children to make crafts, and visitors of all ages can try Native American food such as Indian tacos and squash soup. There will be more than 30 vendors selling Native American crafts, from jewelry to blankets.

Jody Ellyne, marketing manager at Naper Settlement, said the Harvest Pow Wow is a “fabulous event” because of its connection with the area where its held.

“This was the land of the Potawotomi Indians,” she said. “Theres a lot of history here.” She said Joseph Naper, who founded Naperville, established a trading post where he exchanged goods such as tools for furs and meats with Native Americans in the 1800s, making the location for the powwow even more significant.

“Bringing (their culture) to life at a place like Naper Settlement is a creative and inspiring way to connect the past with the present and to educate everyone,” she said. website native american culture

Joseph Standing Bear Schranz, president and founder of Midwest SOARRING, said he is expecting about 5,000 people to come out and hopes, like Ellyne, that everyone leaves knowing more about Native American culture.

“I feel, and my organization feels, we have to teach about good values and we have to teach about how to take care of the Earth while we still have an Earth that is worth taking care of,” he said. “I think youll come away with a better understanding not only of our people, but of the world.” Campbell believes the event serves as a good learning experience for Native American children, too.

“I think, especially for the younger kids, the powwows are a great place to begin to let them know and tell them that, You have a place to belong. This is who you are and be true to yourself,” she said.

She added that she thinks the gatherings “keep our traditions going” because there are no Indian reservations in Illinois for them to be carried out in a communal form.

Still, Midwest SOARRING is constantly working on creating more permanent resources, including a cultural center and headquarters for the organization that will open in October in Westchester.

Schranz said the group also owns a herd of 29 bison in Le Roy, Ill., which he hopes to move into a planned cultural village, where visitors can attend immersion classes and campouts to understand “what its like to be native.” Some of the profits from the Harvest Pow Wow which will be held rain or shine will be used to help with such projects.

But for Minafore and many others, the powwow will simply be a colorful and vibrant weekend for people of all backgrounds to enjoy.

“It will give them a taste of something that people think is just in museums and history books and to get a taste of what the culture is all about,” she said.

Cilella, By Jessica

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