The Acorn and Calexico
The Metro - Chicago, IL
November 21, 2008

The crunchy floors of the Metro sang along to Michael Jackson as we waited for the Acorn to take the stage.  Though not as many people showed up for this Canadian act as compared to the mass audience for Calexico, the entire crowd applauded loudly as lead singer Rolf Klausener and his ragtag team of musicians took the stage.  The Acorn mostly played tracks from their 2007 release Glory Hope Mountain, an album Klausener wrote about the life of his mother before she moved to Canada.  The Acorn’s unique sound, which combines traditional folk elements with world music, jazz, and ukuleles, entranced everyone at the Metro.  The two percussionists, one playing on a full drum kit and the other playing on a small tom kit, made every song richer with their percussive rim hits and Latin-inspired beats.  The band itself has an uncanny ability to make even the biggest venue seem like a private concert.  Their music is extremely personal and intimate and each song felt like it was being played with as much passion as it had when it was originally conceived.  This isn’t the type of music that you jump around to, as the Acorn chooses a more intellectual path for their music.  Drunk people slamming around and spilling beer down the back of your shirt isn’t the most pleasant experience, so seeing these two bands at the Metro with a more mature audience made the experience that much more enjoyable.

photographed by Amy Dittmeier | all images © Pensatos