Upon their return to Chicago, the
Australian sextet The Cat Empire turned the Double Door into a soul-drenched,
sweltering melting pot of salsa, reggae, jazz and Caribbean rhythms. With the
opening “Sly,” a grinning Felix Riebl (vocals/percussion) began the night with
his tribute to sensual infatuation. From that moment, The Cat Empire swept the
night away via the unrelenting mix of blazing jazz tempos, somber reggae chords
and thick blues rhythms. A few songs later, Harry Angus (vocals/trumpet)
provided a joyous release from the rat race with the anti-conformity and
anthemic “Car Song,” later dipping into valleys of sweet somber melancholy on
“Lost Song.”
The show was a mix of songs from
the group’s latest release, Two Shoes,
and older tracks. And like an astute general, Angus deftly maneuvered the agile
army from reggae to big-band salsa to tribal croons. Drummer Will Hull-Brown
laid down a sizzling solo in the midst of “Car Song,” inducing an ear-to-ear
grin from Angus and a spectacular duel with turntablist Jamshid “Jumps”
Khadiwhala.
The Cat Empire was wondrously
unpredictable and stylistically volatile: An electric injection of personal
politics, communal celebration and palpable love ballads. When the group was in
full stride with the crowd ablaze, it evoked comparisons to the live force of
Otis Redding or The Clash. After announcing their M.O. during “The Chariot”
(“Our weapons were our instruments/Made from timber and steel/We never yielded
to conformity/But stood like kings in a chariot riding on a recording wheel”)
the night ended with “Two Shoes,” a gratifying ode to music’s healing power.
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