Califone and Max Knouse

The Chicago experimental jazz/blues/dustbowl music act Califone has been a prolific band since their formation in 1997, yet they remain a rather shadowy, elusive bunch who have flown under the radar – and that’s in spite of regular critical praise. Formed by Tim Rutili after his previous band Red Red Meat disbanded, he’s been ably supported by a number of players over the years but Rutili is the creative force behind Califone’s best records. Quicksand/Cradlesnakes and Heron King Blues are collections which mix folk, murder balladry, blues and modern sampling and taping/cutting techniques and are endless fascinating records. Being an old punk, Rutili is very independent of spirit and being in a band or lumped into a particular genre and that means no two Califone albums ever sound the same. This means that Califone live shows are unpredictable affairs; tracks like ‘Michigan Girls’ sound fairly faithful to the album versions, but there’s fun to be had by stretching out ‘Funeral Singers’ so it becomes a long-form blues dirge. There are a couple of songs that are always well-received by the fans as well: ‘Fisherman’s Wife’ is often played solo by Rutili on acoustic slide guitar, his low croon an absolute treat and ‘Your Golden Ass’ is ten minutes of experimental noise punk. It might not be a euphoric experience seeing Califone live, but it should be endlessly involving.