[ATTENDED: January 27, 2020] Illiterate Light
S. and I saw Illiterate Light open for The Head and the Heart back in October. We were really impressed by them–their power (especially for just two people), their intensity, and their overall sense of fun. In fact, because of annoying crowd people around me, I enjoyed Illiterate Light more than TH&TH.
I knew that they would be really great to see when they were the headline act, so when they announced a show at Johnny Brenda’s, I quickly got us both a ticket.
The band is a duo with Jeff Gorman on guitar and bass pedals (and what a huge difference those bass pedals make) and Jake Cochran on drums (and dancing). The dancing is important because unlike most drummers, Cochran plays his drum kit standing up. This allows him a lot of mobility–he wanders the stage, hangs out with Gorman and hits cymbals from all angles.
We couldn’t help but notice that there were several camera dudes all around the stage. They told us that they’d be filming this show for some kind of upcoming something or other. I’m looking forward to seeing it (we’re bound to be in it). Although there was SO MUCH FOG (which is why my pictures are so hazy) that I have to wonder how good their video will be.
The guys came out and set up their gear (I was amused at how much more stuff Cochran had–I guess since his floor tom is removable?). Although when Gorman brought in his foot pedals (a cool Moog device) he raised it over his head to much applause.
So Illiterate Light have one album out (with 12 songs) and an EP (Sweet Beast) that has three songs not on the album. Essentially, they have 15 songs in their repertoire. It’s a little bit odd that they didn’t play all fifteen songs (leaving out “American Boy” “Existential Crisis” and “Wish I Didn’t Have Any Problems” from the album and “Two Cats” from the EP but including their cover of Neil Young and The Promise of the Reals’ “Vampire Blues”). It’s especially odd since their set wasn’t all that long. However technical problems with Camp Howard made t hem go on late, so maybe they truncated the show? That seems doubtful.
Whatever the case, the fog started pouring out, the crowd went nuts and the band started.
Cochran was dressed in a full track suit with sunglasses and Gorman had on a jumpsuit with Illiterate Light embroidered on the back.
The set was not very different from their opening set a few months ago. In fact, I feel like they may have been louder at the other show (a bigger venue). Since I knew them a bit more now, I was more attuned to what was happening on stage–Gorman playing big ol’ riffs on the guitar and then when the sound needed to get really big, adding in a bass pedal or two. It was fun being able to see him multitask up there using both feet and both hands. You can really hear the difference between bass pedals and no pedals in this clip from “Nuthin’s Fair”
Meanwhile, Cochran is just having a blast bashing away on the small kit, walking over and singing harmonies on Gorman’s mic–they really do seem like the best of friends, which is nice.
All night I was trying to think of who Illiterate Light sounded like and my conclusion was that they sounded like what I want Jim James’ solo music to sound like. Jim James tends to go in directions I don’t really like on his solo work, and I think Illiterate Light fills in that gap quite nicely.
There was a large gathering of people in front of us–I was going to say college kids, but you need to be 21 to get in some maybe college seniors or recent grads. They were chatty and a little disrespectful but were also (it turned out) apparently friends with the band so I guess they are forgiven. When the show was over Cochran came over and gave big hugs to a bunch of them, calling them his sisters. Nevertheless, S. and I laughed at how you could tell how drunk the girls were by how over the top their dance moves became by the end.
The first few songs were similar if in a slightly different order. And I assume the guys felt they could stretch out a bit more since the stage was theirs.
The fog cleared briefly during the introduction of the catchy “Carolina Lorelei.” There’s no drums in the intro, so Cochran was able to come over and hang out with Gorman for a few measures.
Last time they had a mini-set of acoustic songs which I rather liked.
This time “I Wanna Leave America” was played fully electrically. This song sounds very much like a Neil Young song and even references Neil Young: “Think I’ll track down Neil Young and tell him how I feel/see if he’s got some wisdom after all the Nixon years.” Speaking of Neil Young, I loved watching Gorman play a clearly Neil Young-inspired guitar solo while still playing the bass pedals.
They only did one acoustic song, “Sometimes Love Takes So Long.” Gorman came up front with his acoustic guitar and Cochran brought out his floor tom which he held in one hand (and flexed amusingly for the camera) as they sang this song with much audience sing-along. I didn’t necessarily want more acoustic stuff, but the intimacy of that song felt like maybe they would do one more like that.
However, after the acoustic song, they played a really noisy and chaotic song called “Vacant Lover” which was surprisingly dissonant.
The band’s hit has been “Better Than I Used To.” When they started it, the crowd went pretty crazy. It sounds terrific live and S. and I were amused at how it was turned into something of a real rocker live. Philly shows tend to get slam dancey and I actually wondered if the bros might start to slam to this–but they didn’t.
At the Met they surprised me by playing “Vampire Blues” which I recognized but had to think about where I knew it from. Like at that show, they jammed the song out for a hugely long guitar solo. This solo was a bit more experimental, with an entire section in which Gorman was playing a few quiet notes and nothing else. The crowd seemed a little bored during this part, but I rather dug it. The wailing end part of the solo was much more exciting though.
They ended the set with their wonderful song “Growin’ Down.” Again, Cochran was able to come out and sing the opening with Gorman at the front of the stage. The crowd knew it and sang along in full voice. I love that they share a mic and that Cochran put his arm around Gorman as they sang together. After the quiet intro, the song does rock out and the ending was a lot of fun.
I wondered if they’d do an encore but they had played pretty much all of the songs that I figured they would. And while we could have stayed to hang out with them, we were happy to leave since the show ended about 25 minutes later than it should have. Any time you can see a good show and be home by midnight is a great night as far as I’m concerned.
It was a terrific show and scratched that itch of getting to see a great live band a second time.
| 2020 Johnny Brenda’s | 2019 Met (possible setlist) |
| In the Ground ♠ | Nuthin’s Fair ♠ |
| Nuthin’s Fair ♠ | In the Ground ♠ |
| Sweet Beast € | Carolina Lorelei ♠ |
| Without Walls ♠ | Sweet Beast € |
| I Wanna Leave America ♠ | Sometimes Love Takes So Long (acoustic) ♠ |
| Here Lie the Bones of My Favorite Car ♠ | Without Walls (acoustic) ♠ |
| Carolina Lorelei ♠ | I Wanna Leave America (acoustic) ♠ |
| Sometimes Love Takes So Long (acoustic) ♠ | Better Than I Used To ♠ |
| Vacant Lover ♠ | Vampire Blues (Neil Young cover) |
| Better Than I Used To ♠ | Growin Down € |
| Vampire Blues (Neil Young cover) | |
| Growin Down € |
€ Sweet Beast EP
♠ Illiterate Light
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