Bill Callahan Announces ‘Resuscitate’ Live Album
This documentation of a night in Chicago sees Callahan and cohorts Matt Kinsey, Jim White, and Dustin Laurenzi joined by special guests including Joshua Abrans
From left to right: Dustin Laurenzi, Jim White, Matt Kinsey, Bill Callahan
Bill Callahan is one of my all-time favorite songwriters. It’s almost unnatural how natural his abilities seem, often feeling like Callahan could simply stroll past a guitar and make the notes waft out like they were playing for him. When he picks one up, the chords buoy his deep warm baritone as it drifts out of the harbor. His lyrical prowess is such that the most poignant phrases are set loose to melt like snowflakes and dissipate into the atmosphere. The artist formerly known as SMOG releases his work like an oak emitting oxygen for the rest of us to breathe. But while the power of his words and deep soothing voice are well-praised and documented, not enough has been said about the man as a live performer. An upcoming live album featuring some impressive collaborators will hopefully bring that aspect of his work further into the spotlight.
Last December, we were lucky enough to catch Bill doing a solo acoustic gig at the Neptune Theatre in Seattle. It was a wonderful night and the stripped-down format was a great opportunity to see him in a way that I’d always wanted to, but never had the opportunity before. There was a lot of banter and even a brief slideshow, demonstrating another under-recognized aspect of the performer: his sense of humor. It’s no surprise that Callahan would thrive in such a setting, seeing how he is so widely hailed as a brilliant lyricist and singer/songwriter/troubadour, but his sound becomes incredibly dynamic and engaging when delivered from a full band. The first time I saw him in concert was in 2011 when he was touring in support of the album, Apocalypse. That run of dates was later translated into a tour film directed by Bill‘s future wife, Hanly Banks, and later released in a vinyl/DVD set for Record Store Day 2016. At the time, he was accompanied by drummer, Neal Morgan (Golden Shoulders, Joana Newsom), as well as guitarist, Matt Kinsey, who would appear on all of Callahan‘s albums moving forward.
I recently stumbled across some old video I shot from that 2011 show and I have been marveling at how engaging the whole thing was. There was an amazing chemistry between the three, generating a captivatingly moody holy ghost revival energy. The songs were powerful, shifting between driving and imposing to affecting and soothing, depending on what was required. What stands out to me is Kinsey‘s ability to play off of Bill. Sitting in his chair surrounded by pedals, the guitarist would activate a warbling, intoxicating Twin Peaks tone, or help fuel the engine to a runaway locomotive, as the frontman casually shuffled backward and forward in his seersucker suit, strum his acoustic, and/or blow his harmonica. I was rewatching the footage yesterday and, coincidentally, news of a brand new Bill Callahan live album was just announced. Kinsey is a part of this one too, but the full list of contributors makes this thing even more intriguing.
In 2022, Bill Callahan released the album YTI⅃AƎЯ, which saw him and Kinsey being joined by one of my favorite drummers, Jim White (Dirty Three, Xylouris White, etc), along with Emmett Kelly aka Cairo Gang (bass, vocals), and Sarah Ann Phillips (piano, Oregon). In 2023, while touring the album with a band consisting of Kinsey, White, and saxophonist, Dustin Laurenzi, they recorded a special show in Chicago featuring a handful of surprise guests. This performance is documented on the new live album, Resuscitate, which is slated to be released both digitally and physically on July 26th.
The following press release from Drag City Records further breaks down the details.
The date was March 6, 2023. Bill Callahan strode onto the stage at Chicago’s Thalia Hall, flanked by Matt Kinsey on guitar, Dustin Laurenzi on alto sax and Jim White on the kit. They all were feeling good, and it seemed like the crowd was also. But that wasn’t all. They had some special surprises planned… Take it away, Bill…
“This is a live album that was taken from the tour for YTI⅃AƎЯ. Songs tend to mutate after they’ve been recorded. These songs were mutating faster than usual. Like whatever happened to Bruce Banner in the lab — I knew these songs were about to get superpowers. As far as I was concerned, this change needed to be documented. The best thing about documenting something is that it gives the creator permission to move on should they wish to move on. I usually prefer to move on.
These songs were recorded in Chicago, America’s heart. And at one of the best clubs in the country — I try to only work with venues that are not entangled with Live Nation/Ticketmaster. Thalia Hall, baby. Stay free.”
—Bill Callahan
Yes‘n’deed! This here’s 10 tracks from that fateful night, from a piping hot mid-point in the tour — not too green, not too brown. Throughout the show, Bill brought a smattering of Chicago players on stage: Nathaniel Ballinger on piano for “Planets”, Pascal Kerong’A from the opening band adding vocals for “Naked Souls” with Nick Mazzarella on alto sax — and of course, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to invite Joshua Abrams (on guimbri) and Lisa Alvarado (on harmonium) to play on “Natural Information”. A night to remember, no doubt, but one that lives and breathes on Resuscitate! — out July 26, 2024 on 2xLP, CD, and digital platforms!
Along with the songs from YTI⅃AƎЯ are 3 other tunes pulled from Callahan‘s extensive catalog. These consist or “Pigeons” from Gold Record [2020], “Drover” off of Apocalypse [2011], and “Keep Some Steady Friends Around” from the 2001 (Smog) LP, Rain On Lens.
Resuscitate is available for pre-order now via Drag City and Bandcamp.
Unfortunatley, we’ve yet to receive a sample of the music contained on this new live release. Instead, here is some footage of Bill playing “Drover” at that 2011 Seattle show I was talking so much about.