The Whigs make a lot of noise.
Perhaps that's what made their visit to the Isthmus office on Oct. 15 such a special experience. The Athens, Ga.-based rockers shed their electric sound for a short acoustic set, a change that helped highlight the intimacy of their lyrics.
"Hit Me," from their latest album, Modern Creation, is quintessential garage rock complete with scratchy guitar riffs and heavy percussion. The stripped down version allows us to focus on singer Parker Gispert's words. "Now they'll build me up to break me down gently," he croons. "I'll take the quiet life, the ball and chain."
The Whigs were in Madison to co-headline a set at The Frequency, which has been hosting the monthly Communion club night series for about a year.
Co-founded in 2006 by Ben Lovett of Mumford & Sons, Communion aims to showcase under-the-radar and unknown artists. Since last fall, the American branch of the organization has sent touring acts to Madison and nine other U.S. cities for monthly shows with local musicians.
“Communion's entire vision and model is based on the idea of being a platform for artists," says Hillary Sprecher of Communion, "and it only makes sense to partner with other independent companies that are interested in the same goals."
Isthmus is committed to expanding its arts and entertainment coverage -- and more multimedia, including video, will be part of that. Live sets hosted at Isthmus will let Madison residents see artists in an intimate and nontraditional setting, and the subsequent video releases will allow local and national musicians to reach new fans.
Produced by Isthmus, this video was directed and edited by Justin Sprecher with additional camerawork by James Kraus and audio by Manny Figueroa