The New Standards

The New Standards is a group I saw last year at the Dakota. They are totally awesome, as the kids say. The group is a collaboration between John Munson (bassist/vocalist, of the bands Trip Shakespeare and Semisonic), Chan Poling (grand piano/vocals, maybe best known as member of The Suburbs, but also a composer for Theatre de la Jeune Lune among others), and Steve Roehm (muy hot on the vibraphone).
Ana, Jose and I went to see a free show they gave as part of the Walker's Free First Saturday activities. The guys are phenomenal live--we were treated to a mix of the songs on their CD, and some new songs. The parents bopped along to songs they knew, and the kids were almost as much fun to watch as the band. They opened with a cover of Lucinda Williams' Essence (!) with one "judicious edit" for the youthful audience, and went on to perform songs by Beck, David Bowie (or was it Mott the Hoople?) Curtis Mayfield, Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks, and The Replacements. Also new to me was their arrangement of Outkast's "Hey Ya" (the kid next to us said "I know that song!") that had the beat of the original, but also went to town on those great chords shifts of the two "Hey yas" (such a simple lick, but so gorgeous). They put a different spin on the "shake it, shake it" with Munson almost whispering the lyrics. I hope they are about to release another recording. I'll definitely try to see them again at their next gig in town.