Great Lake Swimmers

After a recent show at the Rocky Mountains Folks Fest, Tony Dekker and his bandmates, who make up the Great Lake Swimmers, decided to do a mini-summer tour of the United States. Before heading back to their hometown of Toronto, they recently made a pit stop in Chicago. Dekker, a fan of smaller, more intimate venues, was excited to perform at Schuba’s on August 22nd.

Anybody who has ever been to Schuba’s would understand why Dekker likes performing here so much; it not only suits the Great Lake Swimmers’ sound, but also their fans. A tiny venue compared to impersonal arenas like the Tweeter Center and the Metro, the acoustics enhanced their unconventional folk sound. Nothing is more disappointing than seeing a great band perform in a building with awful acoustics, and this venue did the Swimmers’ folksy sound justice.

The band brings an unbridled but quiet energy to their live performances. Good musicians, when playing live, are able to capture listeners in a way that sets their sound apart from their studio records. No one wants to go to a show and hear what any stereo system could emit. Some artists rely on witty stage banter or theatrics to pull in audiences, and the Great Lake Swimmers deftly avoided these maneuvers. Instead, with only an occasional introduction to a song, the band steadily ensnared each listener with their subtle musical vibrancy. Despite having played hundreds of shows within the last several years, they treated each song with an enthusiasm that obviously hasn’t diminished over time. One thing is clear: the Great Lake Swimmers love making music.

Many of the Swimmers’ live songs were pulled from Ongiara, and fans were excited to hear their most popular hit thus far, “Your Rocky Spine.” Few musicians can actually make the banjo look cool, and Erik Arnesen pulls this off with the same ease as if buttoning a shirt. But the band waited nearly till the end of the show to play this obvious crowd-pleaser, and I can’t help but give my nod of approval. Opening with “Various Stages” set the tone for the night — carefree yet not careless, thought-provoking yet not mind-numbing. It’s a challenge for any folk band, especially for bands that have such a mellow sound like the Swimmers, to get the crowd pumped and energized. Instead of giving obvious shout-outs like “Put your hands together” and “I still can’t hear you,” Dekker was able to capture the audience through his complex and dynamic lyrics. Although “There Is a Light” is a quiet, calming tune, something unexpected for a Friday night bar scene, Dekker’s ability to draw listeners in allows him to get away with it.

The combination of Dekker’s respect for the folk tradition and his desire to self-educate about a largely non-mainstream genre is a potent concoction that creates a new kind of music. It is not just folk; it’s certainly not pop, and definitely not rock ‘n’ roll. It’s more than just different.

Song by song, Dekker is dispelling whatever preconceived notions we may have of folk singers. His ability to craft intelligently layered songs is more than just refreshing. It’s revitalizing. Dekker’s consciousness about his artistry reminds listeners what music is all about — forget the MySpace and Facebook revolution. This is an art form. “My goal,” Dekker pontificates shyly, “is really simple. To write good songs, and have them get to people that might need them.” The Great Lake Swimmers definitely delivered the goods to Chicago.

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Tagged as: Chicago, Schubas

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