CAP’N JAZZ “Oh Messy Life” Live at the Empty Bottle, Chicago, 2010

Before I moved to Chicago in 1997, Cap’n Jazz pretty much defined my concept of the city — a place so far removed from the music industry centers of New York and Los Angeles, in geography and spirit, that a band like this could happen. But even there, Cap’n Jazz were a hard sell. (Let’s not forget their first album was called Burritos, Inspiration Point, Fork Balloon Sports, Cards In The Spokes, Automatic Biographies, Kites, Kung Fu, Trophies, Banana Peels We’ve Slipped On and Egg Shells We’ve Tippy Toed Over.) The band reunited at the Empty Bottle last night for an unannounced 15-minute set under the name Local Cover Band, and with only two-and-a-half minutes of dimly lit video, it’s obvious why their reputation has persisted for fifteen years: Because even now, Tim Kinsella is the only man in the world who can make 400 people scream, “You are bolder than buzzing bugs!” with the conviction of ideologues.