Photo by Blaine Schultz
Mike Benign Compulsion
Mike Benign Compulsion at Chill on the Hill 2021
Chill on the Hill, the weekly free music series at Bay View’s Humboldt Park, closed its 16th season with a double bill of local acts performing original music Tuesday evening.
When he wasn’t airborne, Mike Benign offered a public service announcement urging folks chilling on the hill to get vaccinated to protect others and get the pandemic behind us. The music series was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Benign and his Compulsion (bassist Paul Biemann, drummer Mike Koch and guitarist Joe Vent) drew from a discography of five albums including 2019’s Bygones, allegedly their swan song https://shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/not-bygones-just-yet-for-mike-benign-compulsion/
Tuesday night they sounded less like a lame-duck outfit than the smartest pop group in the room, err hill. “Bonafide Americans,” “Manchild,” “Kid” and “The Best Years of Our Lives” were part of a set that gave permission to shake as well as think. The stellar “All The Married People” still sounded fresh 10 years after it was released.
Photo by Blaine Schultz
Testa Rosa
Testa Rosa at Chill on the Hill 2021
Like their opening act, Testa Rosa also released an album in 2019 https://shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/testa-rosa-refines-its-sound-on-iv/ One can only imagine this band was not idle during the year when everything changed. Tuesday evening there certainly was no sign of rust.
Fronted by Bay View residents’ husband and wife duo, Betty Blexrud-Strigens (vocals, guitar) and Damian Strigens (guitar), the group straddled lush pop and mild psychedelia. The menace of “The Black Saltwater Sea” worked in tandem with nightfall and served as a tonic to the polished hook of “Ollie and Delilah.” The vibrant rhythm section of Bill Backes (drums), Nick Berg (keyboards) and Paul Hancock (bass) made things look easy, supplying dynamic grooves.
At one point Betty and Damian wished each other happy anniversary. When Betty dedicated a song to Bay View and Tippecanoe libraries, it underscored the sense of community on display. Both shows were broadcast live and are archived at https://www.wmse.org/
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