Unique Chique

In case anyone noticed, I took the weekend off here. I've been exploring the new neighborhood and trying to get a better feel for my surroundings. Last week I ended up walking past a club with the side doors open and a sound check taking place. After grabbing a bite to eat at the oldest pub in town (1861), I returned to the place and paid a couple of dollars to see the bands. I was only going to stay for a beer or so but when the opening act turned out to be good, the decision was made to stick around for a while. I made big mention of the "days gone by" Chicago music scene with a UK band (go figure) in my last post and would now like to share something completely different with you. When today's featured band took to the stage, there was dead silence in the room... It was probably because most folks in attendance were there to support local music. After a few songs the room lit up famously and, at one point, I imagined glitter pasted paper moons and stars hanging by strings above the band (future video concept?) The set was amazingly tight and professional, as is usually the case with Chicago bands, but also inviting. Afterwards, I had a beer and brief conversation with front man Joe Starita. Still having no idea as to what the band name was, Joe finally pulled out a guitar tuner to show me "Unique Chique" scribbled hastefully with a sharpie on the side of it. After saying the name 3 times to myself, it must be mentioned that the almost too-clean recorded sound of today's featured song is enhanced tenfold on stage. This was one of the better live performances I've seen recently... and a warm welcome to the neighborhood I couldn't have expected.













Unique Chique is the indie rock quartet of Joe Starita (vocals / guitar), Mike Sanfilipp (guitar), Ernie Lohrer (bass) and Paul Szlachta (percussion) from Chicago, Illinois. They started the band in 2001, and after a previous full length release and appearance at CMJ, have a brand new EP in Ethica. Curt at Loosetooth Records was kind enough to send a copy of the EP via promo package. There is also a Loosetooth Records MySpace page to visit for more info. The Unique Chique website is currently undergoing a few changes so you might need to visit the multimedia page to listen to some of the band's past material. Your next and most important stop should be the Unique Chique MySpace page for the new music and band info. After stopping here in Cincinnati, they played a handful of northeast coast dates and have since returned to Chicago. Your next chance to see UC will be February 20 @ local establishment Subterranean. For some reason, there is plenty of major print media attention for this band, but no mention whatsoever in the music blogosphere. Maybe they should buy a glockenspiel or take accordion lessons?













MP3: Long Dead Naomi