Versus played The Empty Bottle in Chicago twice in 2000, and luckily for us Cyrus Khazai was there to witness what sounds like a scorching show (the second of the two). My thanks to Cyrus for the report that follows....
		Only turned on for such occasions as game 5 of the Subway Series, the small TV mounted above the bar at Chicago's Empty Bottle told the story. The New York Mets ' Al Leiter surrendered runs 3 and 4 to the perennial champion New York Yankees and Mike Piazza's potentially game-tying home run bid fell short to end the Mets ' hopes. As Versus frontman Richard Baluyut, clad in Mets cap, struggled to come to terms with his team's loss, he knew the show must go on. So has gone the career of the NYC rock band. Coming of age in a time when dozens of less talented bands rode the indie rock wave to find wider audiences, Versus' core audience seems excluded from exponential growth. Despite continuing to release exceedingly solid recorded material and wow audiences with their trademark scorching live shows, will there come a time when Versus will be able to reap their due rewards and perhaps more importantly, quit their day jobs? After a two-record association with Caroline from '96-'98 during which their label support, record distribution, venue size and general name-out-there-ness reached its peak, Versus found itself back in the underground ranks with Merge. Rather than being deterred, Versus proceeded to release arguably their best material with the Afterglow and Shangri-La EPs and the recent Hurrah LP. On Hurrah, the vocals of Richard and Fontaine Toups are their most confident to date and James, the youngest of the Baluyut brothers, continues to build on his "axe-wielder to be dealt with" reputation. Their live set at the Empty Bottle, after backing Mark Robinson (of Teenbeat Records fame) through his turn on stage, was a celebration of their lasting vitality. The forlorn opening riff to My Adidas streamed from Richard's veteran Gibson SG to kick off the set. Uniform in white t-shirts (Fontaine's was sleeveless - does she regret getting that lightning bolt tattoo?), the band spun out seven tunes from their last two long players with raw energy matched with accomplished performances (a few slip ups were blamed on the Mets). Propelled by the athletic drumming of the band's third drummer, Patrick Ramos, and the increasingly sophisticated tag-team guitar work of the brothers, the songs Eskimo, Shangri-La, Dumb Fun and Play Dead received a live treatment that ignited their highs and hushed their lows. After resurrecting Blade of Grass, a classic tune that has been a live favorite over the last few years, Fontaine and the boys whipped through a manic version of Yeah You, to the delight of the energetic and appreciative crowd. The set ended with a song about underwear, Frederick's of Hollywood, their noisiest song since Seaweed Rising. The older tunes River, Silver Vein and Crazy were pulled from the dusty shelf for the encore and Versus ended yet another incredible live set, the likes of which once prompted Mark Robinson to name Versus in the Teenbeat catalog as "the best band to walk the planet." Complete set list: My Adidas Eskimo You 'll Be Sorry Shangri-La Dumb Fun Never Be OK Play Dead Blade of Grass I Love the WB Jealous Yeah You Frederick 's of Hollywood -------------------------- River Silver Vein Crazy Report - © Cyrus Khazai, 2000