Aleks and the Drummer
8/31/07
The Abbey Pub in Chicago
Chicago’s very own two piece Aleks and the Drummer was one of the openers Friday night for The Octopus Project and Stereo Total but Aleks Tomaszewska could have easily passed for the lead singer of a headlining band that night. More dressed up than Françoise Cactus, she came onto the stage with a spark in her eye and when she held an apple while setting up, I thought of original sin (She’d make a great Eve.)
Though she was unsually decked out in a black dress with blue spandex underneath, Aleks made her consistently frantic delivery of mesmerizing vocals spanning across the rhythmic Farfisa keyboarding. You could close your eyes and picture a feminine Polish version of Maps & Atlases You might also imagine wandering around abandoned haunted castles. Though I’ve seen them now four times (the last time was when they played Guitarkestra and I unfortunately couldn’t hear any of Aleks’s vocals over the various loud amps), this was by far the most intense. Aleks launched into song after song of her unpredictable memories while Deric Criss kept up the pace on the drums. Though he’s a skilled drummer, Aleks was the one who remained immersed in light and center stage. Vivid under the lights, she seemed to have a stage presence like none other.