By Ana Achata, Staff Writer
Who: The Hard Quartet and Sharp Pins
Where: Paradise Rock Club
When: March 30, 2025
Awesome, awesome night for rock fans – The Hard Quartet, formed by Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly, Stephen Malkmus, and Jim White (Known for projects like Pavement, Silver Jews, Skunk, The Cairo Gang, Dirty Three, and so many more) came to Paradise Rock Club for an hour and a half long jam. The quartet was joined by the Chicago band Sharp Pins, made up of Kai Slater, Joe Glass, and Peter Cimbalo.
The Sharpest of Pins
I’ve never been to a show where I got to see a younger group of rock musicians play before an older one. Sharp Pins comes from a unique youth music scene in Chicago, who frequent local venues. The trio has been on the rise as of late, touring with Kate Bollinger last fall, and, now, The Hard Quartet. I have been lucky enough to see them perform several times, and I can say with full confidence that this will not be the last time I make a trip to hear them live.
Sharp Pins started the show with a new release, “Storma Lee” and a collection of songs off of their latest album, Radio DDR, including “Everytime I Hear” and “Circle all the Dots.” If I had to describe Sharp Pins in one word, I would choose “fun” – Every time I see them live I feel like I’m watching some 60’s band come back to life. Their sound is like if you mixed The Beach Boys, Flamin’ Groovies, Big Star, and Ramones all into one. They put an awesome take on indie rock and watching them with the awesome lights of the Paradise Rock Club was so cool.
The trio ended with a live-only, “punk-rock” version of a new release, “I Can’t Stop” and “Bye Bye Basil” off of their first album, Turtle Rock. They are truly the coolest and most talented group of young musicians that I’ve ever gotten to see live.
A 90’s Flashback
Now, I can’t say I was alive in the 90s’, but I got my own version of it from my dad. With Stephen Malkmus in your band, it is impossible to avoid some faint traces of Pavement and Silver Jews in your songs. The Hard Quartet opened their set with “Heel Highway” and “Rio’s Song.” Most of the crowd seemed to be around their 40s, and I can only imagine how fun it was for them to see this group of musicians live.
Though each of their songs were unique, it was fun to see the common sounds and patterns that appeared through each one. Some of the songs sounded like something off of one of Pavement’s albums from the 90s’, and others had traces of The Cairo Gang – One thing that they all had in common was that Jim White is an awesome drummer! No, but really, it was a privilege to get to see a group of musicians who have been in the industry for so many years, and to see them just have fun. They could’ve done whatever they wanted on that stage and I’m sure the crowd would have loved it.
The quartet played through their entire discography (currently only consisting of one album, The Hard Quartet, and a recently released single titled “Lies (Something You Can Do) / Coreopsis Trail”). They paused occasionally to say hello and tell the crowd that they “looked good in blue,” that came from the previously mentioned awesome light setup. Music or no music, watching them felt like sitting in on a jam session between best friends – Matt Sweeney wore a sick bucket hat the entire show and Emmett Kelly played like he was born with a guitar in his hands.
The band left us with their last song of the night, “Chrome Mess” and thanked the crowd for coming out on a Sunday night. I left the venue with guitar riffs ringing in my ears and feeling like I had just witnessed some niche corner of music history happen right in front of me.
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