A Fond Farewell to a Friend
Article and photos by Natalie Silva
On what would be Elliott Smith’s 55th birthday, Schubas hosted “A Fond Farewell to a Friend,” a tribute night to the singer and his music. 100% of the proceeds were donated to the SIMS Foundation, an organization that provides mental health and substance use recovery to musicians. Playing the sold-out show were Wet Skelly, Half Gringa, Sleeper’s Bell, and Minor Moon. The musicians were taken aback by the support from the crowd and marveled at the large turnout. It was a beautiful evening for all, with the artists gaining new fans, and the audience getting to hear their favorite songs performed live.
First to take the stage was Wet Skelly. Wet Skelly is a local artist who wowed the audience with his cover of “Say Yes”. In a Spin interview with Elliott Smith, Elliott claimed to have written “Say Yes” in five minutes, and during an episode of Xena: Warrior Princess with the sound off. Made popular due to its use in Good Will Hunting, “Say Yes” remains one of Elliott Smith’s most popular and well-loved tunes. Wet Skelly played two more of Elliott’s songs before handing the torch to Half Gringa.
Half Gringa is another Chicago musician who describes her style as contemporary indie-rock fused with Latin American and midwestern folk. Her stage presence was strong and she took the audience by storm playing a beautiful rendition of the song-of-the-night, “A Fond Farewell”. This song delves into Elliott’s personal struggles with addiction and heartbreak, with emotion heightened at lyrics like “And I can deal with some psychic pain/If it'll slow down my higher brain” and “A little less than a human being/A little less than a happy high/A little less than a suicide”. As the night honored both Elliott’s birth and his death, this song was especially important to the evening. Hearing the lyrics more clearly than ever, the audience loudly applauded as Half Gringa played through a couple more songs before exiting the stage and welcoming the next act.
Sleeper’s Bell took the stage with a calming aura. The two band members settled into their chairs, tuning their guitars before addressing the crowd. A favorite from their set was a cover of “Everything Reminds Me of Her”. This song off of Elliott’s album “Figure 8” was enhanced by Sleeper’s Bell’s folky twang and the smoothness of Blaine Teppema’s voice. A couple songs later and it was nearing the end of the evening. Sleeper’s Bell thanked the crowd and exited the stage, but the audience stayed alive with anticipation. Guesses as to what songs the final band would play were being passed around left and right, and eventually it was time to see if their predictions would prove correct!
Minor Moon’s Sam Cantor took the lead in closing out the night by generating applause for each of the previous bands, Schubas staff and friends, and the man of honor, Elliott Smith. Paying homage to “Figure 8” for getting him through the rough years of grade school, Minor Moon finished out the night with some amazing country-rock inspired covers. Standing out were “Son of Sam” and “Wouldn’t Mama Be Proud”. Putting just the right amount of originality into the songs, without taking away from their original production, Minor Moon gave the perfect performance to pay tribute to Elliott. The night ended in an eruption of hoots and hollers, thanks and see you laters, and the promise of next year’s concert!
