Meiko talks tequila and more in Chicago

May 15, 2009, at Schubas

By Jake Giles
Published: May 17th, 2009 | 11:50pm

As the barely-more-than-5-feet-tall Meiko sips her Goose Island beer, there’s an urge to yank it out of her hand and give her a juice box. However, when she replaces the bottle with a guitar and croons tunes about troublesome girlfriends of boyfriends, living in shitty apartments, and personal insecurities, you bear witness to a young but musically mature artist.

At the first of two shows at Chicago’s Schubas on her first headlining tour, singer-songwriter Meiko treated the packed venue to a short set of songs from her self-titled debut on MySpace Records. Meiko’s Grey’s Anatomy–ready songs are not always immediate, but her voice makes listeners pay attention. The sparse songs from her record, such as “Hawaii” and “Said and Done,” were even more naked at Schubas, as only a cellist and keyboard/synth player backed Meiko’s acoustic strumming.

The supportive audience quietly hummed or mouthed the words to every song, being careful not to disturb the quietude. But when Meiko played the record’s first single, “Boys With Girlfriends,” fans could not help but sing along which drew a humble smile from Meiko and her bandmates. Later, she played the sequel to a song called “Real Real Sweet,” which did not make the record and tells a story about Meiko making the girl from “Boys With Girlfriends” envious of the real-life friendship she shared with the male protagonist.

Meiko also previewed a new song lovingly titled “Good Looking Loser,” which she hopes to include on an upcoming EP. With lyrics such as “With my eyes full of tears/And my hands with two beers/I’m as sorry as I am ashamed,” the audience giggled along with the singer as she played.

Humorous songs like “Good Looking Loser” and “You & Onions” provided a sharp and much needed contrast to the serious tone of Meiko’s set. In fact, the highlight of the show was her between-song banter that showcased her humor. From song explanations to suggesting her band randomly call themselves “Meiko and the Three Balls” (which drew death stares from multi-instrumentalist Carson Cohen), the beer loosened Meiko up enough to forget about the fact that the band’s van broke down earlier in the day, and also allowed her to effortlessly interact with the crowd.

The final story Meiko shared was about her first Chicago gig, to which only two people showed. Depressed, the bar tender at the venue delivered an assembly line of tequila shots. As she left “the drunkest I’ve ever been,” Meiko attempted to break up a fight but could only muster enough strength to puke on the sidewalk. If this show was any indication, Chicago will eventually be a second home for Meiko on future tours. If not, there’s always tequila.
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For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine's Flickr page
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Meiko Hotel Café feature