The Church revisits a rarity, plus a generous helping of past and present

Photos by Andy Argyrakis

About halfway through The Church’s complete performance of “The Blurred Crusade” at the cozy SPACE in Evanston, longtime leader Steve Kilbey was cheekily recalling how the 1982 landmark album came long “before the collapse of civilization,” but no sooner than two seconds after he said it, someone’s cell phone rang. After letting out an expletive in obvious frustration over the irony, the annoyance was silenced and the band back went right back into door knocking introduction to “Just For You,” one of the many early alt-rock expressions loaded with the lush atmospheric textures that have since accompanied the highly prolific alternative rockers.

But unlike so many bands content to rest on a few hits, The Church never cared about commercialism and maintained its musical relevance right through this very show with Kilbey, fellow co-founder guitarist Peter Koppes, longtime drummer Tim Powles and relatively recent guitar recruit Ian Haug (previously of Powerfinger fame) sounding exactly like the original records.

As The Church showcased “The Blurred Crusade,” from first side gems “Almost With You” and “Secret Corners” to back half closers “You Took” and “Don’t Look Back,” it was fascinating to follow the group’s experimental infancy, which ranged from post new wave nuggets, jangle pop intricacies and ethereal expansions. In fact, by the time the intermission came, it was downright perplexing how such a progressive project could’ve fallen out of print with absolutely no legal availability either physically or digitally.

Following the break, The Church continued its generous two hour night with selections from its current (and 25th) studio collection “Further/Deeper,” including the driving, percussion-stacked “Toy Head,” the sublime acoustics of “Laurel Canyon” and the otherworldly dreamer “Delirious.” Though never considered a singles band, Kilbey introduced the fellow jangler “Metropolis” as a minor hit and later joked that “Under The Milky Way” was the one everyone would recognize from a slew of different TV shows and movies (“Miami Vice,” “Donnie Darko,” “Scorpion”).

But unlike so many bands content to rest on a few hits (don’t forget the moody rocker “Reptile”), The Church never cared about commercialism and maintained its musical relevance right through this very show with Kilbey, fellow co-founder guitarist Peter Koppes, longtime drummer Tim Powles and relatively recent guitar recruit Ian Haug (previously of Powerfinger fame) sounding exactly like the original records. Though it may be awhile before the guys swing through town again given this was the second to last stop on their entire tour, Chicago area faithful have one last chance to catch a similar show Tuesday night at SPACE.

Click here for more photos of The Church from the SPACE.

For additional information on The Church, visit TheChurchBand.net.

For a list of upcoming shows at SPACE, visit EvanstonSpace.com.