by Daniel Phifer

Don’t you hate January? It’s so anti-climactic after the Holidays. It feels like the most depressing month of the year. Maybe because by that point we’ve already endured over two months of the sun setting at 5PM. There’s even a condition for people who get depressed due to the lack of light in winter. It’s called Seasonal Affective Disorder or SAD.

How amazing is that? The people who named that one must have bent over backwards to make sure their newly discovered disease spelled out the main symptom. Personally, we used to suffer from Summer Time On Ketamine and Ecstacy Disorder or STOKED. Luckily, there was a cure.

But there ain’t no cure for the winter time blues. All you can do is try to find some music that matches the mood of the season. That’s why this week we recommend you check out The Handsome Family at Café Du Nord.

The Husband and Wife team of Brett and Rennie Sparks have been creating dark, yet achingly beautiful masterpieces for years. Many describe their style as American Gothic. Which is fitting. If you imagine the maudlin couple from the Grant Wood painting forming a band, you’d almost expect them to sound like The Handsome Family.

If you find deadpan baritone vocals the perfect chaser to your Wellbutrin cocktail, then this is your band. If you wish Emily Dickinson were alive today and writing modern poetry over rambling Americana, then we suggest you attend. This may not be the cure for SAD, but it’s certainly the perfect soundtrack for it.

Sean Rowe opens the evening and doors are at 7PM. Tickets are $12.00 in advance or $15.00 at the door.