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Bow Wow

Cellist plays classical music that sounds like rock, and vice versa.

By Michael Gallucci on Wed, Aug 8, 2007 at 4:00 am

Cleveland art

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On her MySpace page, Chicago instrumentalist Alison Chesley declares, “Aggravate the cello.” That pretty much seems the ethos behind Helen Money, her debut solo album. The 11 cello-powered songs range from unnerving to downright menacing (titles like “I’ll See You in Hell” and “Iggy” should give listeners an indication of what’s in store). Chesley was a founding member of Verbow, an alt-pop group that released a pair of albums at the end of the ’90s and toured with Morrissey, Liz Phair, and Counting Crows. Those gigs led to session work with artists as diverse as post-punk legend Bob Mould and mook-rockers Disturbed. On her own, the classically trained Chesley takes a more snaky approach to songs, filling spaces with foreboding string hums and finger-blistering virtuosity.
Fri., Aug. 10, 10 p.m.