My goal is to see one show per week. Yes, I might be that annoying friend that just has to tell you about the thing you missed, but I’m also catching every great show in the city of Chicago–with plenty more ahead of me. Welcome to the Chicago Concert Dispatch.
At the time of this show, it is 34 weeks into the year, and I have seen 151 shows.
Tonight marked Chicago band Burr Oak‘s first time playing Lincoln Hall. Savannah Dickhut’s voice was a velvet whisper: soft, gentle, and warm to the touch. I just wanted to snuggle up to it. The music was a country tinged folk rock. They moved between a shuffle and a rumbling rock. Savannah moved around the stage when she wasn’t singing, positioning her guitar in emphasis to the music. The last lines of her songs were well chosen phrases that seemed to ring in my head after the song was over. “Pink Carnation,” planned to be on their next EP, ended with, “You don’t have to be scared, ’cause I’m right here.”
All three members of Kingsbury‘s band gave us oodles to look at. We were first hit by their stellar fashion sense, and whispers of appreciation buzzed through the crowd around me as they took the stage. Then, they began to play and moved as if they were playing to a much larger audience. Bass player (some songs she hopped on guitar) had a sideways shuffle I have never seen before and loved how it emphasized the sharp beat of the music. She was in the music, bringing the stink face, grimaced yell, and smiles. The drummer was performing for a stadium, standing and gesturing and giving us a big rock show. Kingsbury herself reached out to us, pulling us into the music. When she took off the guitar, she danced. She moved with abandon, losing an earring and retrieving it before losing it again. Eventually, she just tossed both onto the stage. Nothing could get in the way of her expressing the music with her whole body. The stand out song for me was “Kissing Someone Else.” It will be released soon, and when it does, don’t sleep on it. It has the punch of Robyn, and I don’t say that lightly.
Alex Lahey set the tone from the first notes of “I Don’t Get Invited To Parties Anymore.” Lincoln Hall buzzed with kick ass rock enthusiasm. Lahey’s music something between Sharon Van Etten, Julian Baker, and Weezer. Every moment she wasn’t singing, Lahey moved away from the mic. She took a wide stance and threw herself into the music. She was generous with the audience and her band, rocking out with each of them. Though I’d be hard-pressed to pick a favorite bandmember to watch, I’ve gotta give a shout out to our hometown girl, Jennifer Janski on bass. Her bounce came from the knees and rocked her shoulders. She had a blissed out smile that I didn’t think could get bigger, but then Lahey joined her for a jam and she cracked open. Getting to make music with someone as badass as Lahey has to pretty incredible.
For “Unspoken History,” they stripped back to just keys player, Kary Stewart, and Lahey. Lahey said “fucking koombaya” as she strapped on the acoustic guitar. She told us that she’d been hesitant to put this song on the album; it can be difficult to be that vulnerable, but now here she was singing it every night. The band came back with a vengeance on “Lotto.” The rest of the set seemed to rock harder and harder, culminating in a stellar sing-along on the closing song, “Weekend.”
Burr Oak Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Kingsbury Official | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram
Alex Lahey Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
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