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 149 shows.
Eleeza Silva had a hip hop attitude with jazz influenced vocals, a pretty killer combo for a R&B musician. The way she shaped her mouth changed the intonation with practiced expertise. She had a live band, which amplified her jazzy sound. The bass player, Teddy Menna, hung out by the drum kit, keeping it tight in proximity and beat.
And, that drummer…
Shravan Raghuram was definitely feelin’ himself, and I loved it. Christopher “on the motherfucking guitar” Vargas was in a blissful state as he ran his fingers up and down the frets. “Allonmyown” was a strong start, “Personal” made use of a sexy whine, and “Circles” was an audience favorite, but I gotta put a word in for the unreleased ending song, “Mimosa.” It really picked up the groove a notch. Eleeza left us by saying, “I hope y’all fucked with it.” I definitely did.
Sports Boyfriend‘s lead singer Eileen had an intense presence as she performed. She sent daggers to the back of the room as she stared straight ahead, if she smiled it was to kill you with kindness. Watching her felt like she had you in a spell, and I was willing to be enchanted.
The music is extremely rhythmic; it grabbed me by the hips and made me move. Abby on the keys/drum machine created the music’s backbone, while the bassist, Alex, added the funk. Eileen’s vocals carried the melody, her guitar adding emphasis and trading off with her voice as if they were speaking to each other. By the time they closed out their set with “I Only Leave My House to Dance With You,” there were more than a few people dancing in the audience.
Cameron Bolden gave us a quick couple of tracks, as a special guest of our headliner. I was immediately taken in by the track production and lyrics of “Gucci Flowers”–the audience was, too. When a cheer broke out, he realized he had us and his performance broke open. It was beautiful moment. Even within a song of struggle, “What’s the point if I might die today,” you could see his spirit soaring.
Waukegan band Family Reunion is formed around lead singer/songwriter Jackie Carlson. Her voice had an indie sound made unique by a touch of R&B. She let her vocals wander up and down and go slightly off in a way that had a sharp jazz connotation for me. The guitarist, Zeke Cabanas, wandered around the stage and as he got lost in the music he tossed his head and his hair followed. Jackie was pretty deft at shredding herself. When they kick off the third song, “Okay,” there was an instant chorus singing along, an excess of energy. So, when they kicked into “Numb” which was a few notches closer to thrash than any of their other songs, the crowd was an instant happy mosh and Jackie giggled mid-note at the joy of it. As balloons bounced around like beach balls and Jackie crowdsurfed, it felt like a pretty natural progression to the set.
This show was more like a party. And the party was giddy and fun.
Eleeza Facebook | Soundcloud | Instagram
Sports Boyfriend Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Family Reunion Bandcamp
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