CHICD: Strange Foliage, Casper Skulls, Lonely Parade, The Knees, and Gentle Heat at Subterranean downstairs

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 42 weeks into the year and I have seen 99 shows.

SubT downstairs delivered five bands in 3 hours. I loved the mixture of new bands testing out their sound and more established bands challenging themselves to a tight set. Let’s see if I can deliver likewise tight reviews for these five bands.

Gentle Heat explored controlled noise. Shoegaze with atonal harmonies. I was particularly taken with Joe’s guitar. You could see him getting down into the intricacies of what he was playing. The whole band moved with passion. Although I couldn’t hear the vocals well enough to discern any lyrics, I did like the edge to David’s voice, seemed to suit the mood of the music. Will try to see them again and hope for a more balanced sound.

I was intrigued by the atonal sound and strange syncopations of The Knees. They want to make traditional pop with unusual time signatures. It might take some adjustments. During one tune, they got into a groove that seemed to devolve and fall apart, but suddenly they were back together again. It was hard to tell if it was on purpose or not. The last song they played was their best song. It doesn’t have a name yet, but they are working on it. Hope they keep at it, there is potential here.

The third band, Lonely Parade, hail from Canada and this was their second trip to Chicago. They delivered tight rock n’ roll with a cool punk attitude. Well worth checking out. They were apologetic as they asked the venue if they had time to play three more songs, and then they played “Not Nice” with a fervor. The dichotomy was laughable. But aren’t we all full of contradictions?

Also coming from Canada, Casper Skulls were a much darker, moodier brand of rock. It had the psychedelic art rock vibes of their recorded stuff, but they brought more power to their live performance. Recorded soundscapes covered their song transitions, which kept things moving. I loved the precision of Aurora’s drumming and Melanie’s breathy vocals.

Strange Foliage started their set hard and heavy. The drummer, Andrew, was going at it so ferociously, I was truly amazed he didn’t bust a drum. Joey’s vocals set the tone with a unique sound. They kept it interesting by bringing in elements of whatever sound suits the mood of the song, post-punk, psychedelic, metal. Above all their set was tight and aggressive, pure Chicago rock. I loved how they ended the show, taking the tempo faster and faster, the lead guitar, Justin had to keep increasing the speed of the lick he was playing, accepting each challenge set by the rhythm. Truly excellent.