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 18 weeks into the year and I have seen 85 shows.
As I walked up the stairs at the Concord Music Hall, what I was hearing sounded an awful lot like a band. Strange because I arrived 10 minutes after doors open time. It was Vortex, a late addition to the bill. I got there in the middle of the first song. I dove into the photo pit to get some snaps. As I tried to find good angles and adjust the settings on my camera, I was hit with raw energy, noise. The vocalist was pacing back and forth across the stage with intense anger. The rest of the band seemed happy to be performing. As is the custom, security kicked us out of the photo pit after the third song. I was on the side of the stage digging for my earplugs in my camera bag, watching a few members of the audience thrash to their music.
And suddenly, it was over, before I even had a chance to get more than a passing photo pit impression of their performance–like a premature ejaculation. Did they really play just four songs? Maybe they ran more than that together and security didn’t realize and kick us out of the pit when they should have. It is great that they got to play, and I’m sorry I can’t share more.
When a caped alien walked on stage, Reptaliens had everyone’s attention. There were cheers over an extraterrestrial greeting. The alien, aka Austin Smith, grabbed a tambourine and shaker and undulated. During the set, he changed outfits, played guitar, and seemed to be an embodiment of what this band is: a bit silly, surreal, and definitely fun. He moved around the stage and danced. Lead singer, Bambi Browning, really loved it. In fact, she had a sense of play with both the music and her bandmates that made me smile. She moved into their space charging and kicking. She rocked back and forth, losing herself in the bass line and then flipping her mane back out of her face, always smiling. When they started playing “29 Palms,” they get a nice little cheer from the audience. I loved the sweet shoulder shrug the key player, Cole Browning, gave us.
On “Simulation,” Smith came out in his third and final outfit, a man in a suit with a mask–and he proceeded to dance and strip down to his underwear for us. There were some hoots, but most people just took it in. I mean, this was an all ages show. It was, like, 7pm on a Thursday. These guys and gals might be too young (and sober) to really give the response one would expect. Or maybe it was the creepy mask that kept people from cheering. At least the undies got a laugh! Definitely performance art that left an impression, and I will think about whenever I hear that song.
As I am waiting to get into the photo pit for Turnstile, another photographer tells us that there’s always a lot of crowdsurfing and that the lead singer will try to get to the audience as soon as possible. We’ll need to watch ourselves. Security said that if he thought we weren’t safe they would be pulling us early. So, I was pumped to get in there.
When they started, it was an onslaught. The main two sources of energy were lead singer, Brendan Yates, and bassist/vocalist Franz Lyons. They were jumping and constantly moving around the stage, it was impossible to keep track of them. Lyons did truly impressive backbends. Yates went between violent aggression to swaying hips and flowing arms. The two guitarists were holding down the music, but still thrashing. Drummer, Daniel Fang, was muscular to the extreme. When he slowed down, you could see him catching his breath.
The audience was definitely here for these guys. They threw their bodies into each other and into the air. Someone hanging out backstage ran out across the stage and did spinning cannonballs into the audience. The audience went completely nuts–it was freaking beautiful.
Turnover‘s lead singer Austin Getz said, “It’s an honor to be on a bill with such a diverse lineup. Thank you all for having an open mind and showing love to all the bands.” That perfectly summed up this show. I wasn’t sure how the audience was going to be able to transition from thrash to nuwave to hardcore to dreamy bop, but they did it. They moshed hard for Turnstile. The audience really turned up and grooved along with the band.
“Groove” really is the best way to describe this southeast coast beach band. You can’t help but hear that coastal laid back sound in their music. Their delivery was the chillest of our four bands–a gentle head bob, a slight knee bend to get in the groove. You would never expect it, but when they started “Take My Head,” the audience began happily jostling and jumping. Not really moshing as there was no violence in it, just joyful collisions. Getz dedicated “Super Natural” to their band buds, Turnstile, and got everyone singing extra loud on the chorus. “Cutting My Fingers Off” elicited crowdsurfers that seemed to move in slow-motion, keeping time with the gentle waves of music. It was surreal in the best way.
Reptalien Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Turnstile Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Turnover Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
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