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 39 weeks into the year, and I have seen 167 shows.
Locate S,1 was first on the Thalia Hall stage. It’s a how the fuck did they come up with that kind of band name, right? Reminds me of a James Bond mission. Or a sci-fi comic book title. Their music does sound somewhat otherworldly, with Sarah Morrison’s glistening keys and Christina Schneider’s vocals so high and breathy, they’re almost frosty. A post punk dream with a funky rhythm section. The drummer, Clayton Rychlik, had that light touch that gets right in the groove and stays there. Their set was almost entirely new songs that will be released in 2020. The audience responded with enthusiastic dancing to the happy the almost disco-like tunes, like, “Hot Wife” and “Personalia.”
Lina Tullgren brought a different vibe to the show. They gave us chill tunes showcasing Tullgren’s lovely voice. The bass and drums were tight, while the keys provided hums and washes. The bass player had a bit of that caged animal feel. Really getting in the pocket of the rhythm, but itching to thrash. Not a whole lot of thrash in this music though. For an audience that really wanted to let loose and dance, there was progressively more chatter over the course of their set. It’s a shame cause she had some great lyrics. “Suck out all my good parts before you go,” from “Older” and “What does it mean to wear your heart on your sleeve?” in “Red Dawn.” Even more of a bummer was that they ran out of time, and had to cut the last song from their set. I hope they come back through town to a more mellow and attentive audience.
Frankie Cosmos was clearly the reason the audience showed up that Monday night. There were many many songs that garnered “whoots” within the first few chords and even more that had people singing along during the chorus. With songs that are a minute to 3 minutes at most over an hour of playing is a LOT of songs. Well over 20 by my count. Lead vocalist Greta writes songs that range between melancholy bounce to peppy bounce, with the occasional song that walks the line between them both, changing tempos with dexterity. But that bounce is key. Even when the song is slow or sad there is an underlying movement that keeps the audience engaged. One of the truly slow songs was also one of the most beautiful, “Marbles.” Greta played with just keyboardist/guitarist Lauren Martin. Their voices and guitars intertwining in harmonies was one of those moments I could live inside. Things really came together for the audience with “Being Alive.” The tune kicked up to a near thrash, encouraging an outbreak of joyous body collisions. The song was made even cooler by the momentary appearance of Chicago music scene darlings, Lillie West and Abby Black, of Lala Lala. For the rest of the night, anytime things went uptempo, there were colliding bodies in the center of the audience. There’s something about seeing moshing at a show I wouldn’t expect it that makes me smile. Adorable happy people feeling alive because of music.
Locate S,1 Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Lina Tullgren Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
Frankie Cosmos Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram
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