CHICD: Vancouver Sleep Clinic, and Velvet Negroni at Sleeping Village - 12/5

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 49 weeks into the year, and I have seen 193 shows.

Velvet Negroni wandered onto the stage after his DJ, SAJNT, got the music going. The slowly developing music and Negroni’s vocals brought a reggae feel that washed over us in gentle waves. Velvet Negroni is the latest incarnation of Minneapolis rapper/producer Jeremy Nutzman, having released his second album, Neon Brown, in August of this year. I really dug all the subtle stylistic experimentation in the tracks. “U.Dunno” had percussive elements that almost seemed to split and roll. It had an almost ASMR feel that crunched under his smooth vocals. His lyrics caught my attention and made me smile both from the messaging, but even more because of the pure pleasure felt from his cadence of delivery. “Poster Child” gave me shivers. From the quick patter of “What the fuck was I suppose to do?” to the wordless ending. He manipulated and layered “Aaaaaahs,” for a more peaceful ending.

Velvet Negroni, photo by Tina Mead

https://open.spotify.com/track/2mjdbYFmMM9CZ7H577jtcf?si=ZHF0RpsvQS-7GVBA300ARA

If you are partial to smooth synth pop that feels big, look no further than Vancouver Sleep Clinic. I was really gratified to see them perform the music, to see them crafting the music in person. It felt realer and yet exactly like them. Like the recordings I had heard. Although to be honest they did have to play with tracks because the keys player had trouble getting their visa approved to come over from Australia, so they recorded his parts. The music relies heavily on those washes and waves. It was their first show without him and I think there was a touch of the melancholy about the show. Although it suited the music just fine. The band is centered around vocalist Tim, who has one of those pure falsetto voices that rings both strong and breathy. “Closure” elicited hoots from the audience as he started singing in a lower register, almost unfamiliar it sounds so different. The chorus brought him up to his higher range and everyone moved to the music. They showed off their songcraft when they played “Yosemite” acoustic. That lyric, “Love is the drug, love is the cure,” that is everything.