Manwolves at Thalia Hall
Eleanor Colligan The second thing I noticed upon walking into the Manwolves concert at Thalia Hall was that the hall was bathed in blue smoke, making the excited crowd before me appear ethereal in constraint with the red stage. The first thing I noticed, though, was the fact that there was a trumpet player on […]
Adam Melchor at Lincoln Hall
Yejun Kim | Photos: Sydney Crawford Lincoln Hall is one of the most intimate venues in Chicago. The max capacity of 507 and a stage only about four feet off the ground lets the crowd stand pressed up right in front. This was a fitting setting for the reflective, conversational, and personal performances by opener […]
JPEGMAFIA at Thalia Hall
Yejun Kim Peggy, aka buttermilk Jesus, aka left-wing Hades, aka JPEGMAFIA (all caps, no spaces!) is a rapper, singer, and producer from Brooklyn, New York. He’s quirky, ragged, and self-defined, but his music has undeniably grown to form a critical sector of modern experimental hip-hop. His skills and projects as an artist have evolved […]
TOPS at Empty Bottle
Christian Wade For TOPS, this tour has been a long time coming. First announced in October of 2019, the plan was to trek across the USA from Las Vegas to New York and back out west to San Diego to wrap things up in a bit over a month, making a stop at Chicago’s legendary […]
Crumbs at Metro
Ronit Kitei Candace Camacho, also known as Duendita, was once described by Pitchfork as “a spiritual soul singer who worships at the altar of self-love.” If Duendita’s religion is self-love, consider me a convert. She undulated between slow and melodic R&B and driving bass infused electronic beats with scattered spoken word interludes throughout. Although […]
Turnover at Thalia Hall
Yejun Kim Thalia Hall was brimming with spooky ghosts, tombstones, and skeletons as a crowd eagerly awaited indie-rock/shoegaze/emo sensation, Turnover. The band formed in 2009 in Virginia Beach and released their latest album, Altogether, in 2019. Turnover continues to be a genre-defining and genre-bending act, most particularly through their 2015 dream-pop album Peripheral Vision. After […]
100 gecs at Concord Music Hall
By Joanne Haner 21 Oct, 2021 Google defines hyperpop as an “exaggerated” and “eclectic” type of music notable for its intense autotune earworm vocals and brash synth melodies. But regardless, when someone asks me to describe the hyperpop duo that is 100 gecs, I never know what to say. So when I went to a […]
Jordana and TV Girl at Metro
Alexandra Zaragoza Indie pop band TV Girl, whose members consist of Brad Petering, Wyatt Harmon and Jason Wyman, has been around for eleven years, but it would be negligent to ignore TikTok’s profound contributions to their growing popularity recently. In the last year, some of the band’s music has gone viral on the app, launching […]
ROLE MODEL at Metro
By Lydia Pretlow Photos by Nami Hoffman 22 Oct, 2021 Wearing leather pants and a camouflage trucker hat, Tucker Pillsbury, aka “ROLE MODEL,” immediately captivated with his youthful grasp on the audience. The Metro offered an intimate yet buzzing venue for Friday night’s show. Fans’ excitement reverberated across the two-story auditorium as Pillsbury declared that Chicago […]
Jungle at The Riviera
By Rory Nguyen Photos by Christian Wade 16 oct, 2021 In a smoky haze, Jungle emerged, backlit by a bright sign displaying their name and carried by deafening cheers. Earlier, opener Adaline set the mood for the night, and the spirit of disco was back in Chicago. The London-based funk collective launched into heavy hitters […]