The Tomorrow Never Knows Festival is an annual winter festival hosting dozens of artists held at a variety of independent concert venues in the general vicinity of Lincoln Park. On festival nights, venues host several artists each playing relatively short sets. On the last night of the festival, we made it to see a show that included Yuck, Diarrhea Planet, Pink Frost, and Alvvays.
Alvvays was already halfway through their set by the time we arrived. The five piece band included a female vocalist/guitar, second guitar, bass, keyboard, and drums. They were a good start to the night if a bit rough around the edges. Pink Frost, consisting of a vocalist/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums, offered a bit harder of a sound, with driving garage rock. Diarrhea Planet was the next band and owner of perhaps the absolute worst moniker I may have ever come across in modern music. I just don’t understand why anyone would name their art after a condition characterized by liquefied shit. Fortunately, their brand of guitar rock wasn’t as nauseating as their names suggests. They also featured a unique setup on stage with five guitarists and a drummer, with two of the guitarists sharing vocals. Yuck, the final band of the evening, was the only one to take the stage late. The four of them, vocalist/guitar, guitar, bass, and drums, were significantly more polished than any of the preceding acts with layered sounds and more complicated harmonies.