Paper Kites & Old Man Canyon, Lincoln Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Once again at the last minute, a friend had won some free tickets to the show. Not surprisingly, the place was empty, so no wonder they were giving tickets away. I hadn’t even heard of either of the bands before that evening, let alone know any songs. Both were indie rock bands. The first was Old Man Canyon, from Vancouver. Though their name would seem to imply something more folky and twangy, they had more of a dream pop sound. The second band was Paper Kites from “Melbon.” Their set included a long acoustic piece and a truly terrible story about painting the ceiling.

EL VY, Metro, Chicago, Illinois

The evening began with opening act Soren Juul. He used to play under the moniker Indians but returned to his using his given name when he realized that people were having a difficult time finding him online. He was good if a bit melancholy. However, I guess the latter could also be said of EL VY.

EL VY is a new side project for Matt Berninger, lead singer of the indie rock band The National, and Brent Knopf of Menomena. The new band announced a tour well before the release of their debut album or even a single. We assumed that Berninger would be singing, so made the assumption that whatever the project ended up becoming, it would be worth hearing. Frankly, I’d listen to Berninger sing the phone book; I like his voice that much. So we bought tickets, which were fairly cheap, before knowing what the band would even sound like. At the very least it would be a rare chance to see Matt Berninger perform on a small stage. Fortunately, when the album did finally drop, I enjoyed it immensely. Perhaps a contender for one of my favorite albums of the year, though I’m still not familiar with it enough such that I know every song by heart.

We arrived earlyish and secured a spot relatively close to the stage, definitely closer than anytime that I’ve seen The National. With help from a few additional supporting musicians, Berninger and Knopt played their entire debut album, Return to the Moon (2015), plus a cover, though not in order. As predicted, the highlight was Berninger’s vocal performance. I love the way his baritone voice sinks into key lyrics, just barely on the verge of a scream.

Before the song “Paul is Alive,” he explained its origins. He wrote it for his dad when he was home in Cincinnati for Christmas and realized that he forgot to get his Dad a birthday present, an event which coincides with the holiday. During the explanation, he gave a shout out to his Dad who was in the audience and looked to find them. His mom stood up and waved the attention to herself, while his Dad remained seated. This is exactly what I would have predicted based on my previous interaction with them at the Chicago Theatre. His response was “Sit down mom; this is about Dad.”

With only their album and a cover, it was a short set, and the band skipped performing any encore. Too bad we didn’t get to hear a few stripped down versions of The National songs. He did owe us some time from their delayed set at Riot Fest 2014, the last time he performed in Chicago.

Setlist:
Careless
It's a Game
Sleepin' Light
Sad Case
Happiness, Missouri
Silent Ivy Hotel
Return to the Moon (Political Song for Didi Bloome to Sing, with Crescendo)
Paul Is Alive
I'm the Man to Be
She Drives Me Crazy [Fine Young Cannibals cover]
No Time to Crank the Sun
Need a Friend

Drive-By Truckers, Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Though I’ve liked the Athens, Georgia based Drive-By Truckers for a number of years, I never became a huge fan. Nonetheless, I always thought they would make for a good show. Their music is a blend of alternative country and Southern rock comparable to the Allman Brothers Band. They announced a pair of shows as Thalia Hall in Pilsen, where I seem to have trekking to a lot recently. The show didn’t seem to be close to being sold out. Though there was still a decent sized crowd, it was easy to slide up midway back, finding some space with a decent view of the stage. If there was an opener, we didn’t arrive in time to catch any of it.

The band includes Patterson Hood (guitar, vocals), Mike Cooley (guitar, vocals), Brad "The EZB" Morgan (drums), Jay Gonzalez (keyboards), and Matt Patton (bass). Patterson and Cooley, the band’s only two remaining original members, traded off vocals throughout the set. Many of the members switched off between additional instruments like banjos, mandolins, and harmonicas. Behind them was a backdrop of their most recent album, English Oceans (2014); a handful of stage lights illuminated the stage.

Except for looking at a few recent setlists, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew that they varied up their setlists, but I wasn’t even sure what songs were fan favorites. They didn’t play my personal favorite, “The Man I Shot,” but it doesn’t look like they play it all that much, so I wasn’t too surprised or disappointed. Their setlist included songs from nine or more different albums plus a cover, going back as far as Gangstabilly (1998) and then a couple, only a couple, from their recent album, English Oceans (2014). They pulled the most songs from Southern Rock Opera (2001). I can’t remember which song, but at one point, the lead vocalist had to tape the lyrics to a new song to his microphone stand. Overall a solid set, though they didn’t blow me away. Many of the fans around me were dancing and having a good time, so perhaps under different circumstances, like being with people who were a bit more into it or having a bit more to drink, it could have been a bit more fun. They band members were certainly having fun, as they passed around a bottle of liquor amongst themselves during the show.

Setlist:
Tornadoes
Get Downtown
Feb 14
Where the Devil Don't Stay
Sink Hole
First Air of Autumn
Ramon Casiano
Gravity's Gone
Wednesday
Shit Shots Count
Steve McQueen
A Ghost to Most
Sandwiches for the Road
Women Without Whiskey
Dead, Drunk, and Naked
Guitar Man Upstairs
Puttin' People on the Moon
Encore:
Birthday Boy
Girls Who Smoke
Zip City
Angels and Fuselage
Shut Up and Get on the Plane
People Who Died [The Jim Carroll Band cover]

Beirut, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

We arrived early, in time to see most of opening act Icy Demons’ set. A project of various Chicago musicians, I thought they were quite good, especially for an opening act. Their sound blurred the line between progressive rock and jazz. The lead singer fused in a bit of reggae as well. Another band to keep an eye on. Despite our early arrival, we kept to the back of the lowest section. It was not a show that we felt we need to be up as far as we could, mixing it up. The show was sold out but floor never became unbearably crowded.

I have seen Beirut several times before. While I don’t particularly love or am even able to name many individual songs, I have always enjoyed their overall sound. Their music is decidedly indie folk but with some Eastern European/Gypsy folk elements. It features lots of brass and the lead singer Zach Condon’s voice has kind of a haunting quality, though not quite to the extent of DeVotcka’s Nick Urata. The band started as a solo music project for multi-instrumentalist Condon, but evolved into a full band with rotating members. Presently, there were six members including Zach Сondon (trumpet/flugelhorn/ukulele), Nick Petree (drums/percussion/melodica), Paul Collins (electric bass/upright bass), Kyle Resnick (trumpet), Ben Lanz (trombone/sousaphone/glockenspiel), and Aaron Arntz (piano/keyboards).

In an interview with New York Magazine some years back, Condon explained the band’s name: “One of the reasons I named the band after that city was the fact that it’s seen a lot of conflict. It’s not a political position. I worried about that from the beginning. But it was such a catchy name. I mean, if things go down that are truly horrible, I’ll change it. But not now. It’s still a good analogy for my music. I haven’t been to Beirut, but I imagine it as this chic urban city surrounded by the ancient Muslim world. The place where things collide.” I agree that the name is fitting. In contrast to the sound exuded from the stage, the stage itself was pretty sparse, just the band and a few lights.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the specific setlist, and while I recognized all the songs, they mostly blurred together in my mind. Based on their average setlist from the tour, about a third of the songs on their setlist came from their recent album, No No No (2015). The remaining songs were pulled from various albums including four from Gulag Orkestar (2006), three each from The Flying Club Cup (2007) and The Rip Tide (2011), and one each from Elephant Gun (2007), March of the Zapotec (2009), and Realpeople Holland (2009).

Approximate Setlist:
Scenic World
Elephant Gun
East Harlem
As Needed
Perth
Santa Fe
No No No
August Holland
Postcards from Italy
The Rip Tide
The Shrew
My Night with the Prostitute from Marseille
Nantes
Fener
Serbian Cocek [A Hawk and a Hacksaw cover]
After the Curtain
So Allowed
Encore:
Pacheco
The Gulag Orkestar
In the Mausoleum
The Flying Club Cup

Kendrick Lamar, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

With only a couple of weeks’ notice, Kendrick Lamar announced a handful of surprise shows to close out the year, billed as the “1st Annual Kunta’s Groove Session,” named for Kunta Kinte, the main protagonist from Alex Haley’s novel Roots, who is evoked in the title of the song, “King Kunta,” probably the biggest single from Lamar’s widely critically acclaimed To Pimp a Butterfly (2015). I doubt that this will become an annual event, but as I’m a big fan of the album, I’d be happy to hear its songs performed annually.

The show was initially announced to take place at the Concord Theatre, which I immediately recognized as being a much smaller venue than where he should have been booked. Tickets sold out immediately, but I was lucky enough to nab a pair. However, unfortunately, at least for me, it was announced the week of the show that it would be moved over to the Riviera, and more tickets would go on sale. I wasn’t pleased with this, as the opportunity to see Kendrick Lamar at such a small venue was the major reason that I bought the tickets to begin with. Not Cool Jam Productions; not cool. Ticket prices on the secondary market crashed though, making it more reasonable for a new friend to join us for the show at the last minute, so that was at least something positive to come out of the switch.

We arrived at the theatre a bit after doors opened, and though it was crowded in the bottom section, we were able to slide our way in towards the back. Kendrick Lamar had arranged for label mate Jay Rock as the opening act. Jay Rock hails from South Central LA, a neighborhood called Watts only a couple miles from Lamar’s home in Compton. He took the stage alone. The curtain behind him remained closed, and he rapped over backing tracks. Though I didn’t know any of his songs, he was pretty good as an opener, and the audience seemed to be pretty into his performance.

Kendrick Lamar took the stage at exactly 10pm, joined by a full backing band. There were some various lights on the stage, though nothing too fancy. Also on stage was a single neon sign pointing an entrance for “Pimps Only.” The audience in our section compacted significantly, and it was the most crowded show that I had been to in a while, save for a handful of moments in the pit at Frank Turner. I saw Kendrick Lamar at Bonnaroo a couple years ago, and enjoyed the performance. However, this was in 2013, before the release of To Pimp a Butterfly. He made several references to that album and the year that he had been having, humble bragging that “some people might call this the album of the year; some people might call album of this generation, but to me this is therapy.”

His setlist included a mix of songs from good kid, m.A.A.d city (2012) and To Pimp a Butterfly. Though he name checked his first album, Section.80 (2011), asking who in the room had been a fan since its initial release, none of the songs from it made the cut. By the end of the night, I had pretty heard almost every song that I wanted to hear. “P & P” was noticeably missing. While it’s not uncommon for fans to smoke during shows at the Riviera, this was the first time I saw people smoking cigarettes.

Perhaps the coolest part of the show started during the encore break. Immediately after his main set, a guy near me started chanting/singing the hook to Lamar’s single “Alright” over and over – "we gon' be a-right,"…"we gon' be a-right,"…"we gon' be a-right…" Soon everyone near him joined in, then most of the audience in the lower section. After a couple minutes, Kendrick returned to the stage to lead the audience in continuing the chant, pointing to different sections, timing when to start and stop, and adjusting the volume level. He did all this without stepping to the microphone, just the whole crowd focused on his movements. I’m not sure if this is a par for the course at his shows or if it was a first for him too. I’ve been involved in a lot of coordinated audience sing-alongs. However, never before had I participated in one that seemed to come together so organically. It was incredible, and easily the highlight of the show for me. After a full version of “Alright,” and a brief outro, Kendrick took a bow. The show ended up being about an hour and a half total.

Approximate Setlist:
For Free (Interlude)
Wesley's Theory
Institutionalized
Backseat Freestyle
Swimming Pools (Drank)
These Walls
For Sale (Interlude)
Hood Politics
Complexion (A Zulu Love)
Bitch, Don't Kill My Vibe
Money Trees
m.A.A.d city
U
Freestyle (Spoken Word Interlude)
King Kunta
Momma
i
How Much a Dollar Cost (Interlude)
The Blacker the Berry
Mortal Man
Encore:
Alright
Every Nigger Is a Star (Outro) [Boris Gardiner Cover]