The Orwells, The Walters, & Delores, Schuba's, Chicago, Illinois

In what would be considered the spring months in most cities, though still in the midst of winter in Chicago, Schuba's offered a series of free weekday shows featuring local bands. Considering they were also running some good drink specials, there was nothing to lose in going to see a new band, even if I had never heard of them before. Tonight’s acts were billed as Delores, The Walters, and DePaul Women’s Basketball. I wasn’t so sure about that last one. It seemed like a strange and potentially illegal name for a band. Would they just be showing one of their games on TV?

Upon arriving around 8pm, I was pleased to find that DePaul Women’s Basketball was playing last, meaning that I could catch a few bands but get home earlier than expected. However, I soon learned that DePaul Women’s Basketball was a pseudonym for the Chicago-based band The Orwells. Apparently, there were a few hints of the evening’s actual headliner on Twitter, and we suspected that they used a fake name so as not to create too much demand for the free show.

The opening act of the evening was Delores, a four piece alternative rock band. They were fine but a bit forgettable. Immediately following were The Walters. Though with an extra guitarist, they had a similar alternative rock sound if a bit more polished. The lead singer was a bit ridiculous and awkward but certainly entertaining. Finally, The Orwells took the stage to close out the evening. They are another five piece band, though the lead singer doesn’t play an instrument. His long blond hair and onstage antics (including hoping around the stage and simulating fellatio on a guest singer) certainly made him memorable though. The members of The Orwells were only a few years out of high school. One of the guys in the band explained that they chose their pseudonym for the evening because it was always his dream to play for the women’s basketball for DePaul, but his grades weren’t good enough. Their set was much higher energy than the last two, much of which was due to an excited mosh pit of fans near the stage. The Orwells didn’t do an encore and ended their show a bit after eleven.

Alabama Shakes, Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Since their formation in Athens, Alabama in 2009, the Alabama Shakes have come a very long way, exploding in popularity following the release of their debut album, Boys & Girls (2012). The genre bending band, mixing blues, roots, and garage rock consists of guitarist and lead singer Brittany Howard, guitarist Heath Fogg, bassist Zac Cockrell, keyboardist Ben Tanner, and drummer Steve Johnson. They have also augmented their live performances with an extra pair of multi-instrumentalists and a small troupe of backup singers.

Frontwoman Brittany Howard not only has a beautiful, soulful voice, but is the force that drives the band, both in their sound and their presence. Interestingly, the nineteen songs through which she led the band during the ninety minute set included every one of the dozen songs from their yet unreleased upcoming album, Sound & Color (2015). Quite a bold move. It meant this would be the first introduction to most of the songs on the setlist for many audience members, myself included. Furthermore, considering the number of fans recording videos on their smartphones, it would also mean that the entire album would inevitably be released through a series of YouTube videos rather than traditional media. This shouldn’t have been surprising considering that at many points throughout the show, Brittany Howard looked as if she was singing only for herself and her band, indifferent if anyone was listening or not. I was very surprised though that their setlist didn’t include the song "Hold On," their beloved breakout song. While I understand their desire to no longer be defined by it, they’re a bit early on their career to completely ignore crowd favorite. Their catalogue isn't nearly deep enough to skip their signature song. However, clearly the Alabama Shakes have gotten this far on their own terms.

Setlist:
Rise to the Sun

Miss You
Future People
I Found You
Dunes
Don't Wanna Fight
Always Alright
Guess Who
This Feeling
Gimme All Your Love
The Greatest
Shoegaze
I Ain't the Same
Be Mine
Gemini
Encore:
Sound & Color
On Your Way
You Ain't Alone
Over My Head

Blackberry Smoke, Joe’s on Weed, Chicago, Illinois

Before receiving an invite to attend their show, I had not heard of southern rock band Blackberry Smoke. However, they must be quite popular, as they sold out Joe’s on Weed, and tickets were a few times face value on the secondary market. In the weeks leading up to the show, I listened to their albums in high rotation, enjoying their blend of southern country rock, in the tradition of ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd.

From Atlanta and signed to Zac Brown’s label, the lineup consists of Charlie Starr (lead vocals, guitar), Richard Turner (bass, vocals), Brit Turner (drums), Paul Jackson (guitar, vocals), and Brandon Still (keyboards). All have long flowing hair, which fit in well with their fans. While it was my first time at Joe’s on Weed, and I can’t comment on whether or not a Blackberry Smoke concert represented their normal clientele, this show was older and…dare I say…more redneck than any show that I have attended in quite a while. Certainly not the normal people I would expect to see on a trendy neighborhood in downtown Chicago. Joe’s on Weed, with a warehouse setting with exposed ductwork, feels like a large bar that happens to host concerts. This is balanced out by a staff of only attractive female bartenders and other scantily clad women wandering the venue passing out samples of terribly flavored shots. The crowd, Friday night time slot, and bar’s vibe certainly lent itself to a hard partying atmosphere.

We didn't arrive particularly early, so we slid in towards the back of the main floor area. Though I don’t know the name of many of their songs, they played a half dozen or so that I really like, though I could think of a few tunes that were missing. Their setlist included songs like: "Pretty Little Lie," "Six Ways to Sunday," "Good One Comin' On," "Holding All the Roses," "Up in Smoke," and "Sleeping Dogs." The crowd was a lot of fun, but thinned out towards the end of the show, meaning that we could comfortably slide up fifteen or more feet.

JJ Grey & MOFRO, Vic Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

JJ Grey & MOFRO are a jam band that blends an eclectic mix of southern rock, soul, funk, and blues. Forming in Jacksonville, Florida in the mid to late nineties, the band is composed of frontman JJ Grey (mainly vocals, occasionally guitar and other instruments), Andrew Trube (electric and slide guitar), Anthony Farrell (organ), Todd Smallie (bass), Anthony Cole (drums) and the "Hercules Horns" Dennis Marion (trumpet) and Art Edmaiston (tenor sax). Grey serves as the bands primary songwriter, whose creations generally reflect his personal life and his southern roots. Like other jam bands, JJ Grey & MOFRO have built a career based on extensive touring, lengthy sets, musical improvisation, and a dedicated fan base.

We arrived shortly before JJ Grey & MOFRO were about to begin their set, occupying my usual spot of the back center of the lowest tier. The stage featured a tapestry backdrop and a handful of table lamps spread across the stage. The performance used minimal lighting. I don’t have the full setlist but the band cycled through some of their most well-known songs, including  “Your Lady, She's Shady,” “99 Shades of Crazy,” “Everything Is a Song,” “Country Ghetto,” “Slow Hot and Sweaty,” and “Orange Blossoms. Each of the band members were given a plenty of room for ample extended jams. In between, JJ shared some stories of his songs and the history behind them. We wrapped up the end of their nearly two hour set from the balcony, finding a pair of seats in only the second row.

Marilyn Manson, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Over twenty years ago, Ohio native Brian Warner took the stage name Marilyn Manson by juxtaposing the names of two American cultural icons – Marilyn Monroe and Charles Manson. In addition to the name of Warner’s new persona, the name also doubled for that of the band he fronts. Manson himself has been the only consistent member of that band, which has released albums and toured regularly over the past two decades, including this most recent tour in support of his tenth album, The Pale Emperor (2015). The members, particularly Manson, dress in outlandish makeup and costumes and have engaged in intentionally shocking behavior both onstage and off. Their performances have frequently been called offensive and obscene, and, on several occasions, protests and petitions have led to the group being banned from performing. On stage with him again was non-original but long time on and on band member Twiggy Ramiez on bass (Twiggy + serial killer Richard Ramirez) as well as newcomers Tyler Bates (guitar), Gil Sharone (drums), and Paul Wiley (guitar).

Though I was never more than a casual fan of Marilyn Manson, I have always considered him very talented and enjoyed his music. I’ve also always liked him, or at least found him interesting, as a person. He’s completely uncompromising, both in his art and his daily life. While he sometimes comes across as an asshole and does a lot of strange things, I’m glad he exists somewhere out there in the world to shake things up. At the same time, his persona has probably kept me at a bit of a distance. My clean cut dress and general contentment with life is at odds with his stereotypical fan, of which many were present at the show that evening. To some degree I was admittedly there just to see a spectacle as I was to hear his music. I knew I was in for an interesting experience.

I arrived only a few minutes before the start of his set. While the show wasn’t listed as sold out as of earlier in the day, it seemed close to it once I was inside the venue, though I didn’t look at the balcony. Manson came onstage about 9:15 dressed in all black, with ghoulish black makeup accenting his face. As the show began, I worked my way through the crowd, sliding my way to the lower section, noticing a relatively open section of the floor occupied by only one fairly large guy in a tank top, drunkenly swaying back and forth. Cognizant of what I could be getting myself into by opting to stand next to him, I took my chances and went for the open space. For a while, he and the rest of the crowd were relatively calm.  Not nearly the mosh pit shenanigans I was expecting. I was a bit disappointed! However, the start of “mOBSCENE” got the guys around me going. The pushing and shoving erupted. I mostly stood on the end and kept things stable though I jumped into the fray occasionally as well. The moshing never seemed to last too long. I guess his fans are getting old, so they winded easily. Everyone was respectful though and having a good time.

The set featured lots of explosions of light and confetti throughout the show, accented by moments of relative quiet, including a few times when he addressed the audience. This included him thanking “Detroit.” Though he wore a black cloak for the first part of the show, looking a bit like Ingmar Bergman's personification of Death, halfway he changed into a glamourous (faux?) fur coat. Glittering “Drugs” signs spun in the background. His set included a mix of songs from new album, many of which I quite enjoyed, as well as his greatest hits from older albums.

Setlist:
Requiem [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart cover]
Deep Six
Disposable Teens
mOBSCENE
No Reflection
Killing Strangers
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) [Eurythmics cover]
Cupid Carries a Gun
Rock Is Dead
The Dope Show
Third Day of a Seven Day Binge
Personal Jesus [Depeche Mode cover)
This Is the New Shit
The Mephistopheles of Los Angeles
The Beautiful People
Irresponsible Hate Anthem
Encore:
Coma White

Cold War Kids, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

Because there was a long line to enter the venue, which we preferred to wait out, we only arrived inside the sold out show only slightly before the Cold War Kids were scheduled to take the stage. Struggling to find a place to stand, an employee recommended that we check out the balcony, a section of the theatre which I had yet to see. Even the balcony was at near capacity, meaning that we had to walk to the very top rows to find a place to with four empty seats. Despite how high up were we were, I found that the entire balcony had both good acoustics and view of the stage. It was certainly better than being at the back of the main floor of the theater.

California-based indie rockers the Cold War Kids include Nathan Willett (vocals, piano, guitar, keyboards, percussion), Dann Gallucci (guitar, percussion, melodica), Matt Maust (bass guitar), Joe Plummer (drums, percussion) and Matthew Schwartz (keyboards, piano, guitar, percussion, vocals). Forming in 2005, they have since grown steadily in popularity ever. Though I had seen them once before at the Sweetlife Music Festival in 2011, this was my first time seeing them on their own. They played a mix of songs from all their albums as well as a couple tracks from Behave Yourself EP (2010). It was certainly a fun show even if I don’t feel the need to see a repeat performance.

Setlist:
All This Could Be Yours
Miracle Mile
Loner Phase
We Used to Vacation
Santa Ana Winds
First
Louder Than Ever
Hot Coals
Hang Me Up to Dry
Bottled Affection [Nate solo]
Harold Bloom
Tuxedos
Drive Desperate
Every Man I Fall For
Red Wine, Success!
Hospital Beds
Encore:
Well Well Well [John Lennon cover]
Audience
Something Is Not Right With Me

Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, Athenaeum Theatre, Metro, and Schuba's, Chicago, Illinois

Thursday, Kishi Bashi String Quartet, Athenaeum Theatre

2015 would mark my second year of attending the Tomorrow Never Knows Festival, a music festival hosted by various local venues in the Lincoln Park area. It was however my first year attending multiple nights of the festival, four in a row, after only attending a single night the previous year. It would also be my second time seeing violinist Kishi Bashi in the past year, though this experience at the Athenaeum Theatre would be a bit different as it was billed as the Kishi Bashi String Quartet.

We arrived at the theater shortly before his set, sliding into our seats in the back corner of the orchestra. As the theatre is quite small, we could still see and hear quite well even in the back row. Kishi and his quartet utilized a simple set up, just four chairs with the members of the quartet, including three violins/violas and a cellist. This was in addition to Kishi, standing house right of them, who conducted the group, baton and all, as well as split his time between vocals and the violin as in his regular shows.

The set began with string versions of his songs. However, over the course of the show, the tempo picked up a bit and electronic elements seeped into his music, especially when banjoist Mike Savino also joined them on stage. By this point, Kishi was also including synth sounds, loops, and a bit of beatboxing. The quartet even left the stage for a while. As I was only expecting the string quartet, I was a bit surprised with these more upbeat elements. While the show was very enjoyable, I’d prefer his regular show, especially if you only have the opportunity to see him once. However, this is probably also due to my personal preference for general admission shows at clubs like Metro instead of seated venues like the Athenaeum Theatre. He certainly didn't go crowd surfing with a selfie-stick. People sat through most of this show excepted when he requested the audience come to its feet for “Bright Whites” to end his main set. The setlist included five songs each from 151a (2012) and Lighght (2014) and four from Philosophize! Chemicalize! EP (2013). Following the show, we saw him and his band at Lincoln Tap room around the corner.

Setlist:
Manchester
I Am the Antichrist to You
Atticus, in the Desert
Carry on Phenomenon
Bittersweet Genesis for Him AND Her
In Fantasia
Evalyn, Summer Has Arrived
A Sunday Smile [Beirut cover]
This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody) [Talking Heads cover]
Conversations at the End of the World
Bright Whites
Encore:
It All Began With a Burst
Q&A
Philosophize in It! Chemicalize with It!
The Ballad of Mr. Steak

Friday, Zola Jesus, Athenaeum Theatre

Though the show for Zola Jesus was previously listed as sold out, I checked for tickets a couple days before the show to a find that a few more had been released, including a single tix right up front. I grabbed a ticket for the second row on the inside aisle, a fantastic find.

I arrived a few minutes before Zola Jesus, the moniker of American experimental pop singer Nika Roza Danilova took the stage. She only had a microphone in her hand but was accompanied by three other musicians – a drummer and a pair of keyboardists (one of whom also occasionally played the trombone). Nonetheless, it was her performance. She wore a black flowing dress with metal armbands, as if she had just stepped out of an ancient Roman temple. Around the stage were craggy plastic or cloth decorations, making the stage appear like it was nestled in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. The front area of the stage was bare, providing her ample space to move around. A bit of lighting and lots of billowing smoke covered the stage, such that the stage was usually shrouded in a dimly lit cloud.

Everyone sat through her hour long set which combined elements of electronic, industrial, goth, and rock. On many songs, her own loops provided the backing vocals. She spent a lot of the show pacing from one side of the stage to the other – dancing, gyrating, and wiggling. This would also include moments where she would writhe around on the floor, though more like a holy roller than an erotic dancer.

She also did the intro to one of her songs a cappella and unplugged. For another song, she waded through the audience. She pulled most of her set from Tiaga (2014), her most recent album, and fifth overall in about as many years. She only performed a pair of songs each from two of her previous two albums, Conatus (2011) and Versions (2013). The guy sitting next to me, Marek, sat dead still for the entire set, watching the performance through the screen of his phone. The efforts of which can be viewed here.

Setlist:
Taiga
Dangerous Days
Dust
In Your Nature
Hunger
Go (Blank Sea)
Sea Talk
Lawless
Nail
Long Way Down
Hollow
Night
Encore:
Skin
Vessel

Saturday, Jukebox the Ghost and Twin Forks, Metro

Twin Forks is the most recent project of Chris Carrabba, the former lead singer of the acoustic emo band Dashboard Confessional. We arrived as they were beginning their set at 7:30pm, which struck me as quite early in the evening. We slid into a decent spot on the left side of the stage. We didn’t have a great view but could hear very well.

Though a number of other performers are listed as band members on their wiki page, only four showed up for their performance that evening, including Chris on guitar, a bassist, mandolinist, and another female singer and occasional tambourine player. They were excellent for an opening act and quite a bonus for the evening, playing a full hour set. We heard a good mix of Twin Forks songs, several Dashboard Confessional songs, plus a few other covers.

After a short break, Jukebox the Ghost took the stage. Though just three band members, including guitar, piano, and drums, they brought a ton of power pop energy with them. Though I didn’t know the names of any of their songs, I certainly recognized many of the catchy melodies following just a few spins on my iPod in the weeks preceding the show. The lead singer did a few solo songs between the main set and the encore. Including an almost nonexistent encore break, their set lasted about eighty minutes.

Jukebox the Ghost Setlist:
Postcard
Made for an Ending
Victoria
Girl
Hold It In
The Stars
When the Nights Get Long
My Heart's the Same/Lighting Myself on Fire
Long Way Home
Sound of a Broken Heart
Schizophrenia
Hollywood
Somebody
Static to the Heart
Don't Stop Me Now [Queen cover]
Undeniable you
Show me where it hurts
The Great Unknown
Walk Like an Egyptian [Bengals cover]

Sunday, The Family Crest, Schuba's

Though I’ve seen many ads for it in my email inbox over the past couple of years, Sunday night would be my first visit to Schuba's, Lincoln Hall’s little sister. San Francisco-based The Family Crest would close down Tomorrow Never Knows 2015. The band started as a musical project by frontman Liam McCormick and co-founder John Seeterlin, aimed at incorporating many people into a single musical endeavor. After recording over a hundred people in a project, they decided to reformulate it as a live band, which has since released a pair of albums and a handful of EPs.

The pair seemed to have maintained their penchant large musical collaborations though, squeezing eight musicians onto Schuba’s tiny stage. In addition to McCormick (lead vocals, guitar) and Seeterlin (bass, vocals), the band consists of Charlie Giesige (drums), Laura Bergmann (flute, percussion, vocals), George Samaan (tenor trombone) Owen Sutter (violin, percussion), and Charly Akert (cello, percussion, vocals). I’m apparently missing the name of their extra percussionist. McCormick has a great, sometimes haunting voice, which sounded even better live than on their recordings. With so many musicians on stage, they’ve really figured out how to properly take advantage of their size, crafting a layered, orchestral sound.

However, the tiny stage could barely hold them all. Furthermore, the stage sits on the far end of the venue, without an adjacent back stage area, meaning that the band has to wade through the audience to get to the stage and huddle on the side before the start of their set. It also makes for an even sillier than normal encore break, with the band just standing only slightly off to the side, still in full view of the audience. They acknowledged the awkward moment and retook the stage quickly. They all looked like they were just as excited to return to the stage as we were. The whole band just looked so happy to be there. When you’re playing such a small venue and you bring eight people, you can’t be in it for the money. Their set included many songs from Beneath the Brine (2014), the only album of theirs that I know, including the title track, “Beneath the Brine,” as well as “The World,” “Howl,” “Love Don't Go” and “Make Me a Boat.”