ANCHR spent this last St.Patty’s Day in the ideal way—no, not by drinking green beer or seeing the Chicago River dyed green— by seeing Caroline Rose and Tōth in a sold out Lincoln Hall.

Brooklyn songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Toth (the namesake of Tōth) kicked off the high energy and good vibes of the evening by beginning the set donning sparkly butterfly wings. The fun continued with songs like “Turnaround (Cocaine Song)” and “Muerto,” which had some crowd members singing along. However, the biggest sing-along of the set happened when Tōth performed “Juliette” and led audience members in echoing the lines “Juliette, I’m just glad we met.”

Next up, a DIY backdrop and light set up filled the stage to mark a new era for Caroline Rose. Caroline’s highly anticipated return to Chicago was her first show here since the release of her album Superstar— which as Caroline joked was a terrible date to release music, was put out on March 6th, 2020. Caroline and her band hit the stage when the room was packed and buzzing with fans who were either eager to see them perform again, or new fans ready to experience Caroline Rose for the first time. The beginning part of the set featured some familiar favorites from 2018’s Loner, like “More of the Same” and “Jeannie Becomes A Mom” before turning to songs from the newest record. Caroline’s albums have brought me joy as a listener, but nothing compares to witnessing her perform and bring those songs to life in a completely unique light. For example, Caroline used auto-tune during one song and then broke off into a tangent of singing “Believe” by Cher. “I could be a Cher impersonator and probably make a lot more money,” she joked. At another point, Caroline turned off the DIY lighting rig and borrowed a fan in the front row’s phone to use the flashlight as a makeshift spotlight—making the already intimate show feel even more personal.

Towards the middle of the show, Caroline spoke between songs about how the pandemic has affected her approach to life, relating it to the carefree attitude our grandparents often adopt later in life (“Like when your grandparents don’t give a crap about what they do and just burp and fart in front of you”). “That sounded more poetic in my head but when I say it out loud, it didn’t sound quite as sexy,” she added. While there was obviously a joking element to that statement, the underlying sentiment is one that I personally can relate to a lot; Now that we’ve survived the devastation that the pandemic has brought on so far, it’s much easier to no longer sweat the small stuff in life. The heartbreak of the pandemic and the shut down of the music industry also made it that much easier to truly cherish and appreciate moments like this Caroline Rose concert— it was one of those shows that make you believe in rock and roll and the goodness of other humans by bringing together a room full of strangers.

The show ended with Caroline performing an extended version of “Money”— with a detour that had her climbing the amps and ad libbing whatever vocalizations came to mind. With so much going on in the world, these short moments of undistracted joy are what keeps me going.

You can catch Caroline Rose on tour this year—dates here, and check out the photo recap of the night below.