The All American Rejects, The Maine, and Andrew McMahon performed on Wednesday, December 11th to a packed Aragon Ballroom as part of Q101’s annual holiday show, Twisted Xmas. Check out photos from all of their sets below and check out photos from the first night of Twisted Xmas here.
Franz Ferdinand performed on Tuesday, December 10th to a sold-out Aragon Ballroom, alongside almost monday and Cage The Elephant as part of Q101’s annual holiday show, Twisted Xmas. Franz Ferdinand’s hour-long set journeyed through their musical catalog, performing some of the hits from their earlier albums as well as some brand-new material off their upcoming album The Human Fear —out January 10th, 2025. See the full setlist below, along with photos from their set and view their upcoming tour dates here.
Setlist:
The Dark of the Matinée
No You Girls
Night or Day
Walk Away
Build It Up
Evil Eye
Do You Want To
Hooked
Michael
The Doctor
Love Illumination
Take Me Out
Ulysses
Audacious
This Fire
On Friday, May 17th, Say Anything returned to Chicago to perform their landmark album ...Is a Real Boy in full to honor the 20th anniversary of the record.
Lead vocalist and songwriter Max Bemis, alongside the full band, had reunited to perform at Riot Fest in Chicago last September, but this show at Aragon Ballroom was Say Anything’s first headline show here since playing The Metro in 2017. While Aragon Ballroom is a significantly larger venue, fans came out in droves to experience the nostalgia of these twenty-year-old songs and completely packed the room even before it was time for the headline event.
The concert setlist stayed true to the album’s tracklist, and the show kicked off with the introductory track “Belt.” The live performance even included the spoken word introduction from Bemis saying “And the record begins, with a song of rebellion!” The audience immediately launched into fervent dancing and singing along with Bemis, that continued throughout the show.
Before playing the third track “The Writhing South,” Bemis took some time to address the crowd and mention the 20th anniversary celebration. "The weirdest part about that, it’s not the nostalgia, it’s not surreal— it’s that I’m only turning 20 myself this year, and I just don’t understand physically how that happened,” he joked. I have to say as someone who listened to these songs on repeat in high school, it definitely felt a little surreal to be hearing them performed all these years later.
For me and for so many of the audience members, every single song on the tracklist has specific memories tied to them, and they’re all so iconic in their own ways, but there were a couple of moments when the crowd amplified the energy they’d been exhibiting all night. During "An Orgy of Critics" I spotted my first crowdsurfer of the night, which was particularly impressive for this concert—considering the audience was made up mostly of millennials and Gen X. Just before playing track 9, "Every Man Has a Molly,” Bemis told the crowd “I wanna hear you guys sing as loud as humanly possible” and the audience obliged by singing the entire first verse before the band fully kicked in. The fans showed off their chorus-like singing again for “I Want To Know Your Plans,” which Bemis performed as a solo acoustic number at the start of the evening’s encore. Bemis introduced the set’s final song “Admit It!!” by telling the audience “We’re gonna put everything we’ve got into this last one” and the band definitely fulfilled that promise to send the evening off on a high note.
Relive the glory of the concert by checking out photos of the Chicago show below, and see where you can catch Say Anything next here.
James Blake returned to Chicago to play a headlining show to a packed Aragon Ballroom, returning to the city for the first time since his festival set at Re:SET in June.
Blake took his place at his station onstage, surrounded by a keyboard and synthesizer, and joined by two other live bandmates—one of who goes by the alias Airhead and had opened up the show.
To kick off the show, Blake and his band performed “Asking To Break” and “I Want You To Know” from his latest album Playing Robots Into Heaven. Before playing the third song of the evening, Blake told the audience they were a sight for sore eyes, and joked “We’ll play a little bit of everything, but we’ve only got six hours.” With the third song of the setlist, we pivoted back to one of the singer’s tried and true songs that he performs; a cover of “The Limit To Your Love” by Feist. Blake makes the cover his own with a signature bass drop after the first chorus, and in a live setting, the bass was so intense and visceral that it shook both the floor and my body.
From there, Blake continued to weave between the newer material and some of the hits from his earlier discography, like “Life Round Here” and “Retrograde,” which were both clear fan favorites. Blake also took some time to express his gratitude to the audience for being receptive to his newer music, which he described as being “bouncier”—and some of the new songs definitely gave off more a club vibe than a concert ballroom vibe. The most impressive part of the show had to be that Blake and his band created all of the sounds live, rather than playing from a track. “I always wanted to play electronic music, but I wanted to play it in a band,” he told the crowd.
Near the end of the set, we got some stripped back moments of Blake solo at the piano for a cover of “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean and his 2021 single “Say What You Will.”
If you get the chance to catch the Playing Robots Into Heaven tour, you’re guaranteed to be awed by James Blakes live interpretation of his electronic-leaning tracks, intertwined with some simpler piano-driven moments. See where you can catch the tour next here, and check out photos of the evening below.
This past Tuesday night, Joesef and Jungle performed to a sold-out Aragon Ballroom.
Scottish singer-songwriter Joesef warmed up the full crowd, joined onstage by his four bandmates. Joesef and his band performed their entire set on a small sliver of the stage set up in front of a red curtain that hid the elaborate stage set up for Jungle. While he may not have had much real estate on stage, that didn’t stop Joesef from commanding the room with his dreamy melodies and silky vocals. Joesef’s setlist mostly pulled from his 2023 debut album, Permanent Damage, including “It's Been a Little Heavy Lately” and “Just Come Home With Me Tonight.” He introduced the latter saying “this next song is about sleeping with my ex. Don’t judge me.” His set also included a cover of “Thinking Of You” by Sister Sledge, which was introduced by Joesef saying, “This next song is a cover. Maybe you know it, maybe you don’t. But either way, it’ll get you dancing.” The set closed out with a somewhat self-titled song simply called “Joe,” and before playing it, Joesef demoed the chorus to the crowd, asking them to join in. Joesef’s music complemented Jungle’s sound really well, but I’d also recommend adding him to your playlist if you’re a fan of Years and Years, Neil Frances or Shura.
Next up, the anticipation began to climb as fans waited for the members of Jungle to take the stage, and for the red curtain to drop. Shortly after 9PM, the audience’s wish was granted and the curtain fell to reveal a giant, lit up sign that read JUNGLE at the back of the stage. The founding members of Jungle Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland began the set stationed near the back of the stage, surrounded by their live band—which included an array of instruments from percussion, keys/synths, guitar and even a flute.
The tour was in honor of Jungle’s 2023 album Volcano, and the set began with a few tracks from the newest album, including “Us Against The World” and “Dominoes.” The band seamlessly transitioned the latter into an older track “The Heat” from Jungle’s debut self-titled album. Throughout the rest of the set, the band weaved in songs from the course of their discography, which also includes 2018’s For Ever and Loving In Stereo. At any point during the show, I was surrounded by countless people dancing and smiling along to the groovy and soulful sound that Jungle has infused with their electronic beats. Fans were soaking up every bit of the music, but highlights definitely included their single “Back On 74” and “Busy Earnin’.”
If you missed out on the fun times, check out photos of the show below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.
This past Saturday night, Carly Rae Jepsen wrapped up her North American “So Nice” tour with a phenomenal show at Aragon Ballroom, also featuring Empress Of as the support.
I’ve been a big fan of Empress Of, the musical project of Lorely Rodriguez, since 2016, when I heard her single “Woman Is a Word,” so it was exciting to see her playing such a big room. Empress Of’s set began with Rodriguez’s DJ first taking the stage to hype up the audience, and Rodriguez quickly followed. Empress Of started off performing “Save Me” from her 2022 EP of the same name, and continued to weave in songs from her three albums. The set also included a cover of “Man’s World” by Marina. All throughout her performance, Rodriguez mesmerized the crowd with her fluid and poetic dancing.
As it got closer to the time of Carly Rae Jepsen’s performance, The Aragon Ballroom was overflowing all the way to the back wall of the venue with eager fans ready for the main event—this was Jepsen’s first time back in Chicago since 2019, and the majority of the audience members were decked out in neon colors, sequins and glitter to celebrate the special occasion. The sparkle of the crowd really added to the positive mood of the show.
The stage design featured fluffy clouds and huge stars as the backdrop, as well as a round screen that resembled the sun or the moon. To kick off Jepsen’s set, the screen projected a video of a talking moon, which welcomed the band onstage for the first song, “This Love Isn't Crazy” from the 2020 Dedicated Side B. Jepsen and her bandmates were rocking sequins that coordinated with many of the audience members’ outfits, and she kept the excitement high by setting off confetti canons as early as the first song.
The setlist featured many songs from Jepsen’s 2022 album The Loneliest Time, like “Joshua Tree, “Sideways,” and “Western Wind,” but she and her band performed a whopping 28-songs, allowing the crowd to journey through her entire discography. One of those highlights was of course the massive hit “Call Me Maybe” from Jepsen’s 2012 album Kiss— the entire audience sang along so loudly it was actually difficult to hear Jepsen singing in the back of the venue over the sound of the crowd. Jepsen put on a great performance through and through, continuing to dance and move about the stage with high energy that persisted through the entire show, and that was only enhanced by her stunning stage production. The confetti canon was put to use a few other times, and Jepsen even did an outfit change about halfway through the set. Another fan favorite of the night was the title track of the 2022 album, “The Loneliest Time,” which has garnered massive popularity lately thanks to a TikTok trend.
See where you can catch Carly Rae Jepsen on tour next here, and check out the photo gallery of the evening below.
This past Thursday night, the Aragon Ballroom hosted a feel-good show from Young The Giant and Danielle Ponder as part of the American Bollywood Tour.
The night kicked off with singer-songwriter Danielle Ponder from Rochester, New York. I had listened to Ponder a bit on Spotify and already couldn’t wait to see her perform live, but her powerhouse vocals absolutely blew me (and everyone else at the venue) away. Right from the jump, Ponder filled the ballroom with her rich, soulful voice and poetic lyricism. Ponder also had a sense a humor and introduced her song “Someone Like You” by asking all the singles in the crowd to make some noise while sharing her frustration with the dating app Hinge (I think most singles can relate to that sentiment). Later on in the set, Ponder shared that she used to be a public defender, but I’m so glad she’s now able to share her musical talent with us all. In addition to her own songs, Ponder performed a chilled out cover of “Creep” by Radiohead. “Being on a stage like this means everything to me,” she told the audience, but I would bet this won’t be her biggest stage—soon she’ll be headlining even larger rooms.
Next up, the stage was set for headliners Young the Giant, with risers placed on both sides of the stage. The band entered the stage to a backdrop of hazy blue lighting, before launching into their song “American Bollywood,” which is the namesake of their tour and the title of their four-part album that has been released in increments this year. Similarly to the structure of the new album, the live performance was broken up into different acts for different clusters of songs, and between each act, the house speakers played different audio interludes to break them up.
Young the Giant performed the majority of the American Bollywood songs like “Cult of Personality” and “Dancing in the Rain” interlaced with other fan favorites from their earlier discography. Most notably, “Cough Syrup” elicited an immediate response of enthusiastic screams after the first few chords rang out. I feel like very few songs evoke that kind of immediate response, so it was incredible to witness that moment, and something that makes live music continue to be such a beautiful experience.
No matter what song the band was playing throughout the night, lead vocalist Sameer Gadhia remained captivating as he made sure to wander to both ends of the stage and connect with fans in the front, and the entire band occasionally rotated their placement on stage, which kept their performance dynamic and engaging.
Another fan favorite, “My Body” closed out the last act before the three-song encore, hinting that the show was winding down but there was still more to come in the encore. The final three songs consisted of “Superposition,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “Silvertongue.”
If you get the chance, don’t miss out on the American Bollywood tour—see the remaining dates here, and check out the photo recap below.
Chicago’s Aragon Ballroom hosted a sold out show from Turnstile, JPEGMafia and Snail Mail on Sunday, October 23rd to finish up the weekend.
Snail Mail, the project of singer-songwriter and musician Lindsey Jordan, kicked off the evening bright and early around 6 P.M. At the beginning of their set, Jordan and her bandmates experienced some technical difficulties, but the show must go on—and Jordan proceeded to still give a stellar performance through the challenges. Snail Mail’s performance may have been short and sweet, but Jordan still squeezed in some friendly banter in between songs, including telling the audience about a fever dream she had in which she’s playing a big room and having guitar pedal issues (essentially the exact scenario that was happening in real life). The setlist ranged from featuring songs from the early EP days to tracks like “Heat Wave” and “Pristine” from the 2018 album Lush, as well as newer songs like “Ben Franklin” and the title track from 2021’s Valentine.
Towards the end of Snail Mail’s set, the crowd had grown larger and was beginning to fill in even the outskirts of the room. The larger crowd only amplified the energy for the second act of the night, rapper JPEGMafia. Fans throughout the venue welcomed him to the stage by chanting “Peggy!” and I even spotted a “Peggy for president” sign in the front row. JPEGMafia reciprocated the audience’s tone by bursting onto the stage with flashing, electrifying lighting and launching into his set with the song “Jesus Forgive Me, I Am a Thot.” The energy remained high as he worked through his setlist, typically sharing anecdotes about each song before performing them. Before performing his song “BALD!”, JPEGMafia told the crowd that he looked around the room and saw a bunch of beautiful heads of hair. Another highlight was his cover of the iconic Carly Rae Jepsen song “Call Me Maybe,” which JPEGMafia performed A capella. The audience was also treated to some sneak peeks of unreleased material that JPEGMafia called “previews” to his new music.
Speaking of previews, during JPEGMafia’s set, we got a taste of the rowdy moshing that would take place during the entirety of headliner Turnstile’s set. Turnstile performed on the Aragon stage after playing at the legendary Lollapalooza festival this summer, and the Chicago crowd welcomed them back by chanting “TLC!” ahead of their set starting. The band marked the beginning of their set by playing Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” through the house speakers before diving into their massively popular song “HOLIDAY” from their 2021 album Glow On. From then on, the setlist heavily pulled from that same album, including performances of songs like “BLACKOUT,” “FLY AGAIN,” and “MYSTERY.” I watched the majority of the show from the Aragon balcony, at any given point during the show, the crowd on the main floor remained a spectacle as the sea of people continued to jump around nonstop, despite the rising temperatures in the venue. Vocalist Brendan Yates matched their energy, jumping around the stage and stripping his shirt off after the first couple of songs. By the end of the night, the audience and band had worked up so much momentum that the floor of the venue was literally slick with sweat.
Overall, the evening showcased a dynamic and diverse line up, highlighting indie rock, rap, and hardcore punk music all in one show. See where you can catch the tour next here, and check out the photo recap of the Chicago show below.
Last Friday night, Scottish trio CHVRCHES hit the Aragon Ballroom stage in Chicago in celebration of their fourth studio album, Screen Violence. While it was already mid-November and many of us have moved into the festive and cheerful holiday mode, CHVRCHES brought us all right back to spooky season with this performance.
As Donna Missal warmed up the first fans to arrive to the show, more and more fans filtered in and packed the ballroom to the brim before Lauren Mayberry and Martin Doherty took the stage with their live bandmates. Just ahead of the Chicago stop, the band had announced that unfortunately Iain Cook had tested positive with Covid-19 and had to quarantine, but luckily the show was able to continue on with assistance from the group’s touring crew member, Dave Simpson.
Following an eerie and spooky introductory track that sounded like it came straight from a horror film score, the band began their cinematic performance with “He Said She Said,” the second song off the new album. I’ve always admired the fun and captivating energy that CHVRCHES, and particularly Mayberry, have presented onstage, but this return from them felt even more epic and developed than previous experiences. Mayberry kept all eyes glued on her as she twirled around the open stage while singing to the likes of “Violent Delights” and “Science/Visions” as colorful lights engulfed her and projections played out on the massive screen behind the band. Despite one of their core bandmates being unable to join them, Mayberry, Doherty, and Simpson kept their sound polished and on track the entire show.
During their set, CHVRCHES kept things extra theatrical with a couple of costume changes from Mayberry, including one where she swapped out her outfit to a t-shirt reading “FINAL GIRL,” which is the name of one of the songs on 2021’s Screen Violence. The song pays homage to the final girl troupe we see in many horror films, and to play into that sentiment, Mayberry even covered herself in fake blood after singing “Final Girl.”
Of the new album itself, Mayberry has said she went into the writing process with the idea of writing something escapist, adding, “That felt freeing initially, to have concepts and stories to weave your own feelings and experiences through but in the end, all the lyrics were definitely still personal.” While that concept comes across listening to the album, the live show from CHVRCHES truly drove home the escapist aspect as they hooked us into an entrancing production that played out in front of our eyes.
Check out our photo recap of the evening below, and see where you can catch CHVRCHES on tour next here.
It’s not every day you get to see a highly successful band that has sold out countless arenas at an intimate club or theatre— but if you’re one of the lucky fans attending the Twenty One Pilots Takeover tour, then you’ve been fortunate enough to experience this rare opportunity.
Off the back of live music making a comeback this year and the release of their latest studio album Scaled and Icy, Twenty One Pilots announced the unique concept of a tour in which they play an array of venues in select cities— essentially playing a residency on a sliding scale of venue capacities. In Chicago, the duo started their sold out run at Bottom Lounge before performing at House of Blues, Aragon Ballroom and The United Center.
I attended the third night of the Chicago dates, which took place at the Aragon Ballroom last Thursday night with support from Arrested Youth and Half Alive. Both groups had high energy and intense stage presence that provided the perfect primer for the main event of the evening. Half Alive even upped the theatrical element of their set but including moments of interpretive dance movement and visual art a la canvas and spraypaint.
With the crowd warmed up and ready for Twenty One Pilots, the anticipation in the room was palpable— fans held up signs and chanted for band members Josh Dun and Tyler Joseph. The pair made their entrance to the middle of the stage moments later, donning their signature ski masks and taking a moment to stand side by side before moving towards their respective instruments to play “Good Day” from their new album.
From the onset, it was obvious that we were all about to witness a full blown spectacle and a special experience that would fill the room with endorphins and adrenaline. I think the reason that Twenty One Pilots has seen so much success is driven by the element of connection— the connection to Tyler Joseph’s words and vulnerability as well as the connection to one another as listeners. After being deprived of live music during the pandemic, I’ve felt so much joy to be back at concerts, but there was an even higher level of intangible joy that I felt radiating throughout the room at Aragon Ballroom last week. Joseph and Dun’s stage presence still had a humble and genuine nature to it that traces back to their beginnings, and the smaller venue amplified the intimate vibe of this particular performance. However, there was a juxtaposing element of polished production that made this show that much more captivating.
To elevate the live experience from the album versions of their songs, Joseph and Dun were joined onstage by a full backing band for a majority of their show—although they did have moments with just the two of them performing. The pair carefully crafted the setlist to include many unique arrangements and mashups of their musical catalog, an element that allowed fans to experience more of their favorite songs while still keeping the show a reasonable length of time. For example, they mashed up “Migraine” with snippets of “Morph” and “Holding on to You” during the early part of the show. About halfway through the set, Joseph, Dun and their live bandmates set up a makeshift campfire and played stripped-down arrangements of some songs, including “House of Gold” and “We Don't Believe What's on TV.” Fans were also treated to covers of songs like “Bennie and the Jetts", “My Girl,” and “Low Rider”— the first of which was performed in tandem with “Mulberry Street.”
The live arrangements and sprinkling of unexpected covers in the set showcased the creativity and musicality that has been a mainstay in Twenty One Pilots’ catalog from the get go. Along with the sense of connection that the band is rooted in, I’ve always admired their refusal to be pigeonholed into one style or genre and their ability to keep refreshing and expanding their sound. Their song “Lane Boy” examines this tendency in a meta fashion, and speaks to this exact sentiment. There truly is a Twenty One Pilots song for every mood, and that versatility added another dynamic layer to their performance.
Throughout the evening, Joseph’s passion for what he does and his appreciation for the audience never wavered as he jumped around the stage (and at some points jumped off the stage). His energy matched the top notch production level of the show— from the elaborate lighting to the costumes to the confetti, there were so many moments that left the audience in awe.
After Joseph introduced the live bandmates and thanked their own crew as well as the venue staff, the set came to a close with a few more special moments. During “Car Radio,” Joseph made his way to the back of the main floor and climbed a rafter to finish the song, before he and Dun wrapped up the set with their hit “Trees” from atop of the crowd.
As Joseph was introducing their last song, he told the crowd that this was one of their favorite shows they’ve played in a long time, and I can honestly say this was one of my favorite and one of the best shows I’ve been to in a long time as well. Based on the energy swirling around the Aragon at the end of the night, it was clear how much Twenty One Pilots means to their fans, and vice versa.
If Twenty One Pilots is performing in a city near you, don’t miss the opportunity to see their incredible show. See their upcoming dates here, and view photos of the Aragon Ballroom Takeover show, including Arrested Youth and Half Alive, below.
