Live Recap: The 404 Tour with Barns Courtney and The Hunna
This past Wednesday night, The 404 Tour stopped in Chicago, bringing a lively performance from The Hunna and Barns Courtney to Park West.
The evening kicked off with British band The Hunna making their long awaited return to a stage in Chicago to perform both new material and old favorites. It had been years since The Hunna had toured The States, and they had taken a long hiatus from releasing new music until this year, so the band eased into their set with “We Could Be” from their 2016 debut album. Before the first song was even over, the energy of the band had skyrocketed, but it only continued to climb throughout their show as they played songs like “Bonfire,” “She’s Casual,” and new single “I.G.H.T.F.” During the set, lead singer and guitarist Ryan Potter threw his body into his guitar strums, climbed up on drummer Jack Metcalfe’s kit, and swung his microphone around. You could truly sense how grateful the band was to be back onstage in front of an audience far away from home ad that their return was warmly welcomed. Whether the people in the audience were fans of the band who had patiently been waiting for that return, or perhaps seeing The Hunna for the very first time, the band had every single person in the room sold on them by the end of their set.
Barns Courtney took the momentum that The Hunna had built up and propelled it to even greater heights when he burst onto the stage, twirling his microphone in the air and opened up the show with “Fun Never Ends” from his new album 404, just released this Friday. Whether intentional or not, the title of the opening song foreshadowed the lighthearted and amusing nature of the set that would follow. Besides the boundless energy he and his bandmates exuded while performing his upbeat songs, Barns Courtney also kept the audience entertained with his humorous between-song banter. Before slowing things down to deliver a solo acoustic performance of the unreleased “Hard to be Alone,” Barns invited two fans from the front row onstage, and shared the news that the couple had gotten married earlier that day— The fact that he has fans who would spend their wedding night at his concert attests to just how infectiously joyful he is as a performer. After that special, intimate moment of the set, the momentum picked right back up and finished the night on a high-note; Barns jumped off the stage to crowd surf, balloons floated around the room, and everyone danced and sang along to every song.
Between The Hunna and Barns Courtney, the 404 Tour is a blatant reminder that rock and roll is alive and well. To get your fill, see where the tour is stopping next here.
