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Filtering by Tag: Kevin Morby

Live Recap: Kevin Morby with Coco at The Vic

The Vic Theatre hosted a Halloween party with Kevin Morby and Coco this past Monday night.

Kicking off the evening, the members of Coco (Maia Friedman, Dan Molad, and Oliver Hill) took the stage with make up that paid homage to Día de Muertos. The project of Coco began in 2019 when Friedman, Molad, and Hill came together as friends to start collaborating on music, after having played in other bands separately. That same collaborative spirit carried over to their live performance, as the bandmates continued to swap instruments and rotate around the stage during their 45 minute set. Coco’s performance started off with very mellow vibes, but the energy remained dynamic and intensified towards the end. The band also shared that this was their first real tour, saying “We’re about half way through our tour opening up for Kevin Morby and it’s our first time in Chicago.” Monday’s show was my first experience with Coco, but I can’t wait to hear more from them and see what’s next.

Next up, Kevin Morby and his bandmates hit the stage to a backdrop stating “This Is A Photograph,” which is the title of Morby’s latest studio album released earlier this year. Fittingly, the first song performed was the title track of that new album, followed closely by several other tracks off the same record, like “Bittersweet, TN” and “Rock Bottom.” Between performing the newer songs, Morby took the time to share his gratitude with the crowd for showing up on such a busy night, saying, “We know there’s a lot going on tonight. It’s like a choose your own adventure, so thank you for choosing this adventure.”

The bandmates sharing the stage with Morby did a phenomenal job of breathing life into the songs, filling in the live arrangements with backing vocals as well as the flute and saxophone in addition to more traditional instruments. Morby made sure to keep the crowd not only sonically captivated, but visually captivated as he glided around the entire stage donning a gold fringe jacket and glitter face paint. During the performance of “Five Easy Pieces,” Morby made his way right to the front of the stage to closely connect with the audience, but one of his most memorable interactions of the night was when he twirled around a set of nunchucks and then proceeded to toss some candy out to the crowd in honor of Halloween.

While the setlist leaned heavy with new material for the first half, Morby made sure to sprinkle in bits of older material— such as “No Halo” from 2019’s Oh My God, which he introduced by inviting the crowd to participate in by clapping along to the beat. Another all-time fan favorite was of course “City Music,” which Morby dedicated to Chicago, saying “this is one of my favorite cities.” Speaking of Chicago and music, Morby and his bandmates concluded the main part of the set with a performance of “Goodbye to Good Times” with a guest appearance from Chicago musician Colin Croom. The evening concluded with an encore of “Beautiful Strangers” and “Harlem River.”

See where you can catch Kevin Morby on tour next here, and check out the photo recap of the evening below.

PHOTOS: Whitney's Record-Breaking Run at Thalia Hall

Last week, Chicago sweethearts Whitney returned home from tour to celebrate their second album Forever Turned Around with a five-night extravaganza at Thalia Hall. Their sold out residency that spanned December 4th-December 8th featured a variety of special guests— from support acts like Hoops and Slow Pulp to surprise appearances from Kevin Morby and Aaron Scott, there was no shortage of unforgettable moments. If you missed out on tickets to the special Thalia Hall run, check out our collective photo gallery from the show below. You can also grab tickets to see Whitney at SPACE next month on January 28th here.

PHOTOS: Kevin Morby With Sam Cohen at Thalia Hall

This weekend, Kevin Morby and Sam Cohen took over Thalia Hall on Friday and Saturday night. Kevin Morby brought along a full band (including a flutist and backing vocalists) to deliver a dynamic performance of his new album Oh My God, as well as some older favorites like “Parade” and “Harlem River.” Check out photos from the first of two shows below.

Keep up with Kevin Morby on Facebook and Instagram and listen to Oh My God in full below.

LIVE: A Night With Kevin Morby at Lincoln Hall

"We've been coming here a long time, but we've never seen this many people," Kevin Morby said this past Friday night, addressing the sold out crowd at Lincoln Hall. Decked out in a customized suit featuring embroidered music notes and bedazzled initials of "K" and "M" studded onto his jacket collar, Morby had hit the stage that night in a blaze of style and talent. The roughly 75 minute set kicked off with the title track of Morby's latest album City Music, the entire live band immediately displaying their chemistry and feeding off one another's energy as they played through a handful of tracks from the new album, like "Cry Baby" and "1234," the latter acting as an uptempo bridge to the slow building tune "Aboard My Train." 

After those handful of newer songs, Morby and his band performed songs like "Harlem River" and "Destroyer" from past albums to an attentive audience. "Parade" from 2014's album Still Life proved to be a crowd favorite, with the audience echoing the words back to the stage. For the rest of the night, as Morby and his band worked through more songs both old and new, the crowd's eyes were glued to the stage as they soaked up every bit of Morby's magical performance. As the set closed out with "Dorthy," loud applause rang through the Lincoln Park venue, thanking Kevin Morby and his band for a stellar show. 

Check out photos from the mesmerizing performance below! Additional photos by Catalina Florea.

See the rest of Kevin Morby's upcoming tour dates here, and listen to City Music in full below!