Filtering by Tag: Live Review

Live Recap: Good Neighbours at Lincoln Hall

September 10, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

On Sunday, September 8th, Good Neighbours made their Chicago debut, performing to a packed room at Lincoln Hall.

Every few years it seems, people go feral for a song that features whistling. You’ve got “Sisyphus” by Andrew Bird, “Pumped Up Kicks” by Foster The People, “Young Folks” by Peter Bjorn and John, and ironically another song titled “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. In 2024, we’re still obsessed with a song called “Home” but this time it’s Good Neighbours’ version.

Hailing from East London, Good Neighbours is the musical partnership of Scott Verrill and Oli Fox, who just released their debut single (the aforementioned “Home”) in January of this year and since then, they’ve already amassed nearly 10 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Thanks to some viral teasers of the song on TikTok, fans were waiting with ears wide open when Good Neighbours finally gifted the universe with their musical releases.

Funny enough, I was over in England for a week in August and I attended Reading Festival the day that Good Neighbours happened to be playing. Unbeknownst to me, I had already heard the smash single “Home,” but went into their “secret set” at the BBC Introducing stage completely oblivious and ready to hear some new music. I left the set pleasantly surprised that I did already know one of their songs (phew, I’m not that old!) and impressed by the rest of their catalog and stage presence. To my pleasant surprise again, I discovered that the band would be making their touring debut in The States just a few short weeks, including a stop at my hometown of Chicago.

Cut to this Sunday night, fans eagerly awaited hearing Scott, Oli and their touring bandmates perform their short but sweet catalog live. The band opened with another one of their singles “Keep It Up,” which will be on their debut, self-titled EP releasing this October. After the opening number, Oli took some time to address the crowd, saying, “We’re gonna be playing a bunch of songs you probably haven’t heard. Most people have only heard that one or the one that comes in a bit.” Despite that disclaimer, many of the audience members did in fact know the songs that were yet to come, including other singles like “Bloom” and “Daisies.”

Even for the songs that have yet to be released, the fans were ready to dance and enjoy the experience. Oli prefaced one of their unreleased EP songs called “Weekend Boy,” saying it’s about being with someone for only the weekend. After they played the song, he asked the crowd if they liked it and was met with affirmative cheers.

Another song that was met with a lot of cheers was Good Neighbours’ cover of Sabrina Carpenter’s hit “Espresso.” Oli explained how their rendition came to be, telling the crowd “Over the last 8-9 months, we’ve gotten to see a lot of the world. We managed to go to Australia earlier in the year, which is a long way, but we did this thing called Triple J where we went in a did a cover. We chose this lady called Sabrina Carpenter…we’re also big stans. She has a song about coffee,” which was met again with very loud excitement.

The fun energy continued to soar as we neared the end of the show, and we circled back around to “the one that comes in a bit.” Before performing “Home,” Oli talked about their incredible whirlwind journey since the start of the year, saying the generous reception to their music has changed their lives. “We were piss poor when before. We still are to be honest…it’s costing an arm and a leg to be here, but we wouldn’t have it any other way,” he shared.

The show wrapped up with “Daisies” and a promise from the band to come back to Chicago soon.

Check out photos of the show below, and be sure to be a good neighbour and support the band by pre-ordering their EP here. You can also see where you can catch them on the road next here.

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categories / Photos, Gigs, Reviews
tags / Good Neighbours, Lincoln Hall, Live Recap, Live Review, Photo recap

Live Recap: “Thirty Years Has Gone So Fast” Green Day's The Saviors Tour

August 15, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

The legendary Green Day returned to the historic Wrigley Field on Tuesday, August 13th— this time bringing The Saviors Tour with special guests The Linda Lindas, Rancid, and The Smashing Pumpkins.

The Linda Lindas opened the evening bright and early with a short but sweet set that kicked off at 5:20PM and included a handful of their songs, like “Oh!” and “Growing Up.”

The Linda Lindas, Taylor Ward / Live Nation

Up next, Rancid kept the show rolling with their iconic 90’s punk songs. After performing the popular tune “Timebomb,” vocalist Tim Armstrong took a minute to take in the special moment of performing at such a historic venue, thanking Green Day for the opportunity and sharing their gratitude for Chicago. They brought out the Chicago-native wrestler CM Punk to the stage and dedicated their final song of the night, “Ruby Soho,” to him.

Next up, Chicago’s very own The Smashing Pumpkins took the stage. Billy Corgan and crew kept up with the theme of nostalgia and 90’s classics, performing so many of their hits in their one-hour set. Fan favorites included “Today,” which got a cheer as soon as the unmistakable opening chords rang out into the stadium, as well as “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” and “1979.” Before they wrapped up their set, Corgan took some time to show appreciation for the band’s hometown and Wrigley Field. “Thank you for being with us for 36 years. We used to practice across the street at the Cubby Bear. It only took us 36 years to get here, but we’re so happy. God bless you guys, God bless The Cubs,” he said.

The Smashing Pumpkins, Taylor Ward / Live Nation

After three incredible opening sets, the crowd was warmed up and ready for the main event, but Green Day kept the fans waiting just a little bit longer to get them even more hyped up. As the stage was set and the fans were ready for the band to come on, the epic singalong “Bohemian Rhapsody” played out across the house speakers in its entirety, as fans around the venue were captured for the jumbotrons. During that segment, I spotted some fans dressed as Billie Joe Armstrong in the American Idiot era with red ties and another fan holding a sign that said it was their first concert.

Just when the anticipation bubble felt stretched to the limit, Green Day had one more hype song before they hit the stage— their infamous Pink Bunny mascot came to the stage donning a custom Cubs jersey and danced around to The Ramones’ “Blitzkrieg Bop.”

Only then as the sun was finally setting, did Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt, and Tré Cool hit the stage—and boy did they hit the ground running. Right off the jump, the stage production delivered pyrotechnics and elaborate visual backgrounds.

After opening with the new song “The American Dream Is Killing Me,” we all took a journey back to 1994 to hear the landmark album Dookie performed in full to celebrate the 30-year (!!!) anniversary of those songs. The stage design shifted into a 3-D recreation of the album’s artwork that accompanied the band’s performance of the record in order of the tracklist.

While playing “Longview,” Armstrong took a break to chat to the crowd and say, “Hey, I just realized something. We played with The Smashing Pumpkins, who are from Chicago. Last time we played, we played with the band Fall Out Boy, who are also from Chicago. The next time we play it’s gonna be with the band Chicago!'“ Here’s to hoping Armstrong is able to manifest that line up for the next tour!

As the first half of the set went on, I remained in awe of the elaborate stage production and the band’s never-ending energy— it’s truly a feat how Armstrong is able to keep his voice intact for 2+hours as he continues to rile up the audience between singing over 30 songs. The production elements continuously evolved and remained fascinating, including an inflatable plane that dropped “dookie” bombs into the crowd, pyrotechnics, confetti and video graphics on the big screen.

Armstrong improvised in snippets of covers of a few other songs as the tracklist for Dookie continued and trailed into a section of songs from the Green Day catalog that don’t fall into Dookie and American Idiot. The mini covers/mashups included “Jack & Diane” by John Mellencamp with “F.O.D.”, “Free Fallin’” by Tom Petty before “Dilemma” and “Surrender” by Cheap Trick before “Minority.” Before the latter, Armstrong once again showed his love for Chicago music, saying, “Goddamn there’s so many good bands from Chicago,” referring to Cheap Trick this time.

Another highlight of the part of the show that interluded each album included a special moment with a fan named Bridget. While performing the 2009 single “Know Your Enemy,” Armstrong declared that he wanted to bring someone up on stage, which led to Bridget joining him to finish the rest of the song.

When the time came to transition to a front-to-back performance of 2004’s American Idiot, the stage evolved again to a recreation of the heart-shaped grenade from the album’s cover art. In high school I used to listen to this record on a CD walkman between classes, so it was really special to hear all of the songs performed in full twenty years later. As Armstrong sings in “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” twenty years has gone so fast. Besides getting to hear that lyric during the tour celebrating two decades of a seminal album, another highlight of this part of the show was the entire stadium holding up their phone flashlights for “Boulevard of Broken Dreams.”

At the end of the American Idiot chapter of the show, Armstrong told the crowd “We don’t do encores because they’re egotistical and stupid,” which got a good laugh from the audience, but that’s a philosophy I can definitely get behind! Armstrong faked walking off stage before starting the instantly-recognizable chords of “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” which was the perfect bookend to the spectacle that is The Saviors tour.

There’s something really magical about seeing a rejuvenated production of such nostalgic albums, so if you get the chance to see this show, don’t miss it! See where you can catch the tour next here and tune into the set list below.

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categories / Gigs, Photos, Reviews
tags / Green Day, Saviors Tour, The Linda Lindas, Rancid, The Smashing Pumpkins, Wrigley Field, Summer Concerts, Concert Photography, Live Nation, Live Review, Live Recap

Photos: Ethel Cain and Slow Pulp at Thalia Hall

August 07, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

Ethel Cain and Slow Pulp closed out the second day of Lolla with a sold out aftershow at Thalia Hall. Check out photos from the evening below and see where you can catch Ethel Cain on tour next here.

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categories / Photos, Gigs, Festival
tags / Ethel Cain, Slow Pulp, Live Recap, Live Review, Thalia Hall, Lollapalooza, Lolla aftershow

Pitchfork Music Festival 2024: Saturday Highlights

July 22, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

Pitchfork Music Fest returned for day two at Union Park on Saturday, July 20th, with another perfect day of weather and a musical line up that focused on good old fashioned rock n’ roll in the early afternoon and pivoted to pop queens and dance beats in the later hours.

The day began with some local love thanks to Chicago’s own Lifeguard opening the fest on the Green Stage. They kickstarted the rock-focused performances with their grungy, indie sound and had the early afternoon crowd enthralled. As I listened to their set, I overheard an audience member say, “I LOVE Lifeguard! The fact that these teenagers are rocking so hard like a band from the 90’s is insane.”

Next up, L'Rain, the moniker for artist Taja Cheek, and her band slowed down the tempo and projected a calm demeanor out to the crowd with their ambient, experimental sound that helped get everyone in the right headspace for a full day at a festival.

Another Chicago-based artist, Kara Jackson, hit the Green stage next, and she brought along other Chicago music icons to play in her band, including Sen Morimoto, Macie Stewart and Kaina— all of whom have played past Pitchfork Fests. Kara’s set opened with her popular cover of Karen Dalton’s song “Right, Wrong or Ready” before moving onto her single “no fun/party” from her 2023 debut album. During the second song, Jackson said, “I’ve done this song a billion times in the last year or so. It gets really boring sometimes but I realized it reminded me of one of my favorite other song that maybe some of you have heard before” as she slipped in a snippet of SZA’s “Love Galore.”

From there the tempo ramped back up with a slew of bands that all complemented each other’s sounds well. First, New York’s Hotline TNT riled up the Blue Stage, starting off their set telling the audience “Let’s go fucking crazy today” as the band and audience fed off of each other’s energy. Feeble Little Horse followed, drawing in a large crowd over at the Red Stage, especially for the early afternoon timeslot. “We’re so happy to be opening for Carly Rae Jepsen,” the band joked— adding in “And Karly from Wednesday. You should see them too.” Both Hotline TNT and Feeble Little Horse’s sounds had similar grunge elements as Lifeguard.

Before we got to the first Karly of the day, Water From Your Eyes hit the Blue Stage next. Lead vocalist Rachel Brown took the stage saying, “What’s up Chicago? Who likes alternative rock music?” once again keeping up the theme of Saturday’s afternoon line up. Brown also told the crowd that they were currently experiencing a lingering cough following a case of laryngitis, which they chalked up to as karma for sneaking into Pitchfork Festival ten years ago when they were a teenager.

Asheville alternative rockers Wednesday, which includes vocalist Karly Hartzman and MJ Lenderman (who actually played Pitchfork Fest last year), hit the Green Stage next. The group amped up the volume and showcased Hartzman’s signature scream vocals as they played songs from their 2023 album Rat Saw God as well as some newer unreleased material. Wednesday’s set also included a cover of “Women Without Whiskey” by Drive-By Truckers.

As the day slipped into the evening hours, the vibes of Pitchfork crept more towards a dance party, starting with the legendary hip hop group De La Soul performing some of their iconic songs like “Me Myself and I” alongside a cover of “Simon Says” by Pharoahe Monch— the latter of which featured a guest appearance by Monch himself.

Pitchfork Fest began the descent into evening by journeying into pop music for my favorite set of the day from Jessie Ware. The singer and her band brought a full production packed with choreographed dance numbers and dazzling outfits. Ware herself donned a sparkling jumpsuit featuring cape sleeves and sequins that radiated from the evening sun, while her backup dancers also sported vests bedazzled in sequins. While Jessie showcased her flawless vocals and diva-belting abilities, she also connected to the crowd with her humbled and hilarious stage banter. “This is my favorite city in The States to play,” she proclaimed as she continued to shout out some of her long-time supporters from Chicago by their first names. Ware’s dancers shone as they did flips and lifted the singer up, but Ware also made sure to include the fans in their choreography as she performed her song “Beautiful People.” Everyone got into the crowd-participation dancing as Jessie told everyone to “stand up, turn around, take a bow.” The singer even joked that security could join in. As I’ve mentioned, several of the artists performed covers during their sets today—and who doesn’t love a good cover during a festival set? Jessie Ware’s show was no exception as she performed a rendition of Cher’s hit “Believe,” jumping down from the stage to sing with fans along the barricades.

Meanwhile Bratmobile kept the rock presence alive over on the Blue stage. They brought their riot grrrl songs like “Brat Girl” and “Panik” to the fest. True to the cover-song theme of the day, they also performed a cover of “Cherry Bomb” by The Runaways.

Carly Rae Jepsen flipped the switch back to pop over at the Red Stage, entering to “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and rocking a sparkling sequin dress. Jepsen’s stage backdrop consisted of a disco ball screen that changed colors depending on the song. Jepsen also set up her songs with some fun stage banter, saying “Are you guys ready to run away with us tonight?” before her hit “Run Away With Me” and joking that she sometimes forgets the words to “Call Me Maybe” so she she’d need the audiences help singing along. The crowd happily obliged to singing and dancing along, and Jepsen also came down from the stage to sing with fans along the barricade.

The dance party wrapped up the second day of the rest with a headlining set from Jamie xx.

Check out highlights from the first day of the festival here and stay tuned for the final day.

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categories / Gigs, Festival, Photos, Reviews
tags / Pitchfork Music Festival, Lifeguard, L'Rain, Kara Jackson, Hotline TNT, Feeble Little Horse, Water From Your Eyes, Wednesday, De La Soul, Jessie Ware, Bratmobile, Carly Rae Jepsen, Jamie xx, Music Festival, Live Review, Live Show

Live Recap: Michael Marcagi and Lily Fitts at Lincoln Hall

June 08, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

Singer-songwriter Michael Marcagi headlined a sold-out show at Schubas on Monday, June 3rd with support from Lily Fitts.

Lily Fitts warmed up the crowd with her vulnerable and relatable narratives, accompanied by another guitarist to color her songs with additional depth while still having a minimalist set up that was perfect for the intimacy of the Schubas stage. Fitts’ set included a handful of her popular singles like “Hurts Like Hell” and “Boston to Barcelona” as well as her latest release “Lose You Now.” She also sang some brand new, unreleased material, including “What They Say” that she introduced by sharing with the crowd that it was about her struggles with anxiety. Fitts also shared that Noah Kahan’s song “Stick Season” gave her the courage to start performing her own music, so she fittingly performed a cover of it.

With the room at Schubas fully packed and buzzing with anticipation, Michael Marcagi and his full band took the stage next to make his headlining debut in Chicago. As I’m sure is the case with many of his fans, I first heard Marcagi’s single “Scared To Start” earlier this year and became instantly hooked by the illustrative storytelling of his lyrics combined with his earworms of melodies.

While he has yet to release a full-length album, Marcagi’s singles and his debut EP, entitled “American Romance” have garnered him nearly 18 Million monthly listeners on Spotify and had him selling out shows months in advance—and for good reason. His songs have an emotional conviction about them and that “it factor” that makes you feel rejuvenated and reminds you of the power behind a great damn tune. For that reason, Marcagi’s music has remained stuck in my head and on repeat on my playlists, but it was even more special to experience that effect in person.

The set opened with the title track from Marcagi’s EP, and weaved through all of his released material, but the show also included a lot of new, unreleased songs as well. Marcagi promised the crowd that he’d have new music coming out in a few weeks, and based on how it sounded live, I know his fanbase is going to love the forthcoming songs. Between his original material, Marcagi also sprinkled in a couple of cover songs, including “Deja Vu” by Oliva Rodrigo, which the band made their own by including a banjo on it.

After wrapping the main set with the breakout hit “Scared To Start,” Marcagi and his band left and returned to the stage for a highly-demanded encore. The encore performance included the second cover of his set, “You’re Still the One I Want” by the legend Shania Twain, and Lily Fitts joined in on the duet.

If you missed out on the Schubas show, check out photos from the evening below, and be sure to snag a ticket to one of Michael Marcagi’s upcoming gigs here…that is, if it isn’t already sold out.

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categories / Photos, Reviews, Music, Gigs
tags / Michael Marcagi, Lily Fitts, Live Recap, Live Review, Live Show, Schubas Tavern, Chicago

Live Recap: Say Anything at Aragon Ballroom

May 21, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

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.

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categories / Gigs, Reviews, Photos, Music
tags / Say Anything, Aragon Ballroom, Live Review, Live Show, Photos, Photo Set, Live Nation

Live Recap: Craig David at The Chicago Theatre

May 16, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

On May 13th, British artist Craig David made a long-awaited return to Chicago to headline The Chicago Theatre.

Despite it being a rainy Monday night, fans flocked to the historic venue to see the singer perform here for the first time since 2001. As the crowd filed into their seats, a DJ warmed up them up and got the good vibes flowing. The DJ even shared with the crowd that he first got into Craig David after hearing “Fill Me In” for the first time in the early 2000’s, which I’m sure was a common thread with some of the fans in the audience.

When it was time for the main event, Craig David’s live band and backing vocalists took their places on stage first, before he eventually made his grand entrance. Immediately, the seated show-goers got to their feet and began singing and dancing.

After performing a few songs, including “What’s Your Flava?,” “Ain't Giving Up” and the aforementioned hit “Fill Me In,” Craig took some time to address the crowd and let them know he’d be journeying through a catalog of old favorites and new material throughout the show.

Craig delivered on that promise and even threw in a cover of “Show Me Love” by Robin S for good measure, as well as songs he featured on like “Abracadabra” with Wes Nelson and “Got It Good” with Kaytranada. No matter what he was singing, Craig delivered flawless vocals throughout the show, which were often complemented by his backing singers and accompanying musicians, who added a rich texture to the show’s production. The band members all got introductions and quick showcases of their talents during the song “Time to Party,” which had everyone dancing along and in good spirits.

The main set concluded with “16,” where Craig sings and raps about “doing this since I was sixteen” and it’s clear from the seamless and smooth performance that he’s mastered the craft of being an excellent performer.

The full band took a bow before leaving the stage and returning to demands for an encore. The journey concluded with “Insomnia” from 2008 and the iconic hit “7 Days.”

Check out photos from the Chicago performance below, and see where you can catch Craig David on the road next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Craig David, Chicago Theatre, Live Nation, Live Review, Live Recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: Mitski and Julia Jacklin at Auditorium Theatre

March 28, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Sunday night, Mitski and Julia Jacklin closed out a sold-out, four-night run at the historic Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin took the stage at 8PM sharp to perform for the packed house. The past times I’ve seen Julia, she usually had a full band, but this run was just her and her guitar as she opened her set with “Comfort” from her 2019 album Crushing. Jacklin took a pause to address the crowd, telling us she’d had a wonderful time these past few nights in Chicago, adding “I haven’t seen anything except downtown, and it’s been really cold, but I’ve had a good time because I get to open for one of the greatest rock legends of our lives, Mitski”— which was followed by lots of cheers. As Jacklin continued her performance, I admired her commanding stage presence and ability to keep the audience completely hooked. Towards to end of the show, the singer told the theatre “I’m gonna sing a song A capella. It’s very rare that I get to sing in halls like this, so I have to take advantage” before she sang “Too In Love To Die” from her 2022 album Pre Pleasure. During that entire song, the audience remained utterly silent, soaking up Jacklin’s beautiful vocals in absolute awe. To close out her short, but sweet set, Jacklin performed a fan favorite “Pressure to Party.”

Next up, the stage was set for Mitski and her band to close it all out. The audience greeted the artist with earsplitting applause and cheers and she sauntered her way over to a dim corner of the stage. After a quick greeting, Mitski disappeared behind a giant red curtain in the center of the stage, with only her silhouette in view while she sang “Everyone”—until the curtain dropped at the end of the song.

It was fitting that this particular tour stopped at the Auditorium Theatre instead of a GA-style concert venue because Mitski’s performance was more like an orchestral broadway musical than concert. From her intricate choreography that was mapped out to every single beat to her dramatic expressions and the extraordinary lighting production, this show was a true spectacle from start to finish. Everything flowed seamlessly in the production of the performance, and Mitski let the music take care of the transitions, barely taking time to speak in between the songs on the setlist, which heavily featured songs from her 2023 album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. A favorite moment of mine was during the performance of the very popular “My Love Mine All Mine,” Mitski stood center-stage on a platform, while strings of shimmery, butterfly-like objects dropped down from the ceiling around her— picture a mobile you’d hang above a baby’s crib… but way taller.

The entire performance was magical from start to finish, and if Mitski ever had a broadway show, I’d be there in an instant. This show proved she’s a theatrical triple threat with acting, singing and dancing chops.

See photos of the final night in Chicago below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Julia Jacklin, Mitski, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Live Show, Live Review, Photo Set, Photo Gallery

Live Recap: JP Saxe at House Of Blues

March 24, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Tuesday night, JP Saxe packed the House of Blues for an evening of heartfelt songs, cathartic story-telling and comedic stage banter.

Singer-songwriter Justin Nozuka warmed up the large crowd, performing a solo serenade with just his vocals and acoustic guitar. As the stage changed over for JP Saxe’s set, I took in the cozy stage environment on display—there was a backdrop of a gallery wall containing different framed photos and artwork, living room furniture and lots of lamps. House of Blues is already an intimate venue to see artists perform, but this extra touch to the production set up immediately made it feel like we were all just at home with a bunch of close friends, listening to another friend bare their soul in song format.

JP started his set by entering the stage sans his live band, and pulsing lights illuminated him in quick glimpses while he sang “Someone Else’s Home” from his 2023 album A Grey Area—which was also the namesake of his current tour. JP was joined by his band member onstage, who helped add extra layers and depth into the music. In just the first few songs, JP moved his station around the stage, either performing at a piano, keyboard or playing guitar, and his rotation continued throughout the set. After the band wrapped up the fan favorite “I Don’t Miss You,” JP took some time to address the crowd, telling us that he opened for Noah Kahan on this same stage four years ago, and fans cheered in admiration of the full circle moment.

As the set continued on, the show was essentially broken out into different chapters and scenes—including intricate transitions that were complemented by the elaborate lighting effects. JP joked he had a bad habit of ruining the plotted transitions because he has stories to tell before certain songs. Before performing his song “For Emilee,” JP primed the song by telling the audience it was for his friend who accepted less than she deserved in relationships, and even though Emilee was actually in attendance at the Chicago show, he asked for voluntary Emilees and their friends who were in a similar boat. Once he was through with the banter, the audience still got to feel the full effect of that transition because JP asked that his crew ran the lighting and sound transition again. Moments like this are what really makes concerts and live performances so much for special than just listening to an album.

Another fun moment that was one-of-a-kind to Chicago happened only a couple of songs later; In the song “Fear & Intuition,” JP sings “L.A. told me to listen to myself/ Toronto said not to change/ New York told me to fuck somebody else.” After singing the full regular version of the song, JP asked the audience for suggestions of things Chicago might tell him, and people yelled out a few things, including drinking Malort. JP and his band then continued an extended version of “Fear & Intuition” where he interjected a line about Malort.

When we approached the second half of the setlist, JP took some time to perform a few of his songs solo, once again making the setting a little more personal. Between songs, he continued to share anecdotes that gave the listeners more of an insight into his songwriting, all while making us laugh. Ahead of my favorite song of his, “The Few Things,” JP shared it was hist favorite love song he’s ever written and joked he had a zero percent divorce rate for couples who used his music as a wedding song.

If you can get a change to see JP Saxe in concert, you’re in for a unique experience that will only enhance his already incredible songwriting and musicality. Check out photos of his performance at House of Blues below, and see where you can catch a show next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Gigs
tags / JP Saxe, Justin Nozuka, House of Blues, Live Review, Live Nation, Live Recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: The Kooks and Vaccines with Daisy the Great

March 20, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

The Kooks, The Vaccines and Daisy the Great all rocked a sold out house at The Riviera to kick off the St.Patty’s Day weekend in Chicago.

The musical duo of Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker, AKA Daisy the Great, warmed up the Chicago crowd with a set that showcased the pair’s beautiful vocal harmonies along with their spunky energy. Daisy the Great performed the first song they ever released as a band, called “Record Player,” as well a few from their most recent “Tough Kid” EP, but they also introduced some brand new and unreleased material to the Chicago crowd. Dugan introduced one of the newer tracks saying, “This is our last new song, it’s about going on a walk. This song is called ‘Dog.’” Another fan favorite of their set was the song “Liar,” which Dugan explained was about having a secret crush on a friend—relatable!

After a quick changeover, it was time for The Vaccines to grace a Chicago stage for the first time since 2018, when they headlined a sold out Lincoln Hall. I luckily got to see The Vaccines in London in 2019, but it was still long overdue and great to have them back in my hometown—because the only vaccines I had in the meantime were covid and flu vaccines, and the band is a much better experience.

Each time I’ve seen The Vaccines, I know they’ll be great, but they never fail to impress me with just how topnotch they are as performers. This tour was in celebration of their new album Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations that they just released this January, and not only do they never miss in the witty and catchy songwriting department, but vocalist Justin Hayward-Young remains consistently charismatic (or as the kids would say nowadays, he has rizz). Whenever he wasn’t stationed in front of the mic stand so he could play guitar, Young slinked and danced his way across the length of the stage. The Vaccines’ stage presence has this effortlessly expressive and cool edge to it, yet it’s affable enough that they still feel approachable.

Although they had a relatively quick set length of an hour, the band still packed in hit after hit, mixing in plenty of fans’ old favorites between new material from their last album. Their set wrapped up on a peak of some of their most popular songs, including my personal favorites “I Always Knew” and “If You Wanna.”

Continuing the theme of familiar favorites, The Kooks kicked off the closing set of the evening with “Seaside” from their debut 2006 album Inside In/ Inside Out— which started simple with lead vocalist Luke Pritchard performing solo before the rest of the band joined him onstage. While The Vaccines were celebrating a new album on this tour, The Kooks were actually spotlighting the anniversary of their debut album, so naturally the set list featured the majority of Inside In/ Inside Out’s track list. True to form, “Seaside” is the first track on the album, and the live show followed suit for the first handful of songs, delivering hit after hit to the eager crowd.

While the band often moved from standing upstage to playing on platforms at the back of the stage, Pritchard alternated from playing guitar to roaming freely around the stage as he sang. During some of their songs, Pritchard even showed off his dance moves that were reminiscent of the infamous Hugh Grant dance scene in “Love Actually”— it must be a British thing. The crowd cheered loudly each time he danced, and they weren’t shy about cheering through out the rest of the show. For example, before “Bad Habit” fro 2014’s Listen, fans mimicked the chorus-like melody back in chant-form.

As we got closer to the finale of the evening, Pritchard told the audience, “If we’re gonna go ballistic, now is that time” before playing “Always Where I Need To Be.” The Kooks wrapped up their main set with “Junk of the Heart (Happy),” but returned to rowdy cheers to perform an encore of “Around Town” and the fan favorite “Naive.”

If you’re looking for a jam-packed night of feel-good songs and nostalgia, make sure to grab a ticket for when the tour hits your city and check out the photo recap of the Chicago show below.

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categories / Photos, Reviews, Gigs
tags / Daisy the Great, The Vaccines, The Kooks, The Riviera Theatre, Photo recap, Live Music, Live Review, Jam Productions