Filtering by Tag: SubT
Live Recap: Australia's The Chats Bring Their Rowdy Show to The Subterranean
Hailing all the way from Queensland, Australia, garage punk band The Chats brought their raucous, rowdy show to Wicker Park’s Subterranean venue on July 15th. Although the band was a long way from home, tickets for the gig had sold out months prior despite it being a Monday night. When the day finally rolled around, the weather in Chicago had reached blistering temperatures, but regardless of the heat, enthusiastic fans still packed into the venue like sardines in order to hear some of their favorite songs— including the infamously catchy “Smoko” from 2017’s Get This In Ya.
Following support sets from Side Action and Rad Payoff, the eager fans couldn’t contain their excitement while the stage was set for the evening’s headliner; Everyone chanted in unison, beckoning the band to the stage. When the time finally came, the tension that had built up in the room snapped as soon as the first distorted guitar riff rang out into the venue. Without hesitation, the entire floor of the venue became one rambunctious mosh pit and fans thrashed their bodies around to the night’s opening song “Nambored.” The Chats powered through many of their fast-paced punk anthems as the rowdy crowd continued to mosh, turning the Subterranean into a sweat-soaked sauna. Towards the end of their set, The Chats treated fans to a cover of “Rock & Roll All Nite” by Kiss, which they joked was a new song they’d just written on this tour before playing it.
During every single song of the night, audience members hopped up onto the stage and flung themselves from the stage to crowdsurf, but none of the songs got nearly as intense of a reaction as their hit “Smoko” did— there was consistently at least three crowd surfers up at all times during that song. When the night ended and I made my way out of the Subterranean, the heat in the room had caused the floor to become slippery. I’ve been to plenty of rowdy shows, but The Chats by far put on one of the most intense gigs I’ve ever seen.
The Chats are on tour the rest of this year— see all of the dates here.
PHOTOS: SHAED and JP Saxe at Subterranean 02.24.19
See where you can catch SHAED next in a city near you here, and listen to their latest EP Melt in full below.
More on SHAED
Live Recap: ‘A Night Out With’ Aussie Surf Rockers Hockey Dad and HUNNY at Subterranean
Roughly 15,078 km away from their home of New South Wales Australia, Hockey Dad - comprised of duo Zach Stephenson and Billy Fleming - made Subterranean feel like home with their catchy surf-rock tunes, with a set that included a stellar mix of hits off of their first two albums. Returning to the Windy City six months after their previous headlining show at Beat Kitchen, the show was twice as packed and twice as fun. The sold-out show was vibing off the band’s infectious energy, singing back lyrics and dancing to the tune of crowd favorites like “Danny,” “My Stride,” and “Sweet Release.” The duo’s set saw plenty of crowd surfers catapulting off the stage, giving the show a very punk and rowdy vibe.
The band was accompanied by post-punk, pop band HUNNY from California, whose melodious sound had the crowd jumping and the floor shaking. Hunny played a few new singles such as “Vowels (And the Importance of Being Me)” and the already beloved songs, such as “Natalie,” “Rebel Red,” and “July.” The highlight of the band’s set was when HUNNY is frontman Jason Yarger hung off the balcony rail over astonished and (only slightly) frightened fans below during the band’s last song. He made it down safely into the pit to finish off the set. Pllush ( with two ls and from San Francisco—as to not be confused from the other Plush band out there) opened up the show with their sweet shoegaze/groovy pop that was rife with heavy 90’s influenced bass lines. This being their first time in Chicago, the band was greeted with warmth from the crowd who couldn’t get enough of lead singer Karli’s sweet harmonies and vocals. The Father/Daugther records artist are absolutely on the rise and their last album Stranger to the Pain is worth a spin or two.
Listen to Hockey Dad here and visit their website for additional tour info, merch, and news.
Photos of Pllush, HUNNY, and Hockey Dad from 2.01.19
Featured
PHOTOS: Vundabar with Paul Cherry and Slow Pulp at Subterranean
Subterranean hosted a stacked and sold out show this past Saturday night with Vundabar, Paul Cherry and Slow Pulp. If you missed out on tickets, check out our photo recap of the evening below!
Related Content
GIVEAWAY: Unturned, Silver Age, Mt. Pocono & Commonweather at SubT 1/13/19
On January 13th next year, Out Of Context Productions presents Minneapolis’s Unturned and Michigan’s Silver Age at Subterranean’s Downstairs room. Joining them on the lineup is Chicago’s Mt. Pocono and Commonweather.
You can grab tickets here to ensure you catch the show, or take your chances and enter to win a pair of tickets here. Lastly, get ready for the show by listening to Out Of Context’s playlist featuring all four bands below.
PHOTOS: courtship. and Night Riots 6.22.18
This past Friday night, Night Riots headlined a packed Subterranean, performing crowd favorites from their first album, as well as a couple of new releases they put out this year. Silent Rival and Courtship opened the night--if you missed out, check out our photos from the show below.
PHOTOS: Snail Mail with Bonny Doon and Miranda Winters at SubT 6.16.18
Snail Mail returned to Chicago this past weekend to headline a sold out Subterranean, accompanied by Bonny Doon and Miranda Winters of Melkbelly. Check out our photo gallery of the stacked line up below!
Check out the rest of Snail Mail's upcoming tour dates here, and listen to the debut album Lush in full below!
PHOTOS: Strange Foliage Release Show at SubT
Last week, Strange Foliage celebrated an album release with a show at Wicker Park's Subterannean venu. The all local lineup featured Easy Habits, Town Criers, and Rookie warming up the stage. Check out our photo gallery of the show below!
Can't get enough Strange Foliage? Check out our interview with them here.
Related Posts
P.S Rookie will be playing the next ANCHR Mag showcase on June 23rd. Grab tickets here.
