Live Recap: Turnstile with JPEGMafia and Snail Mail at Aragon Ballroom
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.
