Filtering by Category: Gigs
LIVE: Haim Returns to Chicago's Riviera
Sisters Alana, Danielle, and Este Haim returned to Chicago to play an intimate show at The Riviera Theatre, which they had last played in 2014. The sisters performed old favorites like "Falling," "My Song 5," and "Forever" alongside new songs from their sophomore album Something to Tell You. In between songs, the Haim humor shone through, as the three kept up witty banter and even busted out a choreographed dance routine to "Walking Away," one of the newer tracks. However, the biggest highlight by far had to be when the eldest sister Este crowd surfed, making it all the way to the back of the first tier of the concert venue's standing room. Check out photos of the unforgettable evening below!
LIVE: Coast Modern Brings Diverse Songs and Social Experiments on Their First Headline Run
Los Angeles friends Coleman Trapp and Luke Atlas, better known as Coast Modern, took over Chicago’s Bottom Lounge on Monday night as part of their first headlining tour. The two have been making waves over the years with their catchy, indie pop tunes...which have even caught the attention of the legendary Smashmouth and Kate Hudson. They’ve toured in the past with bands like The Wombats, Temper Trap, Sundara Karma, and more, but this time around they’ve stepped up their show.
To celebrate their biggest tour yet and their self-titled debut album being released this Summer, the pair incorporated some fun activities and social experiments between songs. One of the activities included having the crowd all say their name at the same time on Coleman's count of three, and another time he asked the crowd to introduce themselves to the people around them that they didn't know.
After performing some of their popular songs like "Guru" and "Pockets Full of No," which got the crowd grooving, Coleman also asked the crowd to all think about a thing they desired and yell that on the count of three. One of the coolest activities, though, which was amplified by Coleman and Luke's incredible live band, was when Coleman had the whole crowd close their eyes and imagine they were in an Amazon Rainforest. Meanwhile, the band played some sound effects to enhance the imaginative activity. Coast Modern's 18-track debut album proves that Coleman and Luke are skilled musicians, with a broad range of tones and moods that sit all over the sonic field, but these between-songs engaging moments proved that Coast Modern have also become performers over the years, in addition to their developed musical talents.
Other highlights of the hour-long set included the band's cover of Julia Michael's song "Uh Huh" and their own song "Comb My Hair" towards the end of the set, which had the crowd animatedly singing along still. The personable and authentic show ended just after 9PM to a thundering of applause. If you missed out on the incredible show, check out our photo gallery of the evening, including some behind the scenes shots before the show!
Check out all of Coast Modern's tour dates here, and listen to their debut album below!
Can't get enough Coast Modern? Check out our interview with Luke Atlas here.
PHOTOS: Oh Sees at Thalia Hall
Oh Sees (still widely referred to by their former name, Thee Oh Sees) rocked Thalia Hall on Sunday night with their high-pace, nonstop show. Their 15 song set spanned more than 90 minutes, featuring songs from all corners of Oh Sees' musical catalog. Although the tour was promoting their latest album Orc, only a handful of the songs performed came from that record, but the crowd loved every minute of it, feeding the band back the energy that pulsed through the music.
If you missed out on the show, check out our photo gallery of the show below, and see all of their upcoming tour dates here.
Listen to the latest album Orc in full below!
PHOTOS: The Dig with Dan Croll at Lincoln Hall
The Dig took over Lincoln Hall on their tour with Dan Croll. Check out our photo gallery from the show on Friday if you missed it!
Check out all of The Dig's upcoming tour dates here, and listen to their latest album below!
Can't get enough of The Dig? Check out our interview with them here.
LIVE: LPX Gives It All She's Got on the Last Night of Tour
It's a surprisingly warm September night, and Chicagoans are ready to get their weekend started as they pack into Uptown's Riviera Theatre to see LPX and the Haim sisters. After making music as the duo MS MR with Max Hershenow, Lizzy Plapinger has now ventured out with a new solo project called LPX. The Chicago show on Friday night marked the final stop of Plapinger's first LPX tour, and she completely rocked her short but sweet support slot. Before she took the stage, Plapinger posted on social media that she was going to give this last show all she's got, and she and her band did not let the sold out crowd down as she bounced around the stage in a bright red jumpsuit singing her high energy tunes. The thirty minute set included LPX's released singles "Tremble" and "Tightrope" as well a cover of "Deceptacon" and a few unreleased tracks that will be released soon. Plapinger never disappointed when she played live with MS MR, always delivering flawless vocals while engaging the crowd and constantly moving, and her debut Chicago performance as LPX showed that this project will not be any different in that aspect.
Check out our photo gallery of LPX's set at The Riviera, and Chicago--go see her with RAC at Metro on Friday, October 13th. Grab tickets for the show here, and see all of her tour dates here.
Listen to LPX's latest single with What So Not, "Better," below!
LIVE: Bastille Put on a Nostalgic Last Wild, Wild World Tour Show
Bastille took over The Fillmore in Philadelphia last Thursday night to play the last headline show of their sophomore album’s saga.
Kicking things off on the last night of the Wild, Wild World Tour, the Los Angeles duo Frenship took over the Fillmore stage for 45 minutes. Getting by with a little help from their friends in their live band, James Sunderland and Brett Hite performed popular songs like “Carpet” and “Run Wild” from their Truce EP. One of the set’s highlights included their performance of the viral track “Capsize,” which has racked up almost 400 million Spotify streams and features vocalist and songwriter Emily Warren on the studio version. Live, Frenship’s keyboardist and vocalist Celeste steps in to sing Warren’s parts, but the band also had the audience singing along to the catchy chorus as well. The real highlight of the set happened when Bastille crashed the stage during Frenship’s last song “1000 Nights,” which only got the audience more excited for the show that would follow.
James Sunderland and Brett Hite of Frenship
Thirty minutes later, the house lights dimmed, stage lights flickered, and the four members of Bastille made their way onto stage, accompanied by live band member Charlie Barnes. As the opening chords of the brassy and bassy “Send Them Off!” rang out into the Philadelphia venue, cheers erupted from the crowd and lead singer Dan Smith began to sing the lyrics that allude to Shakespeare's Othello. The set took a brief retrospective turn when the band performed “Laura Palmer” off their debut album, which seems pointedly apt again with the reboot of David Lynch’s cult classic TV show Twin Peaks. Before the bright lights on the stage dimmed to place the spotlight on Smith and his keyboard where he would sing the ironically sombre song “Overjoyed” from the debut album, Smith took a break to call attention to some of the signs held up by fans on the barricade. Bringing one on stage that read “I Totaled My Car Driving Up From DC To Be Here,” Smith asked the fan what had happened, holding out the microphone for her to share her story. He then selected a sign that read “Don’t Blame Me, I Worked 4 Hillary,” which alluded to the band’s song “Blame” and their politically driven song “The Currents,” which cleverly digs at Donald Trump. After the quick detour of “sign related stories,” as Smith called them, the show continued with Smith slightly struggling during “Overjoyed” due to vocal stress and sound issues. Although he remained visibly conscious of his vocals and sound levels during the performance, he pushed through and still delivered the sweeping range required for the song.
Frontman Dan Smith and the infamous sign
The remainder of the set weaved in and out of older tunes and newer ones from Wild World, which just hit its first birthday on September 9th. The fourth song of the night, “Warmth,” acts as a title track almost, with its lyrics containing “Hold me in this wild, wild world” during the chorus. Another true Bastille show staple, Smith left the stage to go sing and dance with the Fillmore audience during their single “Flaws,” another throwback to their first album. While the set contained a mix of Wild World and Bad Blood cuts, the band also sprinkled in a few other surprises. They induced 1990’s nostalgia when they performed their popular mashup cover titled “Of The Night,” which combines “Rhythm of the Night” and “Rhythm is a Dancer” and got the crowd jumping up and down with Smith yet again. “Of The Night” was first released as part of the band’s illegal mixtape called Other People’s Heartache, which contained uncleared samples and cover songs...so the only place to hear these songs are now live or in the deep dark corners of the internet.
Bastille also brought back “The Draw” from their extended album All This Bad Blood, which almost acts as album 1.5, as it contains a full album of never before released songs that came out between the two official full lengths. The biggest nostalgic surprise, however, came when Smith and co performed a beautifully rearranged version of their 2014 single “Bad_News,” which was released both independently as a music video and as a remix on their mixtape entitled VS. (Other People’s Heartache Pt. III). This mixtape containing collaborations with the likes of Haim, Rationale, Lizzo and more is actually legal and can be streamed or purchased on all major platforms. Speaking of collaboration, the set ended with the group’s massive hit “Pompeii,” and this time the tables turned when Frenship crashed the stage to lend some help with the “eh-ohs” and drumming. The band left the stage to a venue ringing with applause and echoing eh-ohs.
The 19-track setlist did not include Bastille’s latest single “Glory” or another “Wild, Wild World Tour” setlist staple “Lethargy,” probably due to Smith’s vocal strain, but they still managed to fill up 90 minutes and deliver a well-rounded show that contained layers from each saga of Bastille’s career to date. Smith told the crowd they’ll be returning to The States soon with new music, which will include another one of their mixtapes and a new LP within a year’s time. As Bastille’s musical catalog continues to grow, their sound will only grow more diverse and multifaceted, and we can’t wait to hear what they release next.
Photo gallery of Frenship and Bastille at The Fillmore 9.14.17
Listen to Wild World in full while you await new Bastille music.
PHOTOS: Loufest 2017
We had a blast at Loufest last weekend seeing some of our favorite artists perform across three stages. Read our Day 1 and Day 2 highlights, and now check out our full photo gallery from both days below.
Saturday gallery featuring Hippo Campus, Middle Kids, Ron Gallo, Cage the Elephant. Rainbow Kitten Surprise, and Snoop Dog.
Sunday gallery featuring Future Thieves, Mondo Cozmo, The Record Company, Lizzo, Noname, and Weezer.
Stay tuned for our interviews from Loufest!
LIVE: Mondo Cozmo Shows Philly What Not Giving Up Looks Like
"This is what not giving up looks like," Josh Ostrander (AKA Mondo Cozmo) addressed the crowd at Philadelphia's Union Transfer venue, who had been chanting "Mondo! Cozmo!" before the singer and his band took the stage. Ostrander's observation had come a few songs into his hour long headline set, which already had the dedicated crowd singing back his songs like "Thunder" and "Higher."
It's been quite the year for Ostrander; supporting UK band Bastille on an arena tour, putting out a debut album, and playing over 17 festivals, including Lollapalooza. Before this whirlwind of success that has been a long time coming, Ostrander admits to the Philadelphia venue that he wrote all these songs in his bedroom when he thought he was done with music. In addition to seeing Mondo Cozmo perform some of their favorite songs live, the crowd was able to witness someone living their dream on a final attempt, which made the show even more special.
The band and Ostrander also exuded a strong sense of camaraderie despite their short time playing together, which added another dynamic to the show. Seeing Ostrander and his bandmates work the entire stage, jamming together, and even all hugging at the end of the show added a personable layer. His bassist and guitarist at one point even leaned on each other while playing, which ended up with the bassist laying on stage to finish the song. Besides the viral Mondo Cozmo song "Shine," which has racked up over 5 million Spotify streams, another set highlight included the band's cover of "Atlantic City" during the encore. One of the support bands, Illinois, came out to lend a hand during the encore, which only amplified the sense of friendship on the stage. When the set wrapped up around 11PM, the entire crowd left the venue with a smile of their face.
Make sure you catch Mondo Cozmo when he comes back to a city near you. Find all of the upcoming tour dates here, and check out our photo gallery of the gig below!
