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Photos: !!! at Taste of Randolph
!!! (Chk Chk Chk) at Taste of Randolph Festival this past weekend.
PHOTOS: TROIX (Eaux Claires 2017)
Day 1: Friday, June 16th.
Featuring People Mixtape Vol. 1, Francis Teaches Dance, This Is The Kit, The Autumn Defense, Bon Iver Presents: A John Prine Tribute, Francis and the Lights, and Chance The Rapper. Read about the highlights here.
Day 2: Saturday, June 17th
Featuring People Mixtape Vol.2, The Sad Saxes, This Is The Kit, Jenny Lewis, Perfume Genius, Feist, Paul Simon, Wilco. Check out Day 2 highlights here.
PHOTOS: Blonder 6.8.17
Before Blonder's set at Lincoln Hall this past Thursday, we joined frontman Constantine Anastasakis and his band for their soundcheck. Check out the photo gallery from the soundcheck and their set below.
Listen to Blonder's latest single "In and Out" below to get ready for the new $5 EP, out June 16th.
PHOTOS: Day Wave 6.8.17
Day Wave performed to a packed Lincoln Hall this past Thursday night, captivating the crowd with songs from early EPs and the new debut album The Days We Had.
The Set List
1. Something Here
2. Gone
3. Untitled
4. Come Home Now
5. Bring You Down
6. Ceremony
7. On Your Side
8. Wasting Time
9. Total Zombie
10. Deadbeat Girl
11. Ordinary
12. You
13. You Are Who You Are
14. We Try But We Don't Fit In
15. Drag
16. Promises
Keep up with all things Day Wave here, and listen to the new album below!
PHOTOS: Circa Waves at Schubas on 6.4.17
The Set List:
Wake Up
Get Away
Lost It
Goodbye
Fossils
Stuck
My Love
Different Creatures
Night on the Broken Tiles
Stick In My Teeth
Fire That Burns
T-Shirt Weather
Circa Waves have just kicked off their US tour in support of their second album Different Creatures. Check out all of their tour dates here, and listen to the new album below.
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PHOTOS: Hinds at The Empty Bottle 5.25.17
The crowd loved the infectious energy radiated by Hinds this past Thursday night. The four piece from Madrid headlined the show put on by Red Bull Sound Select, and their extended set included some brand new music and a surprise appearance from Chicago's own Twin Peaks. Check out the full gallery of the show below!
Listen to Hind's 2016 album Leave Me Alone below.
Hangout Highlights Day 3
Hangout Fest 2017 wrapped up with a stellar day of music and almost perfect weather. The early afternoon rain quickly passed, leaving clouds and a cooler temperature than the first two days at the Alabama festival. Besides the weather, here are the highlights of the final day of Hangout Fest!
The Crowd Loved LANY So Bad
LA-based trio LANY drew a brave and exuberant crowd for their 1:45PM set, the front row screaming as the band sauntered onto Fitz's Stage. Despite the fact that it was windy and raining, LANY persevered and delivered an incredible performance. A few songs into the set, frontman Paul Jason Klein told the crowd that they deserve the world for sticking it out and waiting in the rain. As the set progressed, the crowd also sang along to every word, proving how loyal the LANY fanbase can be. Their show ended on a high note (literally) with the viral song "ILYSB," which features a catchy, falsetto-driven chorus.
Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival
Shaggy Impersonated Bill Clinton
For such an early afternoon set, Shaggy drew a very large crowd to his 1:30PM performance on The Hangout Stage. Towards the end of his set, the Jamaican singer played his smash hit “It Wasn’t Me,” and gave important advice for his fellow players. During the bridge of the song, he told everyone if they ever get caught cheating, "don't do like like Tiger Woods," but follow the footsteps on the ultimate player, Bill Clinton. A full on "I did not have sexual relations with that woman" impression followed. Hearing the iconic song live was definitely a bucket list checkmark for the entire crowd.
Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival
Franz Ferdinand Showed Off Their High Jumps
Franz Ferdinand's lead singer Alex Kapranos was all about the high kicks and jumps during their early evening set on the Fitz's Stage. While the Scottish band put on an incredibly energetic show and their set consisted of new songs, nothing was more iconic than the synchronized jumping that the crowd did during the hit "Take Me Out." This set was also their live comeback, after the band took some time off to work on their new album LateNightTales.
Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival
Chance The Rapper Played His First Show In Alabama
Chance The Rapper announced during his show that this was his first time ever being to Alabama, and he went all out to make his first time special for the Gulf Shores crowd. Backed by the very talented The Social Experiment, Chance delivered a layered and dynamic sound to the overflowing Surf Stage crowd on Sunday night. In addition to the support from The Social Experiment, Chance didn't skimp at all on production quality, with pyrotechnics, massive beach balls, and different interactive videos playing during each song. During his set, a fan appropriately held up a "W" Flag, since Chance's first time at Hangout was no doubt a victory.
Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival
Mumford Closed Out Hangout 2017 With A Bang
Fans flocked to the final set of Hangout Fest, completely packing the beach to watch the band of British brothers take the stage. Mumford and Sons put on a show that rocked, yet still lulled the crowd with their beautiful harmonies. Every time Mumford and Sons perform, you can tell they give every ounce of energy that they have to produce the best show possible. Their Hangout Set closed out with a fireworks finale, wrapping up Hangout Fest with a bang.
Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival.
That's all, folks! Check out our Facebook page for some videos of select sets. We hope you watched our Instagram story throughout the weekend and enjoyed following along Hangout Fest 2017 with us!
Thumbnail Image Courtesy of Hangout Music Festival.
PHOTOS: POND at The Empty Bottle on 5.3.17
Bastille Bring Their Massive Wild, Wild World Tour to "Shrek's Paradise" (AKA Aragon Ballroom)
Word and Photos by Rachel Zyzda
At most gigs, the show actually begins when the first note of the opening song rings out into the venue….but not at Bastille’s Wild, Wild World Tour. On Monday, April 3rd, the show started from the moment fans entered the majestic Aragon Ballroom with a full scale, interactive production that kicked off while fans patiently awaited support act Mondo Cozmo, and kept rolling even in between acts. In addition to audiovisual bits of lead singer Dan Smith’s project with Ralph Pelleymounter (of To Kill a King) called Annie Oakley Hanging, the show included short film clips featuring the news anchor from the band’s “Fake It” music video (rumor has it he’s called Billy) and the band decked out in WWCOMMS jumpsuits, performing various activities.
Directly following a clip of “Billy” eating a banana, the five members of Bastille burst onto the stage around 8:45PM with their brassy and bass-boosting single “Send Them Off!,” Smith donning his uniform black t-shirt with the logo for WWCOMMS; a mysterious, omniscient entity constructed alongside the campaign for Bastille’s sophomore album Wild World. The 90 minute set that followed contained a fair mix of new songs from that album, as well as the songs we all know and love from Bastille’s debut album Bad Blood. The third song of the set, “Warmth,” contains the new album's name in its chorus. After the band delivered a powerful and polished performance of the album’s namesake track, Smith took some time to talk about the theme of Wild World and how it comments on the crazy events of the world, introducing “Snakes” as a song about him getting drunk with his mates to take his mind off of the negative events.
Next up, the band sticks to traditions with one of their most popular tracks, “Flaws,” in which Smith always goes into the crowd to dance and sing with audience members. Of course, in addition to this maneuver during “Flaws,” a Bastille gig is never complete without Smith’s endearingly awkward dance moves and his mention of their “horribly depressing songs.” During this set, “Oblivion” and “Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith)” stood out as highlights, despite their very depressing nature. During “Oblivion” the entire Aragon Ballroom lit up with cell phone lights, the audience swaying their lights along with the slow-tempo tearjerker. During “Four Walls,” bassist-turned-guitarist Will Farquarson delivered an incredible minute-long guitar solo. The guitar solo put a fresh spin and new arrangement on the studio version of the track, which is based on Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood.
The show also featured plenty of dancing and crowd participation during the more upbeat songs of the night. Although, as Smith would say, most of the songs are still incredibly depressing-- they just do a good job at masking the depressing content with happy-sounding music. For example, newer song “Lethargy” is ironically upbeat and great to dance to, much like their debut single from Wild World, “Good Grief.” Despite being a song about losing someone and the grieving process that accompanies the loss, it’s hard to resist busting out your spirit fingers during the song’s catchy chorus. As far as crowd participation, “The Draw,” a track from the extended version of Bad Blood (called All This Bad Blood), had everyone moving their hands along to the beat during its chorus, in the shape of triangles. The biggest form of crowd participation, hands down, occurs during Bastille’s mashup cover song “Of The Night,” taken from their mixtape Other People’s Heartache. During the mix of Corona’s “Rhythm of the Night” and Snap!’s “Rhythm is a Dancer,” Smith asks that everyone stoops down right before the explosive chorus, and then jumps up and down with him on his command. A highlight at any of their shows, but especially in a venue the size of The Aragon, it’s such a spectacle to see a crowd of thousands jumping in unity.
In addition to the new arrangements of old favorites and the extensive video production that accompanied each song performed, which is exclusive to this Wild, Wild World Tour, the band also kept things fresh on this tour by conducting a daily Twitter poll for fans to vote on a coveted slot on the setlist. The song that won for Chicago was “The Anchor” (our personal favorite…no idea why), which closes out the 19-track version of Wild World. Another incredible addition to this tour was the ASL signer that the band had stationed in the sound booth, for audience members who are hard of hearing. The only other time I’ve seen this wonderful service provided at a gig was actually during Bastille’s Lollapalooza performance last year.
Lastly, Bastille’s three-song encore really packed a punch, closing out the magical evening in a massive way. Kicking off with Smith and Farquarson in one of the Aragon’s balcony alcoves, the pair performed the Tarantino-esque track "Two Evils" while Smith balanced on the balcony ledge. After that adrenaline-boosting performance, the energy escalated with the crowd favorite “Icarus.” As the evening drew to a close, the energy remained at an all time high as Bastille invited Mondo Cozmo to join them onstage during their hit “Pompeii.” Rearranged from the studio version, the live version of “Pompeii” just hits you right in the heartstrings. When the song came to an end, lingering chants of eh-ohs mingled with cheers and claps that echoed throughout the Aragon Ballroom (or “Shrek’s Paradise,” as Smith calls it) as the band exited the stage.
What the band delivered in production quality, they brought equally, if not more, in sound quality and musicianship. Bastille is one of those bands that somehow always manages to sound even better live, and last night was no exception. The Wild, Wild World Tour will continue throughout North America through mid-May. Do not miss this captivating, interactive, and unforgettable show if you get the chance to see it! You can check out all of the tour dates here.
Photo Gallery: Bastille's Wild Wild World Tour // Chicago // Aragon Ballroom 4.3.17
The Setlist
1. Send Them Off!
2. Laura Palmer
3. Warmth
4. Snakes
5. Flaws
6. Oblivion
7. Lethargy
8. Things We Lost in the Fire
9. The Draw
10. The Currents
11. The Anchor
12. Bad Blood
13. Four Walls
14. Blame
15. Of The Night
16. Fake It
17. Weight of Living, Pt. 11
18. Glory
19. Good Grief
20. Two Evils
21. Icarus
22. Pompeii