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Live Recap: James Blake at The Salt Shed; Great Times at the Trying Times Tour

June 11, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

James Blake returned to Chicago on Monday, June 8th, bringing his Trying Times Tour to the Salt Shed stage.

Backed by a live band, Blake took the stage just before 9PM— fittingly kicking off his show with the first song from Trying Times, entitled “Walk Out Music.”

The setlist featured a mix of the newer material from the aforementioned album and fan favorites from deeper in Blake’s discography, but no matter what he and the band played, his incredible vocals remained a consistent force throughout the night. Blake alternated between being stationed at his keyboard in the middle of the stage, wandering the stage instrument-free and occasionally playing guitar. “Don’t get too excited. I’ve got four chords,” Blake told the audience when he picked up the guitar to play “Make Something Up” from the new record. During the quieter and raw moments when it was just him and the piano, Blake’s vocals had a spotlight on them, but they never once wavered. It’s incredible to witness how Blake covers iconic songs like “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean and “A Case Of You” by Joni Mitchell and completely makes them his own. During the live performances of both of these tracks, the room remained so transfixed on the singer’s performance that you could hear a pin drop.

Of course, there were also crescendoing moments that contrasted with the softer songs. Take “Limit To Your Love”— another cover (this one by Feist)— or “Doesn’t Just Happen” for example. The bass was so visceral during those songs that you could physically feel it in your chest, even standing in the balcony of The Salt Shed. Blake also encouraged the crowd to sing along early on in the show. Before playing “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand,” Blake told the crowd “I don’t know who spread the rumor about me, but I actually love it when people sing along at my shows”— alluding to the rumor that he doesn’t like audience sing alongs.

Blake also took a few moments to get vulnerable with his fans during a few different moments in the set. Before playing the title track of his newest record, he told the crowd about how special the album was to him. “Every artist says that about every album they put out so that doesn’t really mean anything. But it was a rough time, it was trying times. This is the song that really cemented it, it’s called ‘Trying Times.’” He also opened up about his venture into being an independent artist, before he played his first song he released independently, “Thrown Around.”

One other aspect of the show that I appreciated as a fan was that James Blake didn’t have any elaborate production rigs for his show. This allowed us as the fans to really connect with his pure talent and focus on the music rather than any shiny distraction tactics. Blake also addressed that decision, telling the crowd, “I don’t normally play venues this big. I hope it’s alright there’s not a screen behind me showing my face at all times. It’s a vanity decision, and a cost one as well.” He further drove the point of connecting directly with the fans following that up by saying, “I’m gonna play a song now that means a lot to me, and I hope you’ll sing along”—and everyone obliged to sing along to “I’ll Come Too.”

The show wrapped up with a 3-song encore, including the beloved single “Retrograde” and the aforementioned Joni Mitchell cover, before ultimately wrapping up with “Say What You Will.”

Check out photos of the Chicago show below, and see where you can catch James Blake on tour next here.

categories / Gigs, Photos, Reviews
tags / James Blake, The Salt Shed, Live Recap, Live Review, Photo Set

PHOTOS: Bleachers Forever at Salt Shed

June 08, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

categories / Photos, Gigs
tags / Bleachers, Jack Antonoff, Salt Shed, Chicago, Bleachers Forever, Photo Gallery, Photo Set

Live Recap: Kevin Morby's Back in Chicago and We're Feeling It

June 05, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

On Tuesday, June 2nd, Kevin Morby returned to Chicago to play a sold out show in support of his new album Little Wide Open. While he’s performed in the city many times in the past, this was his first time on the legendary Metro stage.

After an opening set from Chicago’s own Liam Kazar that got the crowd warmed up and feeling good, Morby and his bandmates made their way onto a stage that had been decked out in cheery sunflowers as a callback to the cover art for Little Wide Open. Amongst the live band members was Kazar, pulling double duty for not only this show, but the entirety of the tour. Kazar was joined by Cochemea Gastelum, Cole Berggren, Camellia Hartman and Dom Billet to bring Morby’s songs to life.

Donning glitter on his cheeks and a customized denim-on-denim ensemble that featured painted-on artwork related to the singer (like the sunflowers from the album cover or the Kansas City logo as a nod to his hometown), Morby launched into the set with “Natural Disaster” from his latest album. The first several songs on the setlist leaned heavily into the new material, including the singles “100,000” and “Die Young,” but Morby told the crowd that he and the band were going to play some classics before they transitioned into his earlier music.

After playing “This Is A Photograph,” Morby took some time to address the packed audience. “I’ve been hearing about this venue for so long. I’ve never been in this venue, never even seen a show here. I’ve always wanted to come—thank you all so much for coming tonight. It means the world! It’s an honor to be up here.” Sitting on one of the amps on stage, the singer started to riff the chorus to Djo’s “End of Beginning,” singing “And when I’m back in Chic—just kidding, this song is called ‘Five Easy Pieces'.’” The moment got a good chuckle from the crowd, but personally I’d love to hear a full cover of the tune by Kevin Morby! The momentum of the night only continued to soar during that song, with Morby meandering around the stage, sans guitar, and eventually making his way offstage and down to the barricade to sing face-to-face with fans in the front.

Throughout the night, we were treated to several extended jams of the songs being performed, allowing us to relish in the magnitude of talent of each of the musicians onstage. For example, Gastelum played the flute and saxophone on different songs, and Hartman played violin in addition to the keys and backing vocals, really giving a rich depth to the live performance of these songs.

The sold-out crowd was also delighted by a one-off rendition of Morby’s “Bittersweet, TN”—which was done as a duet with Erin Rae on the album. However, during his Metro show, Morby explained that he’s invited a friend from each city on the tour to perform a song with the band every night. “They’re one of my favorite songwriters ever, I’ve known this person for over 20 years and truly, one of my favorite songwriters in the world,” he said as he introduced Alynda Segarra from Hurray for the Riff Raff to join him for the live duet.

Another special Chicago-only moment during the show came just before the last (pre-encore) song of the night. Prior to playing “Coat Of Butterflies,” Morby told the audience that he got really into Jeff Buckley when working on his 2022 album This Is A Photograph, so it was only fitting that he dedicate a song to Buckley in the venue where Buckley’s “Live in Chicago” performance was filmed—way back in 1995. “I was writing in Memphis and I became obsessed with the man. I wrote this song about him, so we don’t usually play this one, but we’re gonna play it tonight! This one’s to Jeff Buckley,” he told the crowd.

The band left the stage after that song to demands for an encore, and we didn’t have to wait long for a return to the stage. The set officially concluded with a 2-song encore featuring “Beautiful Strangers” and “Dorothy.”

By the end of it, Morby and his bandmates played for over 90-minutes, and the Metro audience loved every second of it. Besides the sunflowers on stage, there really wasn’t any fancy production elements to the show, but Kevin Morby and his band are such talented musicians that they don’t need any bells and whistles to put on a phenomenal show. The tour continues throughout North America this month, before heading across the pond to Europe— grab your tickets here and see photos of the Metro performance below.

categories / Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Kevin Morby, Little Wide Open, Metro, Metro Chicago, Live Recap, Photo recap, Liam Kazar

PHOTOS: Warm Love Cool Dreams 2026

May 29, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

categories / Photos, Gigs, Festival
tags / Live Music, Photo recap, Warm Love Cool Dreams, Festival, Salt Shed, Whitney, Tobacco City, Being Dead, Toro y Moi, Courtney Barnett, Empty Bottle, Empty Bottle Presents

Riot Fest 2026 Lineup Announced

May 28, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

Riot Fest announced their lineup today, including headliners of Tool, Twenty One Pilots, Pierce the Veil, and Alanis Morissette. Aside from the headliners, we’re looking forward to catching many more of these bands including The Format, Twin Peak, Pup, The Beths, The Chats.

See the full lineup below, and be sure to snag your tickets here. Riot Fest takes place in Douglass Park from September 18-20th.

categories / Festival, Gigs, Music
tags / Riot Fest, Lineup announcement, Lineup, Tool, Twenty One Pilots, Pierce the Veil, Alanis Morissette, Twin Peaks, The Format

The Top 10 Takeaways from Twin Peaks' Thalia Hall Takeover

May 26, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

On Thursday, May 14th, Chicago’s own Twin Peaks made their triumphant return to the Thalia Hall stage to begin their resurrection residency—which at the time was slated to be an 8-night straight run, but ended up extending to 9 nights. Prior to the return, the last time that the full band had performed all together onstage in Chicago was on November 30th, 2019 at the Empty Bottle. The pandemic put live music on hold for some time, but even with it back up and running, Twin Peaks remained unheard from. While the five members of the band (Cadien Lake James, Clay Frankel, Jack Dolan, Colin Croom, and Connor Brodner) have all explored other creative and musical endeavors during this time, there was still a void left in the Chicago music scene without having them back as a unit.

I was lucky enough to attend 6 of the 9 comeback shows, and after I got home on the first night, I made an Instagram post of some clips from the concert and referenced an Andy Bernard quote from The Office, “I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them." Again, this isn’t to say the Chicago music scene hasn’t still thrived while Twin Peaks was on hiatus, but the 9-day residency, which I’ve deemed “Peaks Week Plus,” felt like a return to the good old days.

Whether you were one of the fans who attended every single night, one of the shows, or watched the live stream from afar, we can all agree that this stretch of sold-out shows was magical and a much deserved welcome back to the band. Reflecting back on the experience, I put together my top 10 takeaways and highlights from the week.

#1: Getting The Band Back Together is the Move

Obviously this week-plus span of shows highlighted that Twin Peaks is beloved by Chicagoans and fans globally, so it was great to have Cadien, Clay, Colin, Connor, and Jack back as a full crew, but this residency included a few other special reunions to mark the monumental occasion. On the first night of the run, another cherished Chicago act NE-HI reunited to open up the show. Fronted by Jason Balla (also of Dehd and Accessory), NE-HI released their farewell EP called X Y Z nearly 7 years ago to the day, on May 8th, 2019. I wish that I could have bottled up the feeling of the excitement and buzz in the room when they opened up the show at Thalia Hall with their song “Since I’ve Been Thinking.” The song begins with the lyrics “It’s been awhile,” and while it has been about 9 years since NE-HI opened for Twin Peaks during their NYE run at Thalia Hall back in 2017, it felt like we had all time traveled back to that moment. It felt like being back at home after a long time away.

Speaking of homecomings, we also got the first full-band performance from Pool Holograph in four years on Saturday, May 16th. Pool Holograph was founded in Chicago, but since frontman Wyatt Grant relocated to Asheville, NC in 2020, the project has mostly continued with solo performances from Grant. While it’s unclear if the NE-HI reunion was a one-night only occasion, Pool Holograph has confirmed there’s a lot more from them in the works. They released their new single “Melody Cage” last week from the upcoming record called Evergreen Arcade, and hopefully we can expect some more full-band shows in the pipeline.

Last but not least, we also witnessed a reunion of the OG Post Animal lineup on Thursday, May 21st— more on that later.

Twin Peaks performing on Saturday, May 16.

#2: Wyatt Grant and Drew Ryan Prove that Analog Art Does it Best

In addition to opening up the show on Saturday with his band Pool Holograph, Wyatt Grant also partnered up with fellow artist Drew Ryan to produce live art projections during the entire string of performances. Stationed at the back of the venue’s main floor, the duo projected in-the-moment art backdrops each night that correlated to every song on the setlist. For example, during the song “Butterfly,” they showcased different images of butterflies on the stage backdrop, and they switched up the images depending on the night. During other songs, they used a variation of other creative techniques— Ryan would put up real-time rubber stamps of various images and phrase, and Grant would swirl around colorful glitter in a bowl of water to make for an iridescent display. On the last night, which was dubbed “The Angel’s Share,” the pair projected angel cut-outs that included the letters of “Twin Peaks.”

As someone who has been feeling very AI-fatigued lately, it was so refreshing to see visual artists crafting these brilliant and unique displays on the spot each night, and continuing to change it up as the setlist varied. Moments like these are a reminder of why we need to keep the human element of creativity.

Drew Ryan and Wyatt Grant in their projection “booth” during the song “Making Breakfast.”

#3: Just Because You’re in Your 30s Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Rock

The members of Twin Peaks started playing together as teenagers, but now that they’re in their 30s, they still rock just as hard. Not only were they able to maintain their lively stage presence as they played 9 consecutive sold-out shows without a single night off in between, but their energy seemed to ramp up as the residency continued. They played a double set on the finale night that included a whopping 40-songs! Through it all, Cadien Lake James kept up with his signature head banging for nearly the full 90-minute sets. He could teach a masterclass in neck strength and stretching because whatever he does to keep up that fluidity and mobility needs to be studied! Here’s to Twin Peaks following in Mick Jagger and Keith Richards’ footsteps and continuing to rock until they’re 80.

On a personal note, I also spent the most time in the pit than I have in years at these shows. As a concert photographer, I so often go to shows with my camera as my security blanket— I shoot the first three songs from the photo pit, then go hang out in the back of the balcony away from the thick of the crowd. By going to some of these shows without my camera, I got to experience being back to my roots in the midst of it all as an admirer of live music. I even crowd surfed every night that I attended with the exception of Saturday, which is something I hadn’t done in about 5 years. There’s just something about the Twin Peaks pit that pulls you in like a magnetic force. If crowdsurfing were an art form, then consider Twin Peaks my Yoko Ono.

Twin Peaks performing on Friday, May 22nd- featuring one of the many crowd surfers

#4: We Will Not Make It, Not Without You

Speaking of being in the pit, the sense of mosh pit hospitality at these shows was some of the best I’ve ever seen. Fans worked together to keep one another safe and comfortable during the show, lifting each other up to surf and doing their best to make sure no one fell down. If they did, they picked each other up. I also have to give a huge shout out to the security at Thalia Hall, especially those who worked behind the barricade, catching audience members as they crowd surfed to the front.

Aside from the sense of safety during the shows, there was also a sense of natural camaraderie that permeated throughout the venue each night. I saw a lot of my current friends at these shows, reunited with familiar faces I haven’t seen in years, and met new folks by chatting with them about their fellow admiration of Twin Peaks. Several of the new people I met had traveled in from out of town to witness the occasion, but it felt like we were all at home together once the band hit the stage.

The pit in action on Friday, May 22nd.

#5: That Stars Hallow Small-Town Feel in Chicago

The camaraderie between fans wasn’t the only bond present during these shows. Even though Chicago is a massive city, and a lot of people attended these shows, there was an air of small town familiarity. Think fictional towns like Stars Hollow and Tree Hill—or dare I say, even Twin Peaks— where all the characters are interwoven together one way or another.

The five core members of Twin Peaks exuded chemistry onstage that comes from their decades of friendship outside of making music together, but they also had an array of talented friends joining them each night. Every night, the band was joined by Justin Vittori on backup percussion, as well as Sima Cunningham, V.V. Lightbody, and Sofia Jensen on background vocals (and flute from V.V. Lightbody).

Similarly to how we saw Wyatt Grant of Pool Holograph pulling double duty of visual artist and opening band on Saturday night, we got to see V.V. Lightbody open the show on Tuesday, May 19th and Sofia Jensen play with her project Free Range on Monday, May 18th. We also saw Finn Wolfhard join the band for backing vocals on “Butterfly” and “What Up Dawg” on the finale night, and he opened up the show on Wednesday, May 20th. Wolfhard was also spotted crowdsurfing various nights of the week.

Aside from the outrageously talented friends who double-dipped some nights, Twin Peaks made sure to spotlight other local talent by having a different band support them each night. Additional support included NE-HI, Lifeguard, Neptune’s Core, and Post Animal.

Finn Wolfhard and James Swanberg performing “What Up Dawg” along with Twin Peaks.

#6: “Our Friend Jeff”

While we’re on the subject of local legends, Twin Peaks brought out “our friend Jeff,” as in the legendary Jeff Tweedy, during the encore portion of their show on Tuesday, May 19th.

Tweedy joined the band on guitar and guest vocals to perform a cover of the Faces song “Glad and Sorry” as well as a version of his own band Wilco’s song “Spiders (Kidsmoke).”

Going back to the small-town feel of the Chicago music community, it was very special to witness the cross-generational Chicago greatness during this live collaboration. The Monday and Tuesday night shows were also live streamed, so fans across the globe were able to join in on this moment if they had a live-stream ticket.

Jeff Tweedy joining Twin Peaks for “Glad and Sorry.”

#7: The Most Epic Live Version of “Dirtpicker”

My favorite thing about live music is that no two performances are ever exactly the same. Even if a performer miraculously manages to hit all the same notes in exactly the same way every time, the audience members can shift the vibes and the tone of a performance just as much.

Well on Thursday, May 21st, Post Animal delivered the most epic live version of their song “Dirtpicker” and the audience reaction only amplified the experience. As I alluded to earlier, the original six members of Post Animal reunited for their opening set, with Joe Keery joining his bandmates Dalton Allison, Matt Williams, Jake Hirshland, Wes Toledo, and Javi Reyes onstage to perform “Last Goodbye” and the aforementioned “Dirtpicker.” For the epic conclusion of their set that night, Post Animal was also joined by Cadien Lake James and Finn Wolfhard for some backup shredding on guitar, as well as Justin Vittori on percussion. The crowd went wild for the supergroup, and Jake Hirshland stage dove into the crowd during the song.

Post Animal joined by Cadien Lake James, Finn Wolfhard and Justin Vittori.

#8: Setlist Shuffles, including Sunken Sunday

Along with guest appearances that made for one-off live versions of fan-favorite tunes, Twin Peaks also made sure to spice up the show each night by shuffling around their setlists. They had a core group on songs that made the cut nearly every time, if not every show, like “Butterfly,” “Shake Your Lonely” and “Walk To The One You Love,” but they always made sure to shuffle the order around to keep the audience members on their toes.

They also sprinkled in some rarities and deeper cuts on occasion. These shows were a comeback from hiatus as well as a celebration of the 10-year anniversary of their album Down in Heaven, but that didn’t stop them from showcasing work from the entirety of their discography, including the 2013 album Sunken. On Sunday, May 17th—better known as “Sunken Sunday,” the band closed out their set by performing the 8-song album in full, featuring fan favorites like “Baby Blue” and “Boomers.”

#9: The Angel’s Share

On Wednesday, May 20th, Twin Peaks announced they’d be extending their Thalia Hall takeover for one final night on Friday, May 22nd. They deemed the night “The Angel’s share” and announced that they’d be playing two full sets without a support act. In the Instagram post that made the announcement, the band wrote “Inspired by our friend Ben @kramerkramer , the concept of an Angel’s share, is that he who helps with the task should enjoy a reward. ‘In practice with the dudes: if you came to the grocery store with me to grab provisions, not only did you help set the menu, but you got an Angel’s share - a candy bar, a bag of chips - something that was yours, not the group’s. A small, important motivation.’ This is our Angel’s Share for you, Chicago. We love you.”

On the Thursday night prior, which was originally slated to be the last performance, Cadien gave what he called a “wedding speech” to express his and the band’s appreciation for everyone involved throughout the process of planning and performing the shows. He wrapped up the speech before the band played “We Will Not Make It (Not Without You),” which Clay then dedicated to the audience, but the true dedication and display of gratitude from the band came the following night when they performed 40 (!!!) songs.

When you think about it, most bands do an encore of 1-3 songs at a show. Twin Peaks did an entire encore performance of two full sets with their Angel’s share show. Halfway through the residency, they could’ve decided to stick to their original plan to end the run after the eighth night to get a much deserved night of rest, but the demand and the love was so strong that they added on the final show at the last minute. They did this in celebration of the city that champions them and the community that they built.

One of the angelic backdrops on Friday, May 22nd.

#10: Thalia Hall’s New Reigning Champions

Piggybacking off the last takeaway, the 9-night and 10-set stretch of shows without a single break in between show nights is not only a testament to how much Chicago adores Twin Peaks, but the love that the band has boomeranged back to their hometown. Twin Peaks poured their heart and souls into planning and playing these shows, and you could feel their devotion and the care they put into the production in every aspect. The sheer stamina to fully rock and leave it all on the stage night after night was something truly magical to witness and this event is something that will live on forever in the history of the Chicago music scene.

Twin Peaks broke the record for most consecutive nights played at Thalia Hall (and even got Championship rings from the venue), and here’s hoping they might be up to topping themselves with more shows in the future.

For now, you can continue to bask in the glow of Peaks Week Plus with my photo galleries of Night 3 and 9 and tune into the 10th anniversary version of Down In Heaven.

You can also pick up limited editions of Sunken, Down In Heaven, and Freezing In Chicago —which is a live album recorded during the 2017 Thalia Hall run— from Shuga Records.

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categories / Music, Photos, Reviews, Gigs
tags / Twin Peaks, Live Recap, Thalia Hall, Post Animal, Finn Wolfhard, V.V. Lightbody, Free Range, Pool Holograph, Neptune's Core, Lifeguard, NE-HI, Shuga Records, Grand Jury Music

Live Recap: The Hives and The Chats at Salt Shed

March 30, 2026  /  Rachel Zyzda

“We are The Hives and we have played a great fucking show,” exclaimed the band’s frontman Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist (that’s totally the name on his birth certificate, right?) near the end of their performance on Thursday night—and I, along with the sold-out crowd at Salt Shed, can agree with a resounding yes.

The performances on Thursday night may have been nothing but pure and utter rock and roll, but for those of us with strict bedtimes, the show fortunately kicked off at a school-night friendly start time of 7:15PM on the dot with a support set from Australia’s The Chats. The trio got the stage and the audience perfectly primed and warmed up for an explosive evening with a 45-minute set that managed to jam in 18 fast-paced tunes. While The Chats powered through their high energy set, the audience matched their tone and started a circle pit and crowd surfing. Near the end of the set, the band welcomed Sarah Greenwell from the band Gymshorts to perform the song “Heaps New York.” Fittingly, The Chats followed that up with their popular tune “Smoko” but introduced it as “Heaps Queensland.” When it came time for them to leave the stage, the audience chanted for “one more song,” which is a rare occurrence for an opener, but much deserved for The Chats!

The room continued to buzz with anticipation until the lights dimmed for the main act, and The Hives hit the ground running, keeping their feet on the gas for a 90-minute rousing and raucous show. The band members all donned matching suits that sported a lit-up strip, which was fitting because their energy was so electric.

As the band launched into their song “Enough is Enough” from their 2025 album The Hives The Hives Forever Forever the Hives, the fans at the front of the barricade began bouncing up and down and singing along with Almqvist. The frontman never neglected any one corner of the room for long; he worked his way up and back across the stage, at some points even hopping off the stage to join the fans in the front along the barricade. When he was onstage, Almqvist jumped, high-kicked and swung his microphone around by the cord to pump even more life into the band’s lively sound. The singer egged on the crowd saying, “We don’t do music here. We do rock and roll. I can see you as much as you can see me, and I can hear you as much as you can hear me.” He also told everyone “when in doubt, make some fucking noise,” and the audience didn’t shy away from showering the Salt Shed with cheers and screams— not to mention, moshing and crowd surfing during several points of the show.

As The Hives ventured through their seven-album discography during the set, it felt like we also got a comedy set in between songs with the colorful banter delivered by Almqvist. One of my favorite moments was when the band introduced their song “Two-Timing Touch and Broken Bones” as the tune that was included in the setlist from a poll, Almqvist said “You’ve already seen all the rock and roll that we owed you for the ticket money. The rest of it is as you do in America, is called a tip. From us to you! 20% extra, or double the tax.” He even acknowledged that he has to have these talking breaks between songs to keep up the pace for their equipment because the band goes that hard on it (if that’s not an endorsement that The Hives give their all for every performance, I don’t know what is!)

Following that part of the set, the band still delivered a handful of songs, with the cherry on top moment happening during the hit “Tick Tick Boom.” While the band played, Almqvist hopped off the stage and over the barricade this time, making his way to the center of the room for a crescendoing climax of the song. After a call-and-response chant of the bridge, Almqvist catapulted his way through the tunnel path he left in the audience and ran back to the stage to wrap up the main act of the show.

Naturally, the audience couldn’t get enough a demanded an encore from The Hives, who gladly obliged and returned for three more songs; ultimately wrapping with the title track of their last album.

Needless to say, and I can’t stress this enough, if you haven’t seen The Hives, you’re missing out an essential experience in life. They’re one of those bands that set the expectations of live musical performances high and continue to hit the mark again and again for over three decades. The Hives deliver evocative and electrifying entertainment from start to finish.

If you missed out on this tour, check out photos from the show at Salt Shed below and be sure to keep an eye out for an upcoming show near you.

categories / Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / The Hives, The Chats, Salt Shed, Live Music, Live Recap, Chicago

Live Recap: (Everything Is Going Wrong) But We're So Happy, Thanks to The Wombats!

November 05, 2025  /  Rachel Zyzda

The Wombats returned to The Vic Theatre in Chicago on Saturday, November 1st, performing a sold-out show as part of their Oh! The Ocean Tour.

As you may have guessed, the tour was in honor of the band’s 6th studio album entitled Oh! The Ocean, which was released earlier this year. While I arrived at the venue, I took a mental stroll down memory lane and realized the first time I saw The Wombats was in 2015 in support of their 3rd album Glitterbug, meaning I’ve been a fan of the trio for more than a decade now. The (over) 10-year anniversary of my first Wombats gig felt very sentimental, but there’s a warm sense of comfort that the band exuded in their performance this past weekend that also made it feel like no time had really passed at all.

Matthew “Murph” Murphy, Tord Øverland Knudsen, and Dan Haggis took the stage just after 9:15PM, settling themselves in front of a furry backdrop—or in Haggis’ case, settling onto a drum set that was decked out in the same “Wombats fuzz” that was giving “stroke the furry wall” from the movie Get Him to the Greek (IYKYK). The band began the set with the introductory song off of their latest album, entitled “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come.” In the song, Murph croons every socially anxious introvert’s truth, saying “It’s not that I hate you, I just hate everyone/ I don’t want to socialize unless I’m getting numb.” While I’m sure many of the audience members (myself included) can relate to that sentiment, fortunately we were all able to get past it to show up that night, and we were rewarded with a very special performance.

Following the new song, all of us ventured back down memory lane together with a handful of songs from earlier records, including “Moving to New York” from the debut album and “Cheetah Tongue” from Beautiful People Will Ruin Your Life.

As the musical journey continued on, the bandmates took time to toss in several anecdotes, both about the new and older material. Post “Techno Fan” and Pre-”Kate Moss,” Murph addressed the crowd saying, “That last song was about a weird night out in London, and this next one is about my old neighborhood in LA. Somewhere in the pandemic everyone started getting divorced and doing really weird shit. It’s still going on to this day to be honest, so this song is dedicated to funky times.”

Dan Haggis later on addressed the crowd, saying that songs have a way of standing still in time, and that felt so fitting to the sentimental air of nostalgia at the gig—the time has passed, but these songs from over a decade ago remain a timeless constant in the lives of so many music fans. Haggis continued, “We’d love you to join in on this next song, it’s an a cappella. We were trying to think of a way to start off our first album and this weird little number popped into our heads,” before the trio launched into a rendition of “Tales of Girls, Boys and Marsupials” that bled right into “Kill The Director.”

The band’s energy onstage mostly remained amped up—from Knudsen jumping and kicking across the stage, to Murph climbing up on Haggis’ drumset and a friend donning a full-on wombat costume joining in for “Ready for the High”— but they took the time to strip things down for an acoustic performance of “Lethal Combination.” Murph prefaced the performance telling a story about a night out that he and his wife had at Barney’s Beanery in LA. “The barman said you guys need to exit this establishment now. I said why do we have to do that, and he said, we’ll you’ve been asleep for an hour. I said no, we haven’t been, and I turned around to look at my wife, and she was passed out on the bar. Then on the way back she said, we’re a lethal combination, us two, or something like that.”

Other than the one acoustic track, the songs remained upbeat and fast-paced for the rest of the main setlist, which closed out with their single “Turn.” The band teased their encore saying that was their “last song” with a wink, and they left the stage to overwhelming applause and calls for more songs.

The Wombats didn’t disappoint and came back to close out with their hit “Greek Tragedy” and “Let’s Dance to Joy Division,” the latter of which the band sings “Everything is going wrong, but we're so happy.” If you turn on the news or doomscroll TikTok, it’s easy to see the things that are going wrong in the world, but art and music like that by The Wombats is always a much-needed reminder that there is good and a sense of community in the world. It’s truly impossible to be sad at a Wombats show—especially when they brought out multiple friends in wombat costumes for the final song!

If you need another ray of sunshine, the band recently put out a new single “Holy Sugar” that’s a preview of their extended cut of Oh! The Ocean, out December 5th. Be sure to check out upcoming tour dates for The Wombats and snag your copy of their latest album here.

categories / Reviews, Gigs, Music, Photos
tags / The Wombats, Live Recap, The Vic, Chicago, Concert Photography, Photo Set, Photo recap, Live Review

Live Recap: Nick Carter Brings Love Life Tragedy to Des Plaines Theatre

October 17, 2025  /  Rachel Zyzda

Nick Carter brought his Love Life Tragedy show to the stage at Des Plaines Theatre, delivering a stellar Saturday night to an eager fanbase.

The Des Plaines show, as well as a subsequent Sunday night show in St. Charles, acted as one-off solo special performances for Carter in the gap period between The Backstreet Boys’ sold-out Vegas residency runs at Sphere—the most recent of which ended in August. I was lucky enough to attend one of the Sphere shows in August, but more on that later.

The evening kicked off with a support set from singer-songwriter Sierra Sikora, a local from the Chicagoland area. Sikora took the stage solo; just herself, an acoustic guitar, and the stories she told through her songwriting. Her setlist was mostly comprised of original material, but she did sprinkle in a couple of covers that got the audience singing along, including “Kiss Me” by Sixpence None The Richer and “Creep” by Radiohead—which was fitting for the spooky season. Sikora exuded confidence in her stage presence between songs, telling the crowd personal anecdotes about her lyrics and asking the audience to turn their phone flashlights on for one of her songs. She closed out her set with her single “Dear Athena,” which had everyone clapping along.

Nick Carter and his band hit the stage next, preambled by an interactive graphic of a spaceship on the stage’s screen. The visual introduction felt like a less intense version of the beginning of the Backstreet Boys’ Sphere show, but I won’t give too many spoilers for those fans who are planning to head to Vegas for the next string of shows this winter. Carter kept the BSB nods coming by kicking off his set with the band’s hit “Larger Than Life,” which got the energy pumping in the venue and had everyone out of their seats dancing.

As this show was in honor of Carter’s new solo record entitled Love Life Tragedy that was released in May of this year, the setlist featured a lot of the new material. After the opening number, fans got to hear the first two songs off the album, “Made For Us” and “Nothing Without Your Love.” As Carter and his bandmates performed each song, the visuals on the screen displayed some of the song lyrics or graphics that went along with the theme of the song to help immerse the audience into the storytelling.

Carter took time to address the crowd often between songs, teasing the potential for a full tour around the record and providing some behind-the-scenes stories about how these songs were made. After performing his song “Storms,” the singer told the crowd “Storms feels like that’s been my whole life. 33 years I’ve been in this industry. I’ve gone through a lot of ups and downs, and sometimes you just don’t know how to articulate the things that you’ve been through, but you put them in a song. When you listen to these songs, you can hear what I’m going through in my life. Sometimes you can take these songs and you can actually relate them to yourself and things you’re going through yourself. We all go through a lot of love, we all go through a lot of life, and we all have tragedy, but that’s why we’re here.” Carter followed up the heartfelt moment with a few more songs from the recent album, including “Hey Kid” and “Wild Heart” before pivoting to some of his earlier solo songs “Swet” and “Burning Up.”

Another highlight of the show included a cover of the Simple Minds classic hit “Don’t You (Forget About Me),” which really showed off Carter’s dynamic vocal range and lower register. Speaking of covers, the show concluded with a handful of Backstreet Boys’ biggest hits, including “As Long As You Love Me” and “Everybody (Backstreet's Back).”

Not only was it great to get to hear so many of my favorite nostalgic Backstreet Boys songs performed in a new style with Nick completely at the helm, but this was my first time hearing him perform his solo material live, and the show really displayed how multifaceted Nick Carter is as a songwriter and performer.

Follow along with Nick for any news on the potential solo tour, and if you can, I highly recommend making the trek to Vegas to see the full band at Sphere. You can view photos of the Des Plaines show below, and listen to Love Life Tragedy here.

categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Nick Carter, Sierra Sikora, Live Music, Live Recap, Backstreet Boys, Love Life Tragedy

Live Recap: Wolf Alice Returns to The Vic Theatre

September 29, 2025  /  Rachel Zyzda

On Friday, September 26, British rock band Wolf Alice returned to perform at The Vic Theatre in Chicago, in honor of their fourth album The Clearing. The show fell just shy of four years since they last played the same venue in 2021, when they had toured for their previous record, Blue Weekend.

After a support set from Willy Mason, more and more fans filed into the venue, eagerly awaiting the main event. The stage was decked out with a silver tinsel backdrop, reminiscent of a high school prom—but the show we got was way better than any school dance. Cheers greeted the band members as they made their way to the stage, kicking off the setlist with the first song off The Clearing’s tracklist, entitled “Thorns.” Donning a shimmering bodysuit, belt, and knee-high boots, lead vocalist Ellie Rowsell’s stage outfit matched the one that she wore on the new album’s cover, which helped immerse the audience into the world of this new music.

The introductory track conjures up vibes of a 70’s ballad, with its sweeping strings and steady piano melody, but the lyrics perfectly tee up a live performance as the song ends with Rowsell singing the lines “The sun goes down, the curtain lifts, and I sing a song.” Next up, Rowsell grabbed her guitar to play “How Can I Make It Ok?'“ with the band, a track off their aforementioned third album that starts off slow and gradually builds up.

As the show carried on, Wolf Alice intricately sprinkled in more familiar favorites from earlier on in their discography with their newest material. The band also did a great job of juxtaposing delicate moments with gritty crescendos; for example, they followed up the bouncy piano-driven new tracks of “The Sofa” and “Bread Butter Tea Sugar” with the raucous “Yuk Foo” and “Play the Greatest Hits.” The former started off with a siren blaring through a megaphone, followed by squealing guitar riffs and Rowsell’s Riot Grrrl-esque vocals filtering through the megaphone—and the energy only amplified for the latter.

As an avid Wolf Alice listener, I’ve always admired Ellie Rowsell’s dynamic vocal range that can flawlessly transition from gracefully gentle to powerful intensity, and that ability was on full display throughout their live show. Another aspect of their show that I really admired was the just-enough stage production that enhanced the music without overpowering it—during parts of the show, the tinsel backdrop was lit up with projections of hearts or stars, and bubbles were pumped into the venue during the final song of the night, but these subtly flashy elements never took away from the band’s musicality and raw talent.

The main portion of the show wrapped up with the lead single from the new record, “Bloom Baby Bloom,” which kicks off with a whimsical piano melody. From unwavering falsettos to wailing growls, the track is a perfect showcase of Rowsell’s vocal talents wrapped up in 3 minutes and 47 seconds. In the song’s chorus, she sings “But I’ll bloom, baby, bloom” and those lyrics perfectly summarize how Wolf Alice has expanded their sound throughout their discography and continued to strengthen their stage presence. The night concluded with the beloved “Don’t Delete The Kisses" in a perfect send off into the weekend.

Check out photos of the show below, and see where you can catch the dazzling spectacle for yourself here.

categories / Reviews, Gigs, Photos, Music
tags / Wolf Alice, Live Recap, Live Show, The Clearing, Chicago, The Vic, Jam Productions, Photo Set, Photo Gallery