Live Recap: Catfish and the Bottlemen at Aragon Ballroom 10.05.19
Catfish and the Bottlemen have played just about all size and scope of shows in Chicago; From headlining venues like Schubas and House of Blues to opening up for Green Day at Wrigley Field and playing festivals like Lollapalooza, there’s been endless possibilities to see them perform here. This past Saturday, the band performed their biggest headline show to date to a packed house at Aragon Ballroom.
The venue was a room that Catfish and The Bottlemen had played on other bills before, but this time they were the main act, and their devoted fans filled the room ready to support them. Saturday’s show was also their first performance in the city proper since their third album, The Balance, was released earlier this spring (the band had played Piqniq in Tinley Park over the summer), so the setlist boasted some new material. The band balanced (pun intended) the new songs like “Longshot” and “2all” by also including fan favorites from their first two records The Balcony and The Ride. The crowd remained enthusiastic throughout the whole show, showing appreciation by screaming along to the lyrics and relentlessly cheering, but nothing quite matched the audience reactions during the classics like “Kathleen” and “Cocoon.”
Catfish and the Bottlemen is a band that has consistently delivered captivating live shows, thanks to lead singer Van McCann’s magnetic stage presence that always seems to effortlessly connect with the crowd of any size. If you missed them during this past tour, the band will return to The States for the second part of their US tour this winter—see dates here.
