The Top 10 Takeaways from Twin Peaks' Thalia Hall Takeover
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.
