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Live Recap: Mitski and Julia Jacklin at Auditorium Theatre

March 28, 2024  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Sunday night, Mitski and Julia Jacklin closed out a sold-out, four-night run at the historic Auditorium Theatre in Chicago.

Australian singer-songwriter Julia Jacklin took the stage at 8PM sharp to perform for the packed house. The past times I’ve seen Julia, she usually had a full band, but this run was just her and her guitar as she opened her set with “Comfort” from her 2019 album Crushing. Jacklin took a pause to address the crowd, telling us she’d had a wonderful time these past few nights in Chicago, adding “I haven’t seen anything except downtown, and it’s been really cold, but I’ve had a good time because I get to open for one of the greatest rock legends of our lives, Mitski”— which was followed by lots of cheers. As Jacklin continued her performance, I admired her commanding stage presence and ability to keep the audience completely hooked. Towards to end of the show, the singer told the theatre “I’m gonna sing a song A capella. It’s very rare that I get to sing in halls like this, so I have to take advantage” before she sang “Too In Love To Die” from her 2022 album Pre Pleasure. During that entire song, the audience remained utterly silent, soaking up Jacklin’s beautiful vocals in absolute awe. To close out her short, but sweet set, Jacklin performed a fan favorite “Pressure to Party.”

Next up, the stage was set for Mitski and her band to close it all out. The audience greeted the artist with earsplitting applause and cheers and she sauntered her way over to a dim corner of the stage. After a quick greeting, Mitski disappeared behind a giant red curtain in the center of the stage, with only her silhouette in view while she sang “Everyone”—until the curtain dropped at the end of the song.

It was fitting that this particular tour stopped at the Auditorium Theatre instead of a GA-style concert venue because Mitski’s performance was more like an orchestral broadway musical than concert. From her intricate choreography that was mapped out to every single beat to her dramatic expressions and the extraordinary lighting production, this show was a true spectacle from start to finish. Everything flowed seamlessly in the production of the performance, and Mitski let the music take care of the transitions, barely taking time to speak in between the songs on the setlist, which heavily featured songs from her 2023 album The Land Is Inhospitable and So Are We. A favorite moment of mine was during the performance of the very popular “My Love Mine All Mine,” Mitski stood center-stage on a platform, while strings of shimmery, butterfly-like objects dropped down from the ceiling around her— picture a mobile you’d hang above a baby’s crib… but way taller.

The entire performance was magical from start to finish, and if Mitski ever had a broadway show, I’d be there in an instant. This show proved she’s a theatrical triple threat with acting, singing and dancing chops.

See photos of the final night in Chicago below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Julia Jacklin, Mitski, Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, Live Show, Live Review, Photo Set, Photo Gallery

Live Recap: JP Saxe at House Of Blues

March 24, 2024  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Tuesday night, JP Saxe packed the House of Blues for an evening of heartfelt songs, cathartic story-telling and comedic stage banter.

Singer-songwriter Justin Nozuka warmed up the large crowd, performing a solo serenade with just his vocals and acoustic guitar. As the stage changed over for JP Saxe’s set, I took in the cozy stage environment on display—there was a backdrop of a gallery wall containing different framed photos and artwork, living room furniture and lots of lamps. House of Blues is already an intimate venue to see artists perform, but this extra touch to the production set up immediately made it feel like we were all just at home with a bunch of close friends, listening to another friend bare their soul in song format.

JP started his set by entering the stage sans his live band, and pulsing lights illuminated him in quick glimpses while he sang “Someone Else’s Home” from his 2023 album A Grey Area—which was also the namesake of his current tour. JP was joined by his band member onstage, who helped add extra layers and depth into the music. In just the first few songs, JP moved his station around the stage, either performing at a piano, keyboard or playing guitar, and his rotation continued throughout the set. After the band wrapped up the fan favorite “I Don’t Miss You,” JP took some time to address the crowd, telling us that he opened for Noah Kahan on this same stage four years ago, and fans cheered in admiration of the full circle moment.

As the set continued on, the show was essentially broken out into different chapters and scenes—including intricate transitions that were complemented by the elaborate lighting effects. JP joked he had a bad habit of ruining the plotted transitions because he has stories to tell before certain songs. Before performing his song “For Emilee,” JP primed the song by telling the audience it was for his friend who accepted less than she deserved in relationships, and even though Emilee was actually in attendance at the Chicago show, he asked for voluntary Emilees and their friends who were in a similar boat. Once he was through with the banter, the audience still got to feel the full effect of that transition because JP asked that his crew ran the lighting and sound transition again. Moments like this are what really makes concerts and live performances so much for special than just listening to an album.

Another fun moment that was one-of-a-kind to Chicago happened only a couple of songs later; In the song “Fear & Intuition,” JP sings “L.A. told me to listen to myself/ Toronto said not to change/ New York told me to fuck somebody else.” After singing the full regular version of the song, JP asked the audience for suggestions of things Chicago might tell him, and people yelled out a few things, including drinking Malort. JP and his band then continued an extended version of “Fear & Intuition” where he interjected a line about Malort.

When we approached the second half of the setlist, JP took some time to perform a few of his songs solo, once again making the setting a little more personal. Between songs, he continued to share anecdotes that gave the listeners more of an insight into his songwriting, all while making us laugh. Ahead of my favorite song of his, “The Few Things,” JP shared it was hist favorite love song he’s ever written and joked he had a zero percent divorce rate for couples who used his music as a wedding song.

If you can get a change to see JP Saxe in concert, you’re in for a unique experience that will only enhance his already incredible songwriting and musicality. Check out photos of his performance at House of Blues below, and see where you can catch a show next here.

categories / Reviews, Photos, Gigs
tags / JP Saxe, Justin Nozuka, House of Blues, Live Review, Live Nation, Live Recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: The Kooks and Vaccines with Daisy the Great

March 20, 2024  /  Rachel Zyzda

The Kooks, The Vaccines and Daisy the Great all rocked a sold out house at The Riviera to kick off the St.Patty’s Day weekend in Chicago.

The musical duo of Kelley Dugan and Mina Walker, AKA Daisy the Great, warmed up the Chicago crowd with a set that showcased the pair’s beautiful vocal harmonies along with their spunky energy. Daisy the Great performed the first song they ever released as a band, called “Record Player,” as well a few from their most recent “Tough Kid” EP, but they also introduced some brand new and unreleased material to the Chicago crowd. Dugan introduced one of the newer tracks saying, “This is our last new song, it’s about going on a walk. This song is called ‘Dog.’” Another fan favorite of their set was the song “Liar,” which Dugan explained was about having a secret crush on a friend—relatable!

After a quick changeover, it was time for The Vaccines to grace a Chicago stage for the first time since 2018, when they headlined a sold out Lincoln Hall. I luckily got to see The Vaccines in London in 2019, but it was still long overdue and great to have them back in my hometown—because the only vaccines I had in the meantime were covid and flu vaccines, and the band is a much better experience.

Each time I’ve seen The Vaccines, I know they’ll be great, but they never fail to impress me with just how topnotch they are as performers. This tour was in celebration of their new album Pick-Up Full Of Pink Carnations that they just released this January, and not only do they never miss in the witty and catchy songwriting department, but vocalist Justin Hayward-Young remains consistently charismatic (or as the kids would say nowadays, he has rizz). Whenever he wasn’t stationed in front of the mic stand so he could play guitar, Young slinked and danced his way across the length of the stage. The Vaccines’ stage presence has this effortlessly expressive and cool edge to it, yet it’s affable enough that they still feel approachable.

Although they had a relatively quick set length of an hour, the band still packed in hit after hit, mixing in plenty of fans’ old favorites between new material from their last album. Their set wrapped up on a peak of some of their most popular songs, including my personal favorites “I Always Knew” and “If You Wanna.”

Continuing the theme of familiar favorites, The Kooks kicked off the closing set of the evening with “Seaside” from their debut 2006 album Inside In/ Inside Out— which started simple with lead vocalist Luke Pritchard performing solo before the rest of the band joined him onstage. While The Vaccines were celebrating a new album on this tour, The Kooks were actually spotlighting the anniversary of their debut album, so naturally the set list featured the majority of Inside In/ Inside Out’s track list. True to form, “Seaside” is the first track on the album, and the live show followed suit for the first handful of songs, delivering hit after hit to the eager crowd.

While the band often moved from standing upstage to playing on platforms at the back of the stage, Pritchard alternated from playing guitar to roaming freely around the stage as he sang. During some of their songs, Pritchard even showed off his dance moves that were reminiscent of the infamous Hugh Grant dance scene in “Love Actually”— it must be a British thing. The crowd cheered loudly each time he danced, and they weren’t shy about cheering through out the rest of the show. For example, before “Bad Habit” fro 2014’s Listen, fans mimicked the chorus-like melody back in chant-form.

As we got closer to the finale of the evening, Pritchard told the audience, “If we’re gonna go ballistic, now is that time” before playing “Always Where I Need To Be.” The Kooks wrapped up their main set with “Junk of the Heart (Happy),” but returned to rowdy cheers to perform an encore of “Around Town” and the fan favorite “Naive.”

If you’re looking for a jam-packed night of feel-good songs and nostalgia, make sure to grab a ticket for when the tour hits your city and check out the photo recap of the Chicago show below.

categories / Photos, Reviews, Gigs
tags / Daisy the Great, The Vaccines, The Kooks, The Riviera Theatre, Photo recap, Live Music, Live Review, Jam Productions

Photos: To Kill a King and Fours at The Garage

February 09, 2024  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Saturday night, To Kill a King made their return to the stage in London to perform their debut album Cannibals With Cutlery in full. The performance also marked the 10-year anniversary of the band’s first album. Check out photos of the sold-out special occasion at The Garage, with support from Fours below.

categories / Photos, Gigs
tags / Photo recap, Live Show, To Kill a King, Fours, London, The Garage

Live Recap: Depeche Mode at The United Center

November 18, 2023  /  Josh Darr

Depeche Mode released their 15th studio album, Memento Mori back in March of this year. The first as a duo since the passing of founding member, Andy Fletcher, as well as the first since their last album, Spirit, back in 2017. In support of the new album and to reestablish themselves as a duo they’ve been making their rounds through both Europe and the States with plans to continue on well into 2024. Making their victory lap through Chicago, the duo returned to the United Center on Monday, November 13th for fans to feast on seconds or for those of us who missed dibs on their first go around. The sound like they haven’t missed a beat and their new album although the morbidity and existentialism of its material is exciting to hear and see how the duo have breathed new life into this personally nostalgic and beloved musical estate for this longtime music fan.

Check out photos from the concert below, and see where you can catch Depeche Mode next here.

categories / Gigs, Music, Photos, Reviews
tags / Depeche Mode, Live Recap, Photo recap, Photo Set, United Center

Live Recap: James Blake at The Aragon Ballroom

October 18, 2023  /  Rachel Zyzda

James Blake returned to Chicago to play a headlining show to a packed Aragon Ballroom, returning to the city for the first time since his festival set at Re:SET in June.

Blake took his place at his station onstage, surrounded by a keyboard and synthesizer, and joined by two other live bandmates—one of who goes by the alias Airhead and had opened up the show.

To kick off the show, Blake and his band performed “Asking To Break” and “I Want You To Know” from his latest album Playing Robots Into Heaven. Before playing the third song of the evening, Blake told the audience they were a sight for sore eyes, and joked “We’ll play a little bit of everything, but we’ve only got six hours.” With the third song of the setlist, we pivoted back to one of the singer’s tried and true songs that he performs; a cover of “The Limit To Your Love” by Feist. Blake makes the cover his own with a signature bass drop after the first chorus, and in a live setting, the bass was so intense and visceral that it shook both the floor and my body.

From there, Blake continued to weave between the newer material and some of the hits from his earlier discography, like “Life Round Here” and “Retrograde,” which were both clear fan favorites. Blake also took some time to express his gratitude to the audience for being receptive to his newer music, which he described as being “bouncier”—and some of the new songs definitely gave off more a club vibe than a concert ballroom vibe. The most impressive part of the show had to be that Blake and his band created all of the sounds live, rather than playing from a track. “I always wanted to play electronic music, but I wanted to play it in a band,” he told the crowd.

Near the end of the set, we got some stripped back moments of Blake solo at the piano for a cover of “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean and his 2021 single “Say What You Will.”

If you get the chance to catch the Playing Robots Into Heaven tour, you’re guaranteed to be awed by James Blakes live interpretation of his electronic-leaning tracks, intertwined with some simpler piano-driven moments. See where you can catch the tour next here, and check out photos of the evening below.

categories / Gigs, Reviews, Photos
tags / James Blake, Aragon Ballroom, Live Review, Live Recap, Playing Robots Into Heaven

Photo Recap: The Wombats at The Vic Theatre

September 29, 2023  /  Rachel Zyzda

The Wombats returned to Chicago to perform at The Vic Theatre on Wednesday night. Check out photos of the fun-packed show below and see where you can catch the tour next here.

categories / Photos, Gigs, Music
tags / The Wombats, Live Recap, Live Music, Photo recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: MisterWives and Bishop Briggs at Salt Shed

September 26, 2023  /  Rachel Zyzda

MisterWives and Bishop Briggs kicked off this past weekend with a bang, bringing their co-headlining show “The Don't Look Down Tour” to Salt Shed.

After a support set from Raffaella, the stage was set for Bishop Briggs. Three risers with built-in screens sat across the stage, and Briggs appeared on top of the center block amid an introduction of strobing lights and videos projected on the screens. “I have goosebumps everywhere,” the singer told the packed house after opening the show with her single “Art of Survival.” The set continued with fan favorite “Wild Horses,” which Briggs ran around the stage while performing and “Cherry On Top,” which was just released this summer on the “When Everything Went Dark” EP.

Before playing the fourth song of the evening, Briggs took a break to chat with the audience and share the backstory for “My Shine,” which includes a crush she had once upon a time in Chicago. “I was playing a show in Chicago, and I was singing ‘River.’ I got so into the song that I chipped my tooth and there was blood everywhere. Anyway, I had this night out planned with him after, and I have my front tooth completely halved. I was like ‘let’s do this! I love a challenge’ and we actually did make out that night. That was fun, but something that ended up happening with him was that on show day, he was so lovely and pulled out all the stops and then when we sort of entered into my not-shiny part of my life, he was really cold to me and would be really different. My point in telling you guys this story is that I think it’s so important to be with someone that loves all sides of you, the shiny, the not shiny, and really accepts you fully. Don’t worry, I replaced my Chicago crush. Never let anyone tell you that all facets of you are not good enough, cause that’s not true.”

Throughout the rest of her set, Bishop Briggs continued to connect with the room full of music fans both via her music and the chats she’d have between songs. Other highlights of her show included a cover of Hozier’s “Take Me To Church” and the aforementioned hit “River” that she talked about in her introduction to “My Shine.”

MisterWives closed out the entire evening, continuing to ramp up the positive vibes with their joyful and energetic performance. The band’s stage set up remained similar to Bishop Briggs’, and lead vocalist Mandy Lee began the show in same spot that Briggs had before quickly dancing her way across the front part of the stage. After opening with the introductory song of their new album Nosebleeds, “Out Of Your Mind,” Lee told the crowd they were in a safe space to dance it out, cry it out, and feel it out. “We want you to leave here feeling better than when you came here,” she said. In just a matter of moments, the energy shift in the room was palpable thanks to Lee’s infectious effervescence that radiated from the stage. With every twirl, kick, and dance move Lee made, it felt like she was emitting sprinkles of fairy dust and pure happiness throughout the room. One of my fellow photographers even said “I feel like I just had five shots of espresso” after we finished photographing the first few songs of the evening— that’s just how contagious the band’s spirit was.

Now, I’ve mentioned that Lee continued to dance, jump, kick, and twirl throughout the show, but even more impressive is that her vocal quality never faltered despite the physicality of her performance. Not only did Lee never run out of breath while she essentially did a high-impact workout onstage, she nailed every note and showcased an extensive vocal range.

A large part of the setlist that night featured songs from the Nosebleeds album, and Lee took some time to tell the audience about the experiences that led to some of the newer songs. “Rather than racing to the finish line and trying to find the answers and the silver lining, we leaned into the messy middle, and from that got comfortable in the uncomfortable. I’ve never felt more free in my life, so thank you so much for carrying this record close. In the spirit of that sentiment, this one is ‘Trip Around The Sun.’” During the performance of this song, the visuals onstage resembled a sunrise, continuing to complement the stories behind each song.

As the latter half of the show approached, Lee told the audience “I somehow have chills but I’m sweating,” which is something I think a lot of us could relate to in that moment thanks to her goosebump-inducing vocals. The chills continued when the crowd swayed their arms back and forth in unison during the performance of “Superbloom,” which is the title track of MisterWives’ 2020 album. The hits kept coming when the band performed their mega-popular song “Our Own House” next. For the live performance of the 2015 song, the band played a refreshed arrangement that featured an extended introduction. The night eventually wrapped up with the title song from their new album, “Nosebleeds.”

If you missed out on the fun evening, check out photos below and see where you can catch the tour next here.

categories / Reviews, Music, Gigs, Photos
tags / MisterWives, Bishop Briggs, Salt Shed, Live Recap, Live Review, Photo recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: Jungle with Joesef at Aragon Ballroom

September 22, 2023  /  Rachel Zyzda

This past Tuesday night, Joesef and Jungle performed to a sold-out Aragon Ballroom.

Scottish singer-songwriter Joesef warmed up the full crowd, joined onstage by his four bandmates. Joesef and his band performed their entire set on a small sliver of the stage set up in front of a red curtain that hid the elaborate stage set up for Jungle. While he may not have had much real estate on stage, that didn’t stop Joesef from commanding the room with his dreamy melodies and silky vocals. Joesef’s setlist mostly pulled from his 2023 debut album, Permanent Damage, including “It's Been a Little Heavy Lately” and “Just Come Home With Me Tonight.” He introduced the latter saying “this next song is about sleeping with my ex. Don’t judge me.” His set also included a cover of “Thinking Of You” by Sister Sledge, which was introduced by Joesef saying, “This next song is a cover. Maybe you know it, maybe you don’t. But either way, it’ll get you dancing.” The set closed out with a somewhat self-titled song simply called “Joe,” and before playing it, Joesef demoed the chorus to the crowd, asking them to join in. Joesef’s music complemented Jungle’s sound really well, but I’d also recommend adding him to your playlist if you’re a fan of Years and Years, Neil Frances or Shura.

Next up, the anticipation began to climb as fans waited for the members of Jungle to take the stage, and for the red curtain to drop. Shortly after 9PM, the audience’s wish was granted and the curtain fell to reveal a giant, lit up sign that read JUNGLE at the back of the stage. The founding members of Jungle Josh Lloyd-Watson and Tom McFarland began the set stationed near the back of the stage, surrounded by their live band—which included an array of instruments from percussion, keys/synths, guitar and even a flute.

The tour was in honor of Jungle’s 2023 album Volcano, and the set began with a few tracks from the newest album, including “Us Against The World” and “Dominoes.” The band seamlessly transitioned the latter into an older track “The Heat” from Jungle’s debut self-titled album. Throughout the rest of the set, the band weaved in songs from the course of their discography, which also includes 2018’s For Ever and Loving In Stereo. At any point during the show, I was surrounded by countless people dancing and smiling along to the groovy and soulful sound that Jungle has infused with their electronic beats. Fans were soaking up every bit of the music, but highlights definitely included their single “Back On 74” and “Busy Earnin’.”

If you missed out on the fun times, check out photos of the show below, and see where you can catch the tour next here.

categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Joesef, Jungle, Aragon Ballroom, Live Review, Live Nation, Live Recap

Live Recap: Local Natives and Chartreuse at The Riviera

September 12, 2023  /  Rachel Zyzda

Local Natives returned to Chicago on Friday, September 8th to kick off a new leg of their tour, with support from Chartreuse.

Hailing from Birmingham, England, Chartreuse is composed of Mike Wagstaff, Hattie Wilson, Perry Lovering and Rory Wagstaff, and together the quartet got the crowd primed and ready for Local Natives. Mike and Hattie switched off on vocal duties throughout their set, and their harmonies along with the synths and programing that the band used kind of gave me hints of Sylvan Esso or The Xx. Mike’s vocals also reminded me slightly of Grian Chatten from Fontaines D.C., but overall their sound channels a combination of folk, ambient and electro-pop genres. Chartreuse’s setlist included their songs “Deep Fat” and “Feed Be Fed” from their 2021 EP Is it Autumn Already?, among a few others.

The members of Local Natives made their way onto a dim stage, with giant balloons of the initials “L” and “N” planted in the background of the stage. The show commenced with Taylor Rice, Kelcey Ayer, and Ryan Hahn all huddled around a microphone near the front of the stage to perform an acoustic introduction with the title track of their latest album “Time Will Wait For No One.” (Spoiler alert- this wouldn’t be the only time that night they’d be huddled together near the front of the stage, but more on that later).

Since the tour was in honor of their most recent record, the band fittingly performed a few other newer tracks right off the jump, including “Just Before The Morning” and “Empty Mansions,” which was the live debut of that song. While other tunes from Time Will Wait For No One were sprinkled in throughout the rest of the setlist, we also heard some familiar favorites like the 2017 single “I Saw You Close Your Eyes” and “Coins” from 2016’s Sunlit Youth. The band’s first attempt at the latter was cut short by the PA temporarily blowing out, so the band passed the time with a fully acoustic and unplugged performance of “Who Knows, Who Cares” at the front of the stage, which required the crowd to quiet down.

With the PA back up and running, we got a proper redo of “Coins” before the show continued on. Before performing the Strokes-esque tune “NYE,” Rice took the time to tell the audience the backstory of the song. “Local Natives has a tradition that if one us gets married, we get to be each others’ wedding band. Ryan got married while making this album. We were playing Oasis, The Bee Gees, and this really fast Strokes song. After watching us, he kind of brought this next song to the table and we all jammed it out in the studio in two days, and that’s how ‘NYE’ came to be,” he said.

Following the song’s performance, Rice then took some time to talk about the recent 10 year anniversary of their album Hummingbird, and the band played a few songs from that album, including “Ceilings” and “Columbia.”

For the rest of the night, the energy only continued to escalate, with Rice leaving the stage to join the crowd during “Featherweight.” Fans also went wild during the performance of “Dark Days” which saw Rice and Ayer swapping places on the stage. Before the main part of the set wrapped up, Rice asked the crowd “Do you guys mind if we play ‘Who Knows Who Cares’ one more time?” and we got another full, plugged in performance of that song.

Local Natives kept the good vibes going with a three-song encore. Before performing their second to last song, “Sun Hands,” the band asked everyone to stand up and clap along, which is the least the audience could do during such an uplifting song. Speaking of uplifting, Rice ended up diving into the audience to crowd surf, which has become an epic tradition at their shows over the years. The show wrapped up with another full-house dance party to “When Am I Gonna Lose You.”

If you missed out on all the fun, check out the photo recap below, and see where you can catch Local Natives on tour next here.

categories / Gigs, Photos, Reviews
tags / Local Natives, Chartreuse, The Riviera Theatre, Jam Productions, Live Show, Live Recap, Photo Set, Photo recap