Filtering by Tag: Chicago Theatre

Live Recap: Craig David at The Chicago Theatre

May 16, 2024 / Rachel Zyzda

On May 13th, British artist Craig David made a long-awaited return to Chicago to headline The Chicago Theatre.

Despite it being a rainy Monday night, fans flocked to the historic venue to see the singer perform here for the first time since 2001. As the crowd filed into their seats, a DJ warmed up them up and got the good vibes flowing. The DJ even shared with the crowd that he first got into Craig David after hearing “Fill Me In” for the first time in the early 2000’s, which I’m sure was a common thread with some of the fans in the audience.

When it was time for the main event, Craig David’s live band and backing vocalists took their places on stage first, before he eventually made his grand entrance. Immediately, the seated show-goers got to their feet and began singing and dancing.

After performing a few songs, including “What’s Your Flava?,” “Ain't Giving Up” and the aforementioned hit “Fill Me In,” Craig took some time to address the crowd and let them know he’d be journeying through a catalog of old favorites and new material throughout the show.

Craig delivered on that promise and even threw in a cover of “Show Me Love” by Robin S for good measure, as well as songs he featured on like “Abracadabra” with Wes Nelson and “Got It Good” with Kaytranada. No matter what he was singing, Craig delivered flawless vocals throughout the show, which were often complemented by his backing singers and accompanying musicians, who added a rich texture to the show’s production. The band members all got introductions and quick showcases of their talents during the song “Time to Party,” which had everyone dancing along and in good spirits.

The main set concluded with “16,” where Craig sings and raps about “doing this since I was sixteen” and it’s clear from the seamless and smooth performance that he’s mastered the craft of being an excellent performer.

The full band took a bow before leaving the stage and returning to demands for an encore. The journey concluded with “Insomnia” from 2008 and the iconic hit “7 Days.”

Check out photos from the Chicago performance below, and see where you can catch Craig David on the road next here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Music, Gigs
tags / Craig David, Chicago Theatre, Live Nation, Live Review, Live Recap, Photo Set

Live Recap: Bright Eyes and Christian Lee Hutson at The Chicago Theatre

March 29, 2022 / Rachel Zyzda

This past Saturday night, the iconic Chicago Theatre hosted a rare performance from Bright Eyes and special guest Christian Lee Hutson.

The evening kicked off with Christian Lee Hutson and his two bandmates for a set that combined indie folk songs and witty banter. Hutson’s set began with “Atheist” from his debut album, aptly called Beginners. As he began to play an unreleased song, Hutson started to give the backstory but paused and told the crowd it’d be better if he explained it afterwards. In the lyrics, he described an Instagram page that I’ve come across in real life, called “Siblings or Dating?” After wrapping up the song, Hutson informed the audience that the real Instagram page in fact inspired the song, and described the page as being one that posts random pictures of people and the premise (as you’ve probably predicted) is to guess if the pair is dating or related. Hutson also told the audience about his upcoming sophomore album called Quitters, which he joked would be his last because he’s quitting. The rest of the set contained some familiar favorites like “Get The Old Band Back Together,” which Hutson prefaced as being about “these guys I went to high school with who started a band, like sixteen years ago. But they’ve never played a gig before.” Overall, Hutson’s sound meshed really well with the forthcoming Bright Eyes set and the beautiful acoustics of the Chicago Theatre.

Between sets, excited chatter bounced around the room as fans anticipated Bright Eyes returning to the stage in Chicago. While I’ve gotten to see Conor Oberst perform with different projects in more recent years, it had been more than ten years since a Bright Eyes performance in the city. The scene was set with a massive backdrop in the form of an eye-chart that read the band’s name, and more than 15 musicians entered the stage, including Bright Eyes members alongside a strings and horns section. The show began with 2020’s “Dance and Sing,” in which Oberst fittingly performed sans instrument, and instead twirled around the stage with just his microphone. Next up, Oberst stationed himself at the piano to throw it back to the early 2000’s with their fan-favorite “Lover I Don’t Have to Love.” Throughout the set, Oberst and the band circulated around the stage, with the strings section and horns section sometimes leaving the stage entirely—but no matter what song was being performed, the live arrangements remained layered and expansive in order to provide the best live translation of the studio versions. For example, the strings section added an encompassing warmth to “Four Winds” that had the crowd listening with awe and appreciation.

Throughout most of the show itself, fans mostly remained in their seats, attentively listening or singing along to their favorite lyrics, but between songs, deafening cheers and raucous applause filled the room. During certain fan favorite songs and towards the end of the show, the audience couldn’t resist standing up out of their seats in order to further revel in the moment. The full band returned onstage for the final song before the encore, “Comet Song,” and as the tune came to a close, the band received a standing ovation from the audience.

When fans hollered for an encore, Bright Eyes obliged and returned to play “First Day of My Life” from 2005’s I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning. The song is my personal favorite from Bright Eye’s catalog, as I’m sure it is to many other fans, but it hasn’t been a staple in the setlist this tour, so it was a pleasant surprise to hear it on Saturday night. One of the backing musicians also played the flute during the song, which made the moment even more special to witness. The encore wrapped up with “I Believe in Symmetry” and “One for You, One for Me.”

If you missed out on the special performance, check out the photo gallery below and see where you can catch the tour next here. Lastly, make sure you pre-order the reissues of Bright Eyes’ iconic releases here, and you can pre-order Quitters by Christian Lee Hutson here.

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categories / Reviews, Photos, Gigs
tags / Bright Eyes, Christian Lee Hutson, Chicago Theatre, Live Review, Live Recap, Photo Set, Photo Gallery

Live Recap: Hozier Doubleheader at The Chicago Theatre

November 12, 2019 / Rachel Zyzda

Earlier this summer, Hozier drew a massive crowd to his evening Lollapalooza set, so it’s no surprise when he announced his Fall tour around the US, he had two nights in Chicago on the schedule. Both nights of Hozier’s doubleheader took place at the historic Chicago Theatre downtown, bringing the songs from his second album Wasteland, Baby! to life in a beautiful and intimate setting.

The evening began with a solo set from Australian singer-songwriter Angie McMahon, who effortlessly captured the sold out room with her stunning vocal range and witty lyrics. Although she usually performs with a full band, McMahon’s stripped down performance allowed for the crowd to truly appreciate her talent both as a singer and lyricist, which led to a standing ovation from the seated audience.

Following a brief intermission, Hozier and his multi-talented bandmates filled the stage, accompanied by a flash of lights that complemented the mood of the songs. As Hozier played through a few of his new songs like “As It Was” and “Nina Cried Power,” customized visuals flickered across the screen that stretched across the background of the stage, creating a multifaceted production level for the show. Between Hozier’s storytelling that crafts an intricate picture, the buttery harmonies his bandmates stacked behind him, and the topnotch musicianship from everyone on the stage, Hozier’s show would have been great— but combining all of that with the visual production created an immersive experience that allowed the audience members to find sanctuary from the outside world the duration of the concert.

In addition to the new material from his second album, Hozier also performed more fleshed out arrangements of his earlier songs and tested out some brand new, unreleased songs that sounded flawless despite his disclaimer that the songs still had some kinks to be worked out. Naturally, when the time came for Hozier to play his final song of the evening—the single “Work Song”— it was hard to believe nearly two hours had passed because we’d all been in such a daze.

If you get the chance to see Hozier perform, don’t miss the magical experience— see his upcoming tour dates here, and check out photos from the first night in Chicago below.