Together Pangea @ Cobra Lounge - Chicago
Together Pangea with Sad Park + Skating Polly @ Cobra Lounge - Chicago
Together Pangea in Chicago - Photos Courtesy of Kaitlyn Johnston
Together Pangea brought their brand of loud indie punk to a sold-out crowd at Cobra Lounge on Easter weekend. Saturday’s crowd showed up early, and in a big way. The lineup for this leg of the tour seemed to be catered perfectly for Together Pangea’s die-hards to find their new favorite bands. Opening the evening was Sad Park - a young band reminiscent of if emo sweethearts Prince Daddy & the Hyena lost their hard exterior and focused on being a more palatable, radio-ready version of their best attributes. Following was Skating Polly - a band so dynamic and diverse musically that there was no time to lose interest in their 45 min set. With loads of punk energy and loud, saturated bass lines - Skating Polly took charge of the stage and claimed it as their own. Both openers did an excellent job of setting up the evening for Together Pangea. The band took the stage, and from the first note, the room exploded with energy. The California veterans tore through 19 songs quickly and without a wasted moment and left the room wanting more.
Sad Park
Skating Polly
Geographer @ Sleeping Village - Chicago
March 29th 2022: Geographer with Chong the Nomad @ Sleeping Village - Chicago
You’d never know it from the low-key exterior of Sleeping Village in Chicago, but on the evening of March 29, the inside of the venue was a glow. Geographer and Chong The Nomad as support came through with some of the best live sets I’ve ever seen.
Chong The Nomad is a name you must keep on your radar as an ethereal vocalist and jaw-droppingly talented electronic producer. Her music forces you to dance- you just can’t help it. While the crowd was small during her opening set, she performed as if it were for a festival of thousands and danced around the stage often forgetting about her own sprained ankle she mentioned at the start of her set.
The drummer and lead vocalist duo that made up Geographer’s live show also provided a beautiful performance of light and color, both sonically and visually. While simple, their production of neon glowing beams behind them set up their show for greatness, and even with just two artists gracing the stage, their presence was massive. Geographers’ sound builds within each of their individual songs but also builds throughout their set, reaching anthem-level energy even within such a small space.
The Geographer and Chong The Nomad tour wraps up this week with dates in El Paso and Tucson, and I definitely look forward to what’s to come from both of these artists.
Chong the Nomad
Matt Maltese @ Beat Kitchen - Chicago
March 27th 2022: Matt Maltese with Girl Puppy @ Beat Kitchen - Chicago
Matt Maltese - Photos Courtesy of Alana Swaringen
Matt Maltese hosted his sold-out Chicago show on March 27th at Beat Kitchen, with Girlpuppy as his support. The combination of these artists on this bill was a perfect setup, as both provide a very haunting and intimate sound but in entirely different ways. Girlpuppy gave a dreamy and melodic intro to the evening and while her soft grunge aesthetic contrasts Matt Maltese’s sound, her performance was what was needed to get the night started.
Upon reflection, this evening really caught me by surprise- Maltese’s committed fans waited outside long before doors opened, and were passionate about nailing that perfect spot to see the talented piano player and singer. What was surprising was as a performer who’s seated during his entire set, Maltese can only provide so much crowd interaction that the appeal of being close to him didn’t seem to cross my mind. But once his show began, I understood the captivation that his sound provides, the sonic energy that just pulls you in and makes you want to do anything to catch a glimpse of him moving his fingers across the piano keys. Maltese also had no lack of crowd interaction whatsoever, constantly checking in on his audience and cracking jokes. Maltese’s haunting and emotionally fueled ballads were balanced with intertwined humor. It was clear that almost everyone in the room was both moved and entertained.
Matt Maltese just completed his US run and will continue some touring in the Uk and Europe when the fall rolls around. To hold us over until we can see him live once again, check out his recent 5 song EP drop “Quiet Recordings” out now.
Girl Puppy
Dashboard Confessional with Sydney Sprague @ The Louisville Palace - Louisville, KY
Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World brought their co-headlining Surviving The Truth Tour to Louisville, KY on March 9th to a packed house! Performing at the beautiful and historic Louisville Palace Theatre, it was a beautiful setting for an incredible night of music. Starting things off this evening was Phoenix singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sydney Sprague. Having released her debut album, maybe i will see you at the end of the world, in February of 2021, she performed plenty of tracks from the album along with a few other songs. With a really fun alternative indie rock vibe, she and her bandmates had fun together on stage and got the crowd warmed up for the evening ahead!
Taking the stage next was Dashboard Confessional, and singer Chris Carabba was all smiles as he walked out on stage. Starting things off acoustically, Chris’s band then joined him on stage for the remainder of the set- Abigail Kelly, Dane Poppin, Armon Jay, Scott Schoenbeck, and Chris Kamrada. Early in the set, after a sing song from the crowd (of which there were plenty throughout the evening!), Chris exclaimed, “It sounds like there’s 10,000 people in here! This is fantastic! Do you get to come to this theater for all of the shows? Invite me sometime! I’d love to come back!”. He then went on to say that he had put out a new record a week or so ago and wanted to just play one new song, “The Better of Me”, telling the crowd how disappointed they must feel because they were probably all hoping to hear the whole record! Chris was in great spirits this evening, laughing and joking with the crowd! After finding out it was an audience member’s birthday, he asked the crowd “How many people here have birthdays today?”, joking that that he and his band had found out months ago that it was each of their birthdays and planned the whole show for them and that it was hard to pull off! He then dedicated the next song “Saints and Sailors” to the “birthday folks”. He later noticed a to of young people in the crowd, saying “That means it must be someone’s first ever show! I remember that feeling! Welcome!”. With the setlist full of classic Dashboard songs, he had the crowd singing along all night to hits such as “Again I Go Unnoticed”, “The Brilliant Dance”, “Screaming Infidelities”, “The Good Fight”, “Hands Down”, and “Vindicated”, they gave the crowd an incredible set full of sing alongs, dancing, and a good dose of nostalgia (for us older folks!).
Headlining this evening was Jimmy Eat World! Starting things off with a bang, they had the crowd going in no time! With beautiful and, at times, dramatic lighting that seemed to correspond to the music, they were having a great time with each other on stage and feeding off of the energy of the crowd. A few songs in lead singer/guitarist Jim Adkins announced the band as Jimmy Eat World from Mesa, Arizona and asked everyone how they were doing before launching into their hit song “Bleed American”. He then told the crowd, “I heard you going off tonight during Dashboard Confessional’s set!You decided you were ready to party tonight! So are well!”. He then told the crowd, “Thank you so much for coming out! We will probably say that many more times tonight. We don’t take anything for granted anymore. The fact that we can still be here so many years later and you’re still here…thank you so much for supporting us over the years! We will be playing a lot of older songs tonight. It’s because we are old (laughs)!”. They proceeded to play hits such as “Here You Me”, “The Middle”, “Get It Faster”, “Sweetness”, and “All The Way (Stay)”. It was an incredibly fun night in a beautiful and intimate setting!
Sydney Sprague
Dashboard Confessional
Jelani Aryeh @ The Fillmore - Philadelphia, PA
VALLEY @ The Foundry - Philadelphia, PA
Words & Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | February 19th 2022
To say that the Valley show was one of the most fun shows I’ve been to in a while would be an understatement. After having Valley on repeat for most of the pandemic, it was super exciting to finally catch them live. Their thoughtful and fun songwriting gives their music a sad but fun feel. The four-piece give their live show an extra something special since all four members are super interactive throughout the show, sometimes switching out who is playing, singing, it really is a way to keep you on your toes when watching the show. The Foundry always gives a bit of restriction to performance range for most bands, but Valley really found a way to make the most of the space available. With the span of their career thus far they have really continued to get better with every release and I’m super excited to see how this band continues to grow, they deserve it all.
Bad Suns @ Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA
Words & Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | February 20th 2022
Like most bands, it’s been a minute since we’ve seen Bad Suns out on tour. A band that is no stranger to touring their four albums. The latest is their newest album, Apocolypse Whenever. I’ve been following Bad Suns since the release of Language & Perspective in 2014 and this was somehow the first time I was able to actually make it to a show and they did not disappoint! You can tell Bad Suns are a band that are no strangers to the stage, with every move perfectly planned. The setlist was the perfect combo of the new album as well as the old gems.
Opening the show were the equally great Little Image and Kid Bloom who both brought the fun in preparation for Bad Suns set.
Kid Bloom & Little Image:
Kacey Musgraves @ Wells Fargo Center - Philadelphia, PA
Words & Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | January 26th 2022
Queen Kacey made her triumphant appearance in Philadelphia this past week at Wells Fargo Center, the fifth stop on her Star-Crossed Tour. Bringing along with her a stellar opening line-up including MUNA (yes they played ‘Silk Chiffon’, duh) and King Princess.
Kacey donned an amazing all-white jumpsuit, scattered with a tiny sword pattern. Just like the rest of her wardrobe on tour, it was nothing short of amazing. Oh, and of course, she was barefoot. The set included a great heart-shaped production, including little cute surprises along with the way like pink confetti for ‘Cherry Blossom’, and a money gun for ‘Breadwinner’, just to name a few. However, there seems to be a fail on the giant fire heart during ‘Star-Crossed’, which seemed to be a letdown for some. But the excitement of the rest of the show easily made that a forgettable issue.
The set consisted of songs that would appeal to old and new Kacey fans alike. Starting off with the first five tracks from Star-Crossed, then a nice selection of the hits from Golden Hour, with not a lot of looking back to releases before then. Another fan highlight was the cover song toward the end, where Kacey covered Dolly Parton’s iconic hit, ‘9 to 5’. Overall, a great night, filled with many flashy cowboy hats.
King Princess & MUNA:
