Refused with Racetraitor and Youth Code @ Brooklyn Steel, Brooklyn, NY
Photos and review courtesy of Stephanie Augello | February 22 2020
On Saturday, February 22nd, Swedish hardcore punk legends Refused stopped off at New York’s Brooklyn Steel to give fans a hard-hitting performance of both classic and new songs. Frontman Dennis Lyxzen danced around the stage throughout the whole set, conjuring the spirit of forefathers Mick Jagger and James Brown. Rather Be Dead, Deadly Rhythm, New Noise, and Coup d’etat comprised the list of older songs that many crowd goers had grown up listening to, while songs such as Blood Red and Malfire gave everyone a taste of the shape of the band to come.
Opening that night were Racetraitor and Youth Code. Formed in Chicago in 1998, Racetraitor includes Fallout Boy Drummer Andy Hurley. They reformed in 2016, and remain a well-loved political force on the scene.
Industrial duo Youth Code followed up, generating electricity through the crowd as vocalist Sarah Taylor screamed, snarled, and flipped hair to the bands angsty beats. The Brooklyn stop was only the second night of tour. Refused will be on the road in both North America and Europe through August.
Jungle Giants @ Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
Photos courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | February 9 2020
Lamb of God with Harm's Way @ House of Vans, Chicago, IL
Photos and review courtesy of Rosario Gutierrez | February 14 2020
On February 14th House of Vans gifted the people of Chicago the chance to experience Lamb of God in an intimate venue with the support of Chicago' own Harm's Way.
Walking into the venue you could feel the energy of the eagerly excited fans who had just spent perhaps hours out side in the cold for a chance to be one of the few to see lamb of god perform. Chats began for Lamb of God before the show even started.
Hardcore band Harm's way was the first to take the stage. Not surprising the band instantly won over the crowd with their energy. The band's energy on stage transferred over to the mosh pit warming up the rest of the attendees .
After waiting hours in the freezing cold the crowd was warmed up and Lamb of God took the stage. Crowd surfers came in flying a few seconds into their first song. Never will many get the chance to see a band the size of Lamb of God play a venue as intimate as House of Vans. Fans everywhere in the venue head banging and water flying everywhere as the band played. The band played fan favorite "Redneck" at the very end which was a perfect way to end their valentine's day show experience that they will never forget.
Hollow Coves with Harrison Storm @ Johnny Brenda's, Philadelphia, PA
Photos and review courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | February 8 2020
The Brisbane duo Hollow Coves are embarking on their latest North American tour. Philadelphia marked the second stop on the tour and first sold out show. I wasn’t too familiar with Hollow Coves before going into this show. I’ve been a fan of ‘Coastline’ (or as they joked at a mispronunciation ‘Toastline’) for awhile now after it pops up on YouTube and Spotify frequently for me. In the day of Spotify playlist algorithms to discover new music I’m sure this might have been the case for a lot of others in the room as well.
Hollow Coves did a great job of owning the room, which can be a feat at Johnny Brenda’s when people would rather talk at the bar than actually watch the show they paid to come see. They brought their folky breakdowns and quirky banter to the stage and the crowd loved it. Hoping they make another stateside appearance soon!
Harrison Storm:
Greyson Chance @ The Foundry, Philadelphia, PA
Photos & review courtesy of Carolyn Lederach | January 12 2020
You may have seen that video, from a decade ago. A young kid at a talent show on a piano killing it at ‘Paparazzi’. Skip to current day and you have a twenty two year old with a budding pop career, and a record deal with Artisa this is Greyson Chance. He already has a couple hits under his belt and more to come.
I caught Greyson on his rescheduled Philly show for this Portraits Tour. The Foundry I known for it’s tiny stage for emerging artists and sub-par sound system. But Greyson owned every bit of it and left the packed room super excited the whole night. I’ve had his latest ‘Boots’ on repeat and excited to hear what comes next.
Ariana and the Rose @ Schubas, Chicago, IL
Photos and review courtesy of Taylor Nettnin | February 1st 2020
Photo by Taylor Nettnin
Ariana and the Rose took the stage in Chicago for the first time with a band on Saturday, February 1st, 2020. The pop artist from New York united the crowd during her set, letting everyone express themselves by dancing to her catchy beats while strongly relating to the lyrics that she was singing.
One of the strong points of her set was when she performed “You Were Never My Boyfriend,” the lead single from her most recent EP “Constellations Part 1.” The crowd bopped along as she sang through the powerful lyrics, “you made me think that it was in my head, but I swear, you were never my boyfriend.” The strong message mixed with soulful synth and drums called for a powerful aura from the mostly female crowd.
Photo by Taylor Nettnin
Dazzling the crowd with her strong vocals and whimsical dance moves, Ariana is a force to be reckoned with. Connecting with the crowd as if she was wearing her heart on her sleeve, she put everything she had on the stage and it truly showed. Powering through her popular tracks like “Night Owl,” “Lonely Star,” and “Supercool,” she owned the stage and proved that she is an impeccable performer.
Ariana is a powerhouse performer that everyone needs to put on their radar. You can catch her again in Chicago on Saturday, April 23rd, 2020 at the Empty Bottle. Be sure to be on the lookout for her immersive event Light + Space in your area!
La Dispute @ Metro, Chicago, IL
Photos & review courtesy of Micki Harris | November 18 2019
Last weekend, La Dispute embarked on their fall tour with long time friends and creative collaborators, Touche Amore, as well as Philadelphia native noise punk band, Empath. The tour is promoting Panorama, La Dispute’s fourth studio album which was released in March of this year. As Panorama would be their first new album since Rooms of the House in 2014, the anticipation and the release brought a wave of pent enthusiasm.
Though the new record is brassier than any of their previous works, La Dispute has stayed consistent in what makes them them. After 15 years of making music, listeners can still turn to La Dispute for intense, dark, poetic storytelling accompanied by intricate compositions, often with atypical time signatures. They speak of grief and agony, as they’ve been doing all these years, making their live shows a space for release.
As usual, their set ignited an emotional fire in the crowd, in a room packed from wall to wall. The majority of their setlist were songs from Panorama but made sure to throw in some deep cuts, like “How I Feel” and “Why it Scares Me” from their 2010 split with Touche Amore, joined onstage by Jeremy Bolm, Touche’s vocalist. For their encore, they came back onstage with “The Last Lost Continent,” a 10 minute song off their earliest record, Somewhere at the Bottom of the River Between Vega and Altair. It then became clear how dedicated the room full of fans were and how long they’d all been a part of La Dispute’s journey.
The tour will be travelling across the US through mid-December and I highly recommend trying to make it out to the show nearest you. Check out photos from the Metro show below:
Fever 333 @ O2 Forum Kentish Town, London
Photos courtesy of Gili Dailes | November 7 2019
