Alt-J & Portugal. The Man with Windser @ Credit Union 1 Arena - Chicago
Alt-J & Portugal. The Man with Windser @ Credit Union 1 Arena - Chicago
Joe Newman of Alt-J in Chicago - Photos Courtesy of Victoria Sanders
The first time I saw Alt-J was in 2013 - I received an email asking if I was available to work that night selling merch for their show. Fast-forward nearly ten years later, I still enjoy every time I’ve been able to see them - be it in a 400 capacity venue, DJing after their Lollapalooza after show, a festival, and now, the Credit Union 1 Arena at UIC in Chicago. It’s wild to be able to stay on an adventure with a band for so long and watch them do every thing on their own terms. It’s served them well, and I truly cannot wait for each new chapter Alt-J creates for themselves.
They were in Chicago co-headlining with Portugal. The Man (coincidentally, the first time I saw them I was also doing merch for them at a Lollapalooza after show) and opener Windser (who I urge you to check out - what a great human with great music as well).
Here are a lot of photos from that night. From Alt-J’s impressively massive projections and production to PTM’s ode to Bill & Ted, we hope you enjoy!
Portugal. The Man
Windser
Glass Animals with Sad Night Dynamite @ Credit Union 1 Arena - Chicago
Glass Animals Dreamland Tour with Sad Night Dynamite
Glass Animals at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago - Photos Courtesy of Victoria Sanders
If you haven’t yet heard “Heat Waves” by Glass Animals, I’m not sure you listen to music at all. The song is now one of my mother’s favorite car songs, and has been atop the charts for a LOOOOONG time. It’s the longest #1 on the charts since the Spice Girls “Wannabe,” - which yes, my mother also liked 25 years ago. Here’s our coverage of the Dreamland tour with a WHOLE lotta photos because this production was dreamy (no pun intended) and demanded an obscene amount of photos to be taken.
Don’t forget to scroll through the photos of the Chicago stop's opener, Sad Night Dynamite - who the crowd ate up and showed a lot of well-deserved love to.
Sad Night Dynamite
We told you there were a lot of photos. ;)
Aminé with AJ Tracey & 454 @ Aragon Ballroom - Chicago, IL
The Best Tour Ever Tour - Chicago
Aminé in Chicago (March 2022) - Photos courtesy of Victoria Sanders
The most Portland Chicago has ever been.
Aminé makes me smile. He should make you smile too. The Best Tour Ever Tour was in fact.. the best. From the most in the production and design side of things (see credits below), there wasn’t a way to not enjoy every moment of the show. And yes, if you aren’t fully familiar with his catalog, you still would have known most of the set - he’s just like that. It feels like we’ve had Aminé making songs for us forever, and let’s hope it continues to feel that way for eternity.
Stage Concept: Aminé
Stage Fabrication: Wasted Potential & Lansirlart Studios
Lighting: Wasted Potential
Production: Hans Tolo
And shouts out to his amazing PR team at Orienteer for always coming through.
AJ Tracey - if you haven’t heard of AJ, you’re more than missing out on one of the UK’s best lyricists. Mans has songs with Skepta, Giggs, Headie One, Stormzy, slowthai… need I go on.
AJ Tracey
454 & AJ Tracey @ Aragon Ballroom
Viagra Boys with Provoker @ Warsaw- Brooklyn, NY
Photos & words courtesy of Edwina Hay | April 4th 2022
Stockholm post-punk band Viagra Boys tour came to Brooklyn, NY for a sold-out show at Warsaw on Monday, April 4, 2022. They’re currently on their first North American tour after the release of their 2021 record, Welfare Jazz, and will wrap up their jaunt in the US by performing at Coachella at the end of the month.
Viagra Boys are joined on this tour by Los Angeles’ Provoker, their YEAR0001 record labelmates. Provoker kicked off the night at 8PM with their moody songs that were further enhanced by the dramatic stage lights. Their debut album, Body Jumper, was also released last year and their setlist consisted of those songs. Before they began “Blue Sheen,” vocalist Christian Petty requested blue lights to compliment the track.
Taking the stage at 9PM were the Viagra Boys. After the band appeared on stage, singer Sebastian Murphy immediately took off his shirt before they began their first song, “Research Chemicals,” from their 2016 EP Consistency of Energy. He spent much of their set drinking and spewing beer, crawling around on stage, and announcing that it was his birthday in between songs. At one point, many people in the audience began to sing “Happy Birthday” to him before the band started another song. The five members of Viagra Boys blazed through their dozen song setlist plus two song encore (“Sports” and “Down in the Basement”).
This was my first time seeing Viagra Boys live due to me missing their prior NYC shows at Bowery Ballroom and Rough Trade NYC (which subsequently closed with only the record store relocating to 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan) in 2019. I arrived at the venue expecting a rowdy and fun show and the band, along with the audience, lived up to those expectations.
Wolf Alice @ Stage AE - Pittsburgh
April 1st 2022: Wolf Alice with Charlie Hickey @ Stage AE - Pittsburgh
Glass Animals in Washington DC - Photos Courtesy of Gabby Ames
Wolf Alice went on their second US headline tour for their recent album Blue Weekend. They played a sold out show at Stage AE in Pittsburgh, with support from Charlie Hickey. The venue had a very intimate feeling which made it easier for the band to interact with the audience during the set. Bringing in the emotions with No Hard Feelings and showing angst with Play The Greatest Hits, it was definitely a show to remember.
Charlie Hickey
Yungblud with UPSAHL @ The Warfield - San Francisco
Photos & words by Dana Jacobs | March 17th 2022
Yungblud’s hotly anticipated Life on Mars tour took one of its last stops in San Francisco earlier this month to a fervently energized sold-out crowd. Hours before Yungblud, the stage name of Dominic Harrsion, took the stage, hundreds of fans wrapped around the venue. By the time the lights dimmed awaiting Harrison, the crowd was visibly restless with anticipation. The roar that filled the venue as Harrison’s silhouette emerged at the microphone was a testament to his enduring popularity.
Yungblud’s music heavily incorporates themes of mental health, isolation, and struggling to fit in. Harrison leans into these themes throughout his live shows, and San Francisco was no expectation. In between high-octane bursts of energy jumping around the stage, Harrison spoke with the audience about the importance of finding community together and reaffirming safety of his shows for all fans. Harrison unfurled pride flags multiple times as they were thrown onstage by fans, to the audience’s uproarious applause.
Yungblud’s set was relatively short at only 14 songs including an encore, but his seemingly boundless energy made for a continuously engaging night. Through high energy songs like “parents” and “The Funeral,” Harrison quite literally jumped and ran up and down the stage while maintaining impressive vocal control. Saving one of his most popular and meaningful tracks, “Machine Gun,” until the final encore song, Harrison ensured that an already raucous night ended on both a spirited and significant message
Opening for Yungblud was rising alt-pop singer UPSAHL, whose effortlessly cool set electrified the crowd. Since the release of her debut album Lady Jesus in 2021, the young Arizona native has garnered massive success with singles like “Drugs” and “People I Don’t Like” stacking up tens of millions of streams. The angsty punch of UPSAHL’s alt-pop songs fit perfectly with the Doc Martens and fishnets aesthetic of the crowd, who responded in kind as they sang along. UPSAHL commanded the stage with unbothered swagger as she moved deftly between playing bass, guitar, and working the stage with just her microphone. Despite a relatively short opening set, the young artist left the crowd energized and eagerly awaiting UPSAHL’s next move.
Amber Mark with Shaun Ross @ Lincoln Hall - Chicago, IL
Photos & words by Timi Ikene | April 03 2022
On April 3rd, Amber Mark performed one of the most electrifyingly intimate shows I've seen an R&B artist perform. She engaged the crowd so well that a novice fan became a die-hard one by the third song. Between the funky rhythms, melodic electric keys, and Mark's silky voice, I think it's safe to say she'll be selling out more shows in Chicago to come.
Glass Animals @ The Anthem - Washington DC
March 29th 2022: Glass Animals with Sad Night Dynamite @ The Anthem - Washington DC
Glass Animals in Washington DC - Photos Courtesy of Gabby Ames
On March 29th, Glass Animals brought all the energy to Washington DC on their first of two sold out shows. They played songs from their first album ZABA as well as their more recent album Dreamland. With an incredible set design that brought the cover of Dreamland to life, they finished off the night playing their hit “Heat Waves”.
Sad Night Dynamite
