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
Tyler, the Creator, Kali Uchis, Vince Staples and Teezo Touchdown @ Fiserv Forum - Milwaukee
Call Me If You Get Lost Tour at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.
Photos and words courtesy of Victoria Sanders @veesanders.
CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST
It was just about four years to the date from the first time I had covered Vince Staples and Tyler, the Creator. They had a tour in 2018 that had two sold-out nights at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Since then, I’ve been lucky enough to cover Vince Staples a handful more times before the Call Me If You Get Lost tour which has Tyler, the Creator headling, and support from the ethereal Kali Uchis, in my very biased opinion, one the best on a stage - Vince Staples, and Teezo Touchdown to kick things off.
I went up to an absolutely freezing Milwaukee to cover this show, walked into the venue during the start of a snowstorm and left with measurable snow on the ground - but that fact did not stop a single person from showing up and making as much noise as they could for each and every artist. Teezo’s set had a very midwestern garage feel to it that I’m sure most of the crowd could related to - a very DIY home improvement vibe for sure.
Kali Uchis
Vince Staples performed entirely on the b-stage, or the stage in the middle of the floor ticketed space with no set, just lights and haze. That’s all he ever honestly has needed. His ability to control a crowd’s attention based on his style has always existed, and he continues to master it on the arena-level now.
Kali Uchis was back on the main stage with a minimal set, bright and fitting lighting and her dancers who enhanced her already every perfect move. Having seen and covered Kali’s sets in various sized venues in the past, she was born to control an arena stage and crowd. In the 15 or so minutes the media had access to take photos of her, I don’t think I ever stopped because every single move was made to be captured.
…and of course the night ends with Tyler. Starting off with the crowds physically measurable anticipation, the scale and detail of the set is immediately visible, with Tyler being driven up and out of the stage to the front of the stage-sized mansion façade. A few songs in brings Tyler his speedboat to drive him to the b-stage, which just adds to the entire production - from start to finish - being put together as an experience, not merely a show one goes to and leaves at the end. The b-stage had the feel of an island, with it’s sparse vegetation, and had amazingly intimate lighting to make the entire experience feel like it’s just you and Tyler on that island. Each time Tyler moved a single inch, the crowd moved along with him till the set ended with RUNITUP.
Vince Staples
Also of major note to as far as production details - when Who Dat Boy was performed, a silhouette of A$AP Rocky could be seen in the mansions windows. One of many well-thought out production parts to this amazing tour.
Teezo Touchdown
Lyn Lapid & Eric Nam @ The Vic Theater - Chicago, IL
Eric Nam at Chicago’s Vic Theater.
Photos and words by Victoria Sanders (@veesanders).
Eric Nam has been called an accidental K-Pop star. The Korean-American superstar competed on Star Audition: Birth of a Great Star 2 in Seoul in 2011/12. He placed within the top five, and there’s been no looking back. This January, Nam released his second English-language album, There and Back Again, and has been supporting it’s release on a sold-out US tour. Fans lined up hours in advance of the Chicago show coming from cities near and far to experience the show, which had amazing production, choreography and energy. The fan-created signs ranged from kid-friendly to can’t-show-your-grandmother, and Eric made sure to check every one of them out. We covered the show in Chicago, with the fantastic and dreamy Lyn Lapid opening up.
Eric Nam / Chicago
Photo: @veesanders
Wallice & Still Woozy @ The Riviera Theatre - Chicago
Still Woozy in Chicago (2022/02/19). Photography and words by Victoria Sanders (@veesanders).
Still Woozy (Interscope) came to Chicago with a massively full crowd ready to dance and sing along for his If This Isn't Nice Tour. The room was already full by the time Wallice took the stage, one of Dirty Hit Records’s newest artists. Follow along our gallery for some of our favorite moments from The Riviera Theatre, located in the Uptown Neighborhood of the city.
