music scene CHI

Sun 26 Feb – Tennis, In Tall Buildings
Turns out the husband/wife combination of Patrick Riley and Alaina Moore discovered more than open water when the duo left their hometown of Denver to sail together over ocean waters. The two also discovered their incredibly palatable indie-pop sound and transformed it into something worth listening. The couple, along with drummer and other multi-instrumentalist, infused Lincoln Hall with an overwhelming feeling reminiscent of what I imagined to be a nostalgic, 80’s high school prom scene. The only thing missing was the Rat Pack. 

The opening song It All Feels The Same set the tone for evening with floating guitar chords and light-weighted female vocals that drifted throughout many cuts from their recently released record Young & Old. About halfway through the show, lead singer Alaina Moore took the mic and fixed herself center stage as she prefaced the crowd about the danceability of forthcoming Petition. It did indeed increase the intensity of head-bobbing and body hopping amongst the venue’s patrons. Other tracks like High Road and Traveling kept the audience steadily engaged until the lead single Origins finished the set. Rest assured the energy level never matched that of a contemporary high school prom.

In my short years attending live shows, an encore has become all but required for any artist worth witnessing live. Tennis left no exception to this new standard by returning to the stage for a short two song encore that was more old than young; finishing the night with Take Me Somewhere from the couple’s first studio album Cape Dory. Make no faults about it, Tennis has the modern, pure-hearted chemistry to make the average person think of more than the classic, preppy sport for which they are named. 

Follow Tennis on Twitter @TennisInc and follow me too! @wackingmonkey

Thu 23 Feb – Young the Giant, Walk the Moon

High energy and excitement were brought to The Riviera Theater stage as indie pop rock sensation Young the Giant played another sold out show in their still fresh, MTV endorsed tour with Walk the Moon. The Irvine, California group rocked and danced the stage with crashing drums, pop ballad guitar riffs and soaring vocals from lead singer Sameer Gadhia. It didn’t take any time to get the youthful crowd completely involved. With vibrant light displays and illuminated cubes accenting the stage the five piece band had all systems working as they played radio hit ‘Cough Syrup’ and summer-jam ‘Strings’. 

The steady ascension of anticipation from the crowd continued to build throughout the entirety of the show. From the moment Gadhia and company greeted the crowd through the proverbial encore, the entire venue was filled electric lights, wailing vocals, poppy guitar riffs and a little crowd surfing! The encore added an unprecedented reappearance of the entire band in fur coats for a Chicago-only rendition of native R. Kelly’s Ignition Remix. It was a smashing success of blended hip-hop beats and pop vocals. The grand finale came in the form of the danceable ‘My Body’, arguably the most upbeat song of the night. These guys simply ignited the crowd and did MTV proud. This is a must see live band if you want to be young… or feel like a giant. There, I said it.

Follow @YoungTheGiant on Twitter - Follow me too - @wackingmonkey