The Venue: See my previous review of The Metro. Excellent venue, but it lost some points for the merch booth being on the wrong side of the ticket check.
The Crowd: 4/5. What a fun crowd, even during the openers, they were moving, bouncing--even singing a long at some points. Good vibe, never an undeserved bored moment.
First Opener--Mark Rose (3/5) Former front man, guitarist lyricist for Spitalfield, Mark Rose, was really not suited to rest of the show. Very PG, no real push to it. It largely consisted of a man with an acoustic guitar, supplemented very slightly by another person on an electric guitar. It was the kind of thing that older people would call "good clean fun.” Despite this dilemma, he brought a lot to the stage. Because of where I was standing it actually took me about half the set to realize that there was another person on stage. The lyrics were a bit too sanitized, and would have been more at home in the nineteen fifties. The technical talent was there, as well as decent vocals, but if he's going to make it solo he has to bring a little more drive to the table.
Second Opener--Cavashawn (4/5)Nearly lost points on the hard to type and pronounce name. In sharp contrast to the previous act, front man Scott Salmon (sic) came out with a lot of drive, energy, and presence. Salmon was constantly moving, working the crowd, getting them to dance, clap and even sing along. On top his ability to work the crowd, his vocals were sharp, and had wide range from falsetto to something nearing baritone. The music itself was retro with a bitter twist in the lyrics. The love songs were at once cynical and hopeful. Their music was worth buying, though I didn't at the show, as the merch booth was jammed.
Final Opener-- Sing It Loud (2.5/5) Started out working the crowd fairly well. Not a very clean sound live. The music itself didn't have enough complexity and not crisp enough The front man does not have the best voice. The lyrics are simplistic and often repetitive. Nevertheless, they tried to keep the crowd moving and they complied more or less, though they lost a lot of their momentum due to the number of new songs played. The band put forth a lot of energy, however they didn't seem to understand what the crowd wanted or how to pace a rock show.
Main Act- The Academy is... (5/5) Goddamn. I never run out of good things to say about these guys. The Academy is.. are constantly innovative, always pushing the envelope to see what they can do. No two albums sound the same, yet with William Beckett's unmistakable vocal style they are always recognizable as TAI's work.
However, this show wasn't about the new and experimental; this was a celebration of the 5th anniversary of their first full album, Almost Here(2005). It was an homage to the fans that put TAI on the map. Despite this familiarity, there were no ruts or lulls. From the first word the fans were singing along, leaping, and dancing. However, Beckett, true to his previous shows, kept working the crowd with a spirited fervor. The fans returned his energy almost tenfold, and rather than simply take like other artists often do, he continued to give. The smile almost never left his eyes or his lips. Not only that, but he seemed to have an intrinsic knowledge about how long to spend at which part of the stage-- he was constantly in motion--quite literally in the crowd at some points. William Beckett is a powerhouse of rock and roll energy.
I hereby retract any apprehension at their new found popularity. Come back soon boys, Chicago will always welcome you.
