The Venue: I’ve reviewed the House of Blues something like 9 times. Coming to the House of blues is like seeing an old friend after years. I hadn’t been their in a long while and it is far and away my favorite venue, if not my favorite place in Chicago period. It was a second home when I first started to go out to concerts on my own and it still feels like it.
Charming Liars (2/6): The instrumentation saved this band. The drum work was solid and the guitar work was pleasantly showy in places. Their sound was very much in keeping with the rest of the evening--bitter alt. rock with a slightly hardened edge. The frontman made a diligent effort to get the crowd pumped, but they were having none of it. Given that he took half the set to warm up and had a mediocre voice in the first place, it was understandable. The energy and edgy, bitter lyrics were enough to salvage the set, but on the whole they were sub-par.
10 Years (3.5/6): 10 Years was a very pleasant surprise. I’d heard these ages ago, and they didn’t make much of an impression then. It took me until they played “Fix Me”(their big radio song) to even recognize them they’d improved so much. 10 Years has come a long way as a band. Their bassist is wonderful and has a striking look in addition to his wonderful talent. With, rippling shoulder and waist length dreadlocks and wild head banging, he had more presence than even the front man. He also attacked the bass with a rare fervor that gave their sound extra fire.
Their drummer was solid as can be and even got a chance to show off a little with a short solo. Their guitarist wasn’t half bad either.
Their vocals were interesting. On the one hand, their lead vocalist was really good and had a very distinctive sound that really meshed with their overall sound perfectly.
While he was very talented on the guitar, their screamer fell decidedly flat. If you’re going to take the scream-o angle, you need to really go hardcore. There is no middle ground for screamers. In addition to being a mediocre screamer, he had a horrible attitude. Even their front man seemed taken aback when he flat out insulted the crowd. He literally compared them to his excrement because they were a very subdued crowd.
That attitude almost made me regret purchasing the album. However, I support the rest of the band whole heartedly and wish them nothing but success.
Sick Puppies(warning, flash): (5/6): These guys have successfully earned the second highest rating I give out. They were absolutely fantastic as always. I was a little nervous about this show as their new album has some pretty serious style changes and is decidedly not sure of itself. I should have had more faith in them. Over the years they've grown from the first line of a four set show to a headliner. They’re a powerhouse of hard-edged rock seeded with inspiring ballads and wonderfully hopeful rock songs. Between Shim Moor’s wonderful vocal control and his brilliant dynamic with the audience, he was wonderful. his guitar work has dramatically improved and he is absolutely frantic on stage.
However, it is very obvious this band is a close-knit team, especially with Emma Emma Anzai’s popularity and her increased partition on the vocals. She has brilliant stage presence, outside of her warm, bell-like voice and her mean bass work. She is far and away the best bassist I’ve seen live. She is also one of the very few bassets I’ve seen with such popularity among the fans. She is wonderfully gracious and vulnerable yet unbelievably strong. Her playing was the driving source of Sick Puppies’ set.
I couldn’t talk about sick puppies without touching on their charismatic drummer, Mark Goodman. He is the good humored, subtle yet amazing heart beat of the band and his smile alone is just beautiful.
Overall they impressed yet again and it was a pleasure.
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