Kill Hannah's New Heart for Xmas 9 "I've Waited My Whole Life"

If you’re from Chicago and haven’t been living under a rock, I don’t need to tell you that New Heart for Xmas is the little three day long party that Kill Hannah throws every year for their fans. I attended all three days on the Ultimate Fan Package.

Day 1: JBTV Studio Kill Hannah Practice and Q&A

Venue:

JBTV Studio

I’ve talked about  the JBTV Studio before. It’s an amazing little studio.

The Set and Q&A(5/6):

Whenever, I hear  the members of  Kill Hannah speak, I feel like I've just received a pep talk from Winston Churchill. In particular, Mat Devine has a knack for striking very honest, yet surprisingly universal notes when he speaks, weather it be answering fan questions or talking about his band and their experiences. Being the lead, Mat is the one who gets the most press, so it was nice to hear the rest of the band share their perspective. They are equally candid and insightful. The wonderful report  had  both with the fans and with each other was a joy to experience.

The set itself was lovely, as usual. It was also a lot of fun to see how they work and communicate with the people managing on the technical aspects of the show.

Day 2: Acoustic Set at the Crimson Lounge.

Venue:

The Crimson Lounge (5/6):

 The Crimson Lounge is simultaneously roomy and cozy. I am actually surprised I’ve not been there before. It’s beautiful, classy, and warm. The stage is actually fairly large for the size of the lounge and the system is actually quite good (especially for a bar). The posh atmosphere could be off-putting for some, but I found it welcoming.

The Set (4/6):

As a small person, I tend to hover toward the middle or back of a crowd to keep a better vantage point. For this set it was intimate enough  and not frantic, so I managed to be right up front and slightly off to one side. What an experience! It was a marvel just to watch a talented set of artists work. I could see  exactly how much skill Dan Wiesse and Greg Corner had just by watching their fingers.

The rapport  the band had with each other and the fans really shown through, the playful antics combined with moments of complete and deadly seriousness were a delight to witness. Devine's  constant efforts to make sure the fans all had a good view were simultaneously hilarious and incredibly endearing. He actually stood on his chair for about half the set and when the photographers were finished he invited the fans that were standing to one side of the stage area to come sit right in front of the stage.

I have gone on and on about how vulnerable divine is on stage, this  show was even more intimate. It was very much a show for his fans, for the KHK who's worked so hard to support them. This was ours as much as it was Kill Hannah's. 

Day Three: The Big Show 

Venue:

 House of Blues (previously reviewed)

Openers:

(Regrettably I missed the first opener, Blood Red Boots, and equally regrettably I caught the second opener, Action Blast. I will be reviewing Blood Red Boot's album in an upcoming blog entry)

Action Blast (2/6)

The two  points both go to the drummer who wasn’t half bad. The guitar work was passible.

I can forgive a band  for being young and untrained, or even just not talented, but there’s a certain attitude that happens, usually in mediocre bands,  that are low talent and high ego that I just cannot stomach. If you’re a nearly unknown band and you come in talking like you’re the biggest badest thing on the planate you make me scoff right out the gate. As a good critic, I  kept watching despite this and at least tried to pay attention until  their front man (in a misdirected attempt to get the crowd moving) declared "Silence is gay." 

I took out my crocheting at that point and wandered back to the bathroom where I ran into two more fellow KH fans that were quite literally hiding in the bathroom to escape the terrible music.

Dot Dot Dot (4/6): These guys were the  first surprise of the night. Their name has cropped up on my radar several times, but  I hadn’t had the chance to sit down and listen to any of their stuff until last night. I'd always heard that they weren't that good. I'm declaring whoever said that tone deaf. 

Lead man Adam Blair is  as flirty as he is confidant and  has an unquestionable charm. From  the  playful smile to the energetic guitar work and animated singing, Blair is quite the performer. His voice was what really caught my attention first. He has remarkable vocal control and a surprising range that you don’t hear on  his recorded work.

The biggest issue with the band was the huge talent gap between Blair and his band. Guitarist Rose Ana Laguana  was solid but  her counterparts were  just fair not good

Kill Hannah(5/6)

This is the show the entire Kill Hannah fan base waits for all year. It is always quite a party with theatrics and snow machines. 

I've griped before about how passive the Kill Hannah crowds are. They are normally a quite bunch, matching divine in his introverted manner.

I retract every gripe.

Never in my five years as a Kill Hannah fan have I seen the fans like this. It was not insane, nor has the band itself had so much force. It was unreal. From the first note of believer to the last line of Welcome to Chicago, Kill Hannah brought  a fire that blew all of this previous shows out of the water. 

First off, when Jonny Ratkey got back on stage with Kill Hannah, the crowd just about lost their minds. Johnny hasn't been an official part of Kill Hannah since 2008, but the fans love him. His appearance at New Heart For Xmas is always a sincere pleasure. 

If this show demonstrated anything is was that this band and the Kill Hannah Kolective are family. Between the showers of affection on stage and the gracious words the band spoke, it was clear  that, to borrow from something Adam Blair  said, this was a family reunion. 

But the music itself, was truly phenomenal. Kill Hanna was on the absolute top of their game, weather it was Dan Wiese and Johnny Radtke tearing it up on the guitar or Elias Mallin on the drums, the music was just flawless.

I'm missing someone.

Mat Divine.

I cannot say enough about how talented, vulnerable and all around amazing this man is. His voice was spot on last night. His energy  was explosive,  and that energy charged the fans, which in turn charged the band, creating an explosive, intense energy loop. 

I’ve also never seen them  attract such a huge crowd. I’m used to them selling out the metro (a venue half the size of The House of Blues, at most), but I’ve never seen so many Kill Hannah fans in one place before. I am proud.

It was one hell of a weekend. 

Kill Hannah’s New Heart for Xmas 8: I'm Alive for Ten More Minutes.

New Heart for Xmas is an eight year running (with one break last year) multi-day event Kill Hannah throws every year.
Day 1: JBTV Studio filming/“Storytellers” event(VIP only)-- The Songs That Saved My Life
5/6
This was my first experience in a recording studio and I spent a lot of time staring at the walls, which were covered in rows of signed, platinum and rare albums. It was an audiophile’s dream. We filed into the small soundstage that was built for Kill Hannah a few years ago. JBTV and Kill Hannah have had a mutually helpful relationship for nearly a decade giving each other their well-deserved places in Chicago history.

Being this close to one of my favorite artists was a once in lifetime moment. It was breathtaking. Hearing their stories was wonderful, I’ve always loved listening to artists talk about their work. I learned a lot about Kill Hannah’s roots and how lyricists/vocalist Mat Devine was inspired to write some of my favorite Kill Hannah songs. There were also a few lovely moments between the members of the band, which is always a pleasure to see.
I am very proud of them and am thrilled to have been a part of the event.

The performance itself was really wonderful and it was interesting watching the band interact with the studio crew. It really felt like we were a part of something bigger.

Day 2:The Show--Welcome To Chicago.
Venue: Bottom Lounge (4/6)
I’ve been to the bottom lounge twice now and I got lost both times because there are two Ashland L stops on the green line. One is on the south side. One is a hop skip and a jump from downtown. Guess where I wound up?
I almost died before I even got to the show.
That being said it is just across the street from the L, very convenient if you don’t get lost. It’s a cozy, not cramped venue with a bar attached and surprisingly decent sound equipment. I found there was minimal distortion and the balance was nice.
And the view was great.

The Bottom Lounge is unique in that it still felt like a concert despite having an under 500 person capacity. Very cozy, yet still a good party.

The Crowd: (3/6) I am continually disappointed in the Kill Hannah crowds. Kill Hannah has an intensely loyal, hardworking street team and fan base, why they can’t give their all at a show is beyond me.

The Show:(4/6)

(Regrettably due to aforementioned getting lost I didn’t make the openers. I will review their albums at a later date)
The most striking thing about last evening was the amount of gratitude the band expressed. Due to singer Mat Devine being on Broadway New Heart for Xmas didn’t happen last year, and there was a lot of talk about how little the band was doing because of the show. There were even questions as to weather or not New Heart would happen this year. The relief in the air was palpable. Especially from bassist, Greg Corner and have course Divine. I don’t know how many times I heard “thank you” from their lips. It felt like magic.

Having met Divine multiple times now and kept up with his blog/advice column it’s hard for me not to adore his work. He wears his heart on his sleeve and even after over ten years in the industry, he has yet to lose his fearless edge. I’ve seen many artists start out fierce and defiant only to wear out after a few albums. While Kill Hannah has gotten a little less raw, Devine has yet to lose his rebellious sense of self.

Devine has an introversion about him. It is as though after all these years he’s still a bit confused by this whole stardom thing. At the end of the day he’s just Mat. This introversion can be a little detrimental on stage, as he doesn’t have the powerhouse energy some do. However, what he lacks in energy he makes up for in emotional output.

While Devine is certainly Kill Hannah's heart, the band is a family. Bassist Greg Corner has an incredible energy about him and a wonderful charm with the fans. He is the most social of the band (also being a DJ for Dark Wave Disco).

Just seeing drummer Elias Millan on stage with them again was wonderful. He was absent from two of the last shows.

I could honestly gush about each member for pages each. They are a very genuine, wonderful band that I will keep coming back to as long as they come to Chicago.