• Email
• Issuu
• Instagram

Trinity Balboa

    This is a scene report, where I pop my ear plugs in and go venture out to see a show. Today, we’re seeing Kloe, Vatos Tristes, Anteeter, and Bloom!
    So, it’s kinda a gross night. On the bus ride in, the windows were so fogged against the cold rain it felt like I was in a whole different world. This kinda rain is not terrible, it’s just ugly.
    Stepping into Fallen Log, then, is a relief. I’ve never been here before actually, and I was stunned by its cuteness. With water and usable bathrooms. And cookies out front too, which reminds me of my “home turf” of Ashbary Coffee House. Kinda like a home away from home, y’know.Kloe    Directly at 8, which I can appreciate (no punk time!) Kloe takes the stage. All in all, they seem like the type of kids I would find in my hometown, so I’m endeared. Their drummer, Jack, wears a Blackhawks jersey. I think this type of music might be what American Football sounds like. I’ve never listened but I get the impression that all Midwest music sounds a little bit like it whether you want it to or not. This isn’t a bad thing. Kloe takes it in stride.
    I think this is the type of music you’re supposed to dance however you want to. Frontman Elijah does these funny little kicks while he’s playing, and by the end of the show, the audience does too. That’s something kinda cool about him, he crawls straight into the audience, stares them right in the face and asks them to get down with him. It’s interactive. He’s got these kind of grand aching lyrics that feel universal, like, Ever Fallen in Love. Everyone can get them, even if he’s got a particular person in mind.
    This band is elastic in their dynamics. They’re all locked in with each other, songs often flow into other ones, and solos always come at the best times with a nod to one another. One of the fondest moments I saw was switching from a little more dirty, punk section to this almost Stone Roses like groove, and a bass solo you just need to dance to. They really are in tune with each other, and they know the experience they’re bringing you. When the frontman goes into the audience, bassist Hannah and drummer Jack can hold it down with no problem. Jack lets loose on a drum solo near the end of the set, while his bandmates tune. All are equally appreciated.
    It reminded me a little of Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not by the Arctic Monkeys, if it was from the Midwest, which— that’s an incredibly homesick album to me, so that’s a positive. The frontman has this humble Midwestern type of style which is endearing, like this band would play great out in Urbana or something.
    At the end of the show, Elijah coaxes the audience to catch his guitar, and a member of the audience gets to play out the last few chords.
    So, lights go up and I steal one of the wooden chairs to sit in while the band breaks down.Vatos Tristes    I’m really excited for this band. They only recently got started, and I think I really like the ethos of the project. It’s their first show, too.
Not saying they’re not experienced. I notice Brian on drums, of Swimshirt and Spliff and Here’s What To Do and… Yeah, that’s the realm of talent in this band. The entire band still shares one tuner though, I notice.
    The first song, if I remember correctly, felt to me like a ballad but with a charming and danceable shuffle-snare soca beat. This is a common thread in great songs coming out of the scene lately, I notice. It drives dancing in the pit, which is always a good thing.
    Their frontman, Christian, is a fantastic driver. He’s got a wide range of passionate vocals in his possession— from rap-like hardcore vocals to more romantic takes. Halfway through the set, he goes, paraphrased, “For all the non-Spanish speakers out there, Vatos Tristes means Sad Homies.
    “Though, I don’t think we’re really sad homies. More, romantic homies, maybe.” And it’s true. It’s like a kinder, gentler hardcore. It can never take itself too seriously with trombone player Marc, who adds this rounder, more comfortable sound to everything. I’ve been listening to the English Beat a lot lately, and it was wonderful to have them transported and roughed up to this stage in Chicago for a couple songs. More bands should get into ska.
    Not to say that they can’t be sharp. One song followed more in the steps of Zach de la Rocha lyrics, cutting, and scathing. Repetitive, so you get the message. Fuck you, I won’t do what you tell me. Made slightly funnier by Christian’s ‘Homicide Police, we go to work when you go to sleep’ shirt. But fantastic nonetheless, I was finally able to get a little bit of my anger on the current political system out.
    During the second to last song, I think I discover a bit of a name for it. Latin Illi-noise. Chicago pits have an incredible propensity to open for Latin drum beats. If you’ve ever seen the Tracies, you know what I’m talking about. These pits open and swallow you whole with their grooves. Just as I’m finishing this thought, a riff roars. But it’s not Thunderstruck or whatever the fuck— it’s La Bamba. And the crowd explodes. A great way to end the set, with a faster driving beat and the energy to match.Anteeter    At this point in the night, my back is starting to hurt and it’s getting hot in the Fallen Log, so I go step outside to get some cold air. I miss a couple songs, but when I return I’m pleasantly surprised. Anteeter reminds me, vaguely, of what I could consider an ‘evil’ Passion Pit, playing around with synthesizers and vocals. I loved Passion Pit growing up.
    Anteeter has modern indie sensibilities, for the most part, with these short crashing moments in between. Small, bursting moments that make you feel a little like you’ve got to be in your car, listening to this on the radio. In a wash of guitar, bassist/keyboardist Ed really stands out, both on bass, and in those little Nick Rhodes synthesizer moments he brings to stage. They sound like a band who listens to Duran Duran. Slightly club-danceable.
    They’re a little more polished, too. If Kloe was early Arctic Monkeys, Anteeter is modern Arctic Monkeys. Or maybe more like a modern Paramore. If not in sound, then in style. They play a Radiohead song, which I don’t know what to think about. (I don’t like Radiohead.) But whatever it is, they play it well, and the crowd sways. It’s obvious frontman Mike is passionate about this project.
    Despite their indie-rock sensibilities, I’m delighted to see a pit open for their last song.Bloom    Bloom automatically reminds me of Hole, if not just for being a girl band with one male member. This is, again, not a bad thing. Live Through This defined my teenage years. We definitely need more of it, too— I’ve been craving this type of music since I last saw Ovarian Cystas.
    This is the type of band I’m happy to see in spaces like this, because I think this is where this music is supposed to be; beautiful cramped bars and basements. When these guys get going, they’re awesome. When Summer on bass sings, she follows a little in the steps of Cat of Scarlet Demore. When Emily, on guitar, sings, it suddenly gets a little more Babes in Toyland or maybe even L7. Then, when Nolan on drums sings, I’m reminded of Snuffed— which, coincidentally, I had just seen together with Scarlet Demore. There’s a wide range of really strong voices in this group.
    Which is why, when Emily asks us, “Do you want to sing some Bikini Kill with me?” The immediate answer is yes, at least from me. Emily takes the mic and snakes down into the pit to do as promised, and the rhythm section holds it down fantastically— they have such a strong sound, even when it’s just drums and bass.
    And just like that, they’re able to snap back down a level. The next song made me feel like I’m going to the prom in Jennifer’s Body. The differences between Emily and Summer’s voices really pushes the way their duets sound. Powerful, wrenching stuff.
    I get into the pit for the first time that night for a Bloom song. I find it makes me a less irritable person when I two-step to at least one song, so I sneak into a dead pit and restart it. All of these endeavors earn me a fist bump from a punk at the end of it, so I think that’s pretty cool.
    Out of breath and beginning to be concerned with catching the bus back home, I only stay for one more song. This one is fun, and sarcastic, one of those silly songs every band should have at least one of. It reminds me of Priests’ Nothing Feels Natural, and their punchy, light lyrics. Burger King, achieve your dreams. This is a song that a crowd will scream back to you once they know it.
    By now, my Ventra app says five more minutes till the 76 bus, so I get a glass of water and mosey on out. I can hear Bloom thumping all the way from the bus stop a block away.