Bishop Allen, Kid, You'll Move Mountains and Unicycle Loves You Lincoln Hall Chicago, IL February 5, 2010

From our safety seats we saw the fog machine introduction to Kid, You'll Move Mountains, accompanied by cheers from the crowd. Sharp beats, catchy tunes, and a melodic full sound soon filled my ears. Kid's shoes were off, and their hearts were pouring out. The female vocals only added to the ambient depth of the music, and when I could hear them over the poorly mixed sound, to the aggressive and emotional lyrics as well, especially in 'West'. The crowd clearly loved it; their drunken bopping had begun.

Next up was the local band and self-proclaimed Lincoln Hall vets Unicycle Loves You. Now, I have no idea how to ride a unicycle and would never try (I have terrible problems keeping my balance), I am very glad that Unicycle indeed loves me. I must say, I loved them back. Apparently I was not the only one. As the band took stage, an Asian 20-something guy with the hair of Elvis, proceeded to shout for the number of the bass player, a cute curly haired girl in a neon-green retro dress. Almost as blinding as the dress, Unicycle's music consisted of super catchy soft indie rock notes with witty lyrics and a nice full sound. They too, however, were impeded by the overbearing sound of the improperly mixed soundboard. Unicycle Loves You is infectious and fun, especially for the slightly gray crowd who joined their indie comrades in further head bopping and body shaking. Check out their track titled 'Highway Robbery'!

As for the headliners, I must thank the almighty sound mixer for finally getting it right. Bishop Allen officially rocked my socks off. With a lead singer who looked like McLovin', a drummer who looked like Jesus and a second guitarist that looked like Harry Potter, their eclectic sound was no surprise. Immediately I was hooked. Their crisp lyrics reminded me of children's stories...with ADD. With a slightly raspy voice reminiscent of Conor Oberst, Justin Rice (aka McLovin') sings with energy and exuberance that radiates into the waiting crowd. When Christian Rudder whipped out the ukulele, all I could think was, “Harry Potter plays the ukulele!” I, along with the crowd, had wide eyes and appreciation for the band standing in front of me.

With borrowed themes from genres of country, the 80s and get this, mariachi bands, their sound was full and took me completely. I found myself singing along to “Click, Click, Click”, my feet tapping to the strong strumming of the acoustic guitars and melodic sounds of the xylophone played by the only female in the band. Darbie Nowatka, player of the aforementioned xylophone is also a sometimes-singer. She sings the perfectly timed mellow songs with a smooth, sexy voice like Jenny Lewis. From my perch on the balcony, I could see the security guards dancing along to the beat, I could hear the crowd singing along, and I could feel the energy of the band radiating through me.

Too bad Lincoln Hall's stage was about the size of a hall. Amazingly, they were holding back, unable to move fully on the small stage. I can only imagine their presence on a full stage in a huge theater. For a band formed at Harvard, Bishop Allen proves their knowledge of music to the ears of their eager listeners and future minions. My only regret in coming to see them was that I didn't have enough cash after the bar to grab one of their albums.

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