On a recent Thursday, Chicago’s Schubas was filled with a crowd whom you wouldn’t have expected to stomp their converse sneaks to boot stompin’ music, but the sold out show drew a curious crowd.
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Those Darlings, Hacienda and Velcro Lewis
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Schubas
Chicago, IL
February 11, 2010
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Velcro Lewis started the evening with classic southern rock, complete with a washboard playing band member and an abundance of cow bells. The band had enough energy and soulful beats to get the crowd in the mood for the rest of the evening. Complimenting this retro vibe, the San Antonio based Hacienda took the stage. The four musicians all sported matching beards and most wore bandanas. The lead singer was exciting to watch and was an energetic performer as he moved about the stage and strained as he played guitar. Their songs “Hear Me Cryin” and “Shake Ya,” off their 2008 album Loud is the Night, had instrumentation reminiscent of classic 60’s rock. The performance was solid and had musical depth although the vocals could have been a bit more on pitch. None the less, the band members pored themselves into their performance and the crowd was left satisfied.
By this point, the crowd at Schubas was getting raucous and ready to go. And Those Darlings had the perfect attitude to please the buzzing crowd. The Tennessee based, country punk rock group took the stage in feminine dresses, tights, cowboy boots and sneakers. Although these girls looked like ladies, they had a bit of enjoyable unladylike gruffness that let you know they were going to fling themselves into the performance. One of the girls wore a white feather headdress with her white converse sneakers, while another had a raccoon tail hanging from her boot. They were cute yet a little rough around the edges, just like their whiskey-drinking music and the crowd seemed to approve. The group is composed of Kelley Darlin on bass, Jessi Darlin on guitar, and Nikki Darlin on baritone ukulele along with drummer Linwood Regensberg and they weren’t afraid to dish a bit of sarcastic banter to the crowd. They were definitely there to have a good time and rumble through their set list. They have been very busy touring this past year and have performed with Ida Maria, Deer Tick and Dan Auerbach.
The country-tinged music of the group was refreshing although the set did get off to a bit of a slow start with the songs “Hung Up on Me” and “Mama’s Heart,” a song the pleads you to not break their mama’s heart because when you do, you’re breaking theirs as well. But soon the girls impressed the crowd as they easily switched instruments from playing bass to playing guitar. The Schubas revelers were soon on the same page with the band as they moved to belting out “Who’s That Knockin at My Window,” one of the strongest moments in the show with a good driving drum beat that caused the crowd to stomp their boots, I mean sneakers. The ladies then launched into “DUI or Die,” a song about being guilty of drunk driving, lying in jail and reminding you if you want to drink and drive, you better find a boy to take you home for the night. Quirky and brash lyrics like these made the girls’ performance fun and a nice change of pace. They ended their performance with “Red Light Love,” off of their self-titled 2009 album, and a cover of “Shaken All Over.”
This group of ladies rumbled into Schubas and it’s clear they are going to be a fun, un-conventional presence that will continue to make rumblings in the music scene. If you’ve missed them in Chicago, check out their tour schedule and maybe make a road trip to an up-coming show.
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