Home / Show Reviews / Review: Geographer at Lincoln Hall, Chicago on 05/12/15

Review: Geographer at Lincoln Hall, Chicago on 05/12/15

Geographer continued their North American tour and received a true mid-western welcome from the Chicago crowd.

Idlehands were the first of three acts to perform at Lincoln Hall on Tuesday night. This atmospheric rock band did a great job at opening up the night. The San Diego natives put their heart and soul into their performance. Their singer, Johnny O’Hagan hit notes that you would not have imagined when he stepped out onto that stage. Many songs started with a dreamy, atmospheric intro that would build in intensity before bursting to life as a strong rock composition. Michael Brekka, their guitarist, disappeared into his own intensely focused world on stage as he regularly lost himself in the moment. Phil DiRaffaele played the life out of his kit and appeared relieved their last song was a slower number to allow him to catch his breathe from the performance he had just put in.

Next up were Chicago’s own Empires, who looked every bit as pleased to be playing to their hometown as the audience were to see them. Sean Van Vleet put in a passionate performance from beginning to end, clearly feeding off the atmosphere with the audience singing back at him word for word with just as much passion as he was. Empires are a tight 5 piece band who seem to have really hit their stride recently. “How Does It Feel”, from their latest album, Orphan, was a particular highlight of the evening, bringing the place to life. Another word for a drummer, Mike Robinson who must have been glad “Journey Kid” was Empires’ last song of the night  as he impressively powered through the fast and crazy drum part.

With the crowd well and truly warmed up, Geographer took to the stage. their North American tour is in support of their recent album, Ghost Modern. This futuristic electro rock band  filled the room with a sound way bigger than you would expect the 4 people who were standing on the stage would be capable of creating. Mike Deni changed the live band lineup recently, adding Duncan Nielsen on guitar and bass, Joyce Lee on Cello and Cody Rhodes on drums, however, it felt as though they had been playing together for years. This was a tightly played set which was loved by the audience who sang and danced along to every song. Mike’s vision of marrying acoustic and electro worked brilliantly, and was executed perfectly in the live environment. 

 

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About Kirstine Walton

Kirstine moved from the UK to Chicago in 2011 and has fallen in love with the city and its music scene. She enjoys combining her two biggest passions – music and photography. If there is a band with a guitar playing, chances are she’ll be there…camera in hand. Kirstine went to her first live concert at 7 years old and hasn’t looked back since!

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