The crowd comes to life when DJ Keezy throws on a Biggie throwback and announces Nikki Jean. She takes her place behind the keyboard in a soft spotlight, pulling the crowd into her dream with a calming welcome. Her music reads like smooth calligraphy from your own diary, swaying you gently into the meditation of her sung stories.

The music is so delicious, much of the crowd doesn’t even notice Sean “Slug” Daley and Anthony “Ant” Davis perusing the balcony, listening. “She has a really sweet energy,” Ant says shyly playing the role of the concert-goer rather than the headliner. The duo makes an effort to roam the venue before every show. “I like to get a feel for the room and honestly, I don’t know what else to do with this time,” Ant confesses as people begin to notice him.

“I’ve been listening to your music since I was 15,” one woman approaches him, “I’m 30,” her age acting as the punchline. I watch as Ant makes his way through the entire venue mingling with fans and posing for photos with a humble, down-to-earth spirit he’s preserved through the duo’s rise to fame.

When The Lioness is announced, the energy in the room intensifies. The strong messages in her lyrics are backed by DJ Keezy to create an explosiveness that turns the crowd’s sway into a hands-up bop. “Everything I do comes from the heart,” she said in a post-performance interview—but to the crowd, it is obvious.

When Atmosphere bounds onto the stage, the excitement shakes the room, overflowing into the merch store where the openers meet their fans. When Slug goes in, the room becomes electric. “I love you Slug,” people scream as they reach toward the stage. Long-time Atmosphere followers as well as new Atmosphereites scream the lyrics to their hits, sometimes even competing with the microphone.

If Slug periodically crying out, “I love you,” to the crowd doesn’t prove the group’s pure devotion to their fans, their high energy piercing through the extended encore has to. The duo makes the crowd leave a little more grateful by showcasing the simple yet powerful joy of being alive echoed by their call to, “Clap your hands if you’re happy to have mother f—ing hands!”

Atmosphere’s lyrics and vitality have the power to form a deep connection with every fan, no matter the age. Their success is best summed up in a quote from The Lioness, “Atmosphere has love. They have the love for what they do and that’s why they have longevity.”

You can catch the cultivated experience during Slug and Ant’s The Wherever Tour now through the end of May.

The post Atmosphere’s Atmosphere appeared first on Red Roll.

Unfortunately, the concert had a slow start. Bennett had three hours of DJ sets and openers before he came out. The crowd’s energy didn’t help. When rapper Queen Key came out for her opening set, she left after only three songs, angry that the crowd wasn’t giving her the attention she deserved. Her performance was actually pretty energetic and upbeat, so it was a shame that it ended so abruptly.

The show finally began to pick up when opener King Louie hit the stage. With his noisy trap beats and catchy hooks, he brought out this massive energy throughout the crowd that neither the DJs, nor Queen Key could. With the crowd finally hype, the birthday boy was ready to come out.

Taylor was introduced by none other than his brother, Chance the Rapper. That alone was enough to make Chicago go crazy, Chance having a bigger-than-life presence on the stage. After introductions, Chance joined the rest of the crowd to watch his little brother.

The birthday boy’s performance was 100% worth the wait. With a live band and no pre-recorded backtrack, Bennett’s performance felt genuine and charismatic. Trippy visuals of his face distorted in a psychedelic version of Chicago played in the background, making the scene feel surreal.

The most amazing part of the night was the fact that Taylor brought out each feature on his songs in person, including an appearance from Supa Bwe, and a fantastic solo performance from Bianca Shaw.

Finally, to top off the hype, Chance the Rapper returned to the stage to perform “Broad Shoulders” with his brother, the collaboration that put Taylor on the map. The performance was powerful enough to bring tears to the eyes of the majority of the crowd, myself included. After, Taylor and Chance hugged each other on stage, making the crowd go nuts. Although the openers made for a slow start, Taylor Bennett successfully delivered a robust, emotional performance that reminded the crowd that he is not just a Chance clone, rather he is here to do big and creative things of his own.

Happy Birthday, Taylor!

The post Taylor Bennett’s Wild Birthday Bash appeared first on Red Roll.

On April 12, a cold and rainy Thursday, fans gathered on the North Side, at popular music venue, Metro, to welcome home The Lawrence Arms for the last stop of the first half of the bands’ two-part, “We Are The Champions Of The World” tour.

The night began with the punk, angst and coming-of-age sounds of Sincere Engineer.  Deanna Belos, 25, from Orland Park, IL., the lead singer of Sincere Engineer, started the set with “Ghosts in the Graveyard”, off the bands’ debut album, “Rhombithian”.

“We, [the band], thought it would be cool for me to perform the only solo song off the album first and then bring out the rest of the band.  It helped build the energy that continued the rest of the evening,” Belos said.

Belos has watched countless performances at the venue.

“When I was 14, I would go there really early with my mom, we would grab a spot and stay there for the entire show – just to watch The Lawrence Arms perform.  Performing at my favorite venue, with one of my favorite bands and biggest inspirations, [The Lawrence Arms], was a dream come true,” Boles said.

Banner Pilot took the stage next.  The set started off very melodic with the majority of the crowd singing along.  Then, about halfway through, during “Division Street”, off their album “Heart Beats Pacific”, a switch flipped and the audience started moshing and bringing out the punk energy.

After Banner Pilot was finished and the stage was set for The Lawrence Arms, a familiar song came over the speakers – “We Are The Champions”, by Queen, and Chris McCaughan, Brendan Kelly, and Neil Hennessy walked on stage to an excited crowd.  Wasting no time, Hennessy banged his drumsticks together and began the introduction for “The Slowest Drink at the Saddest Bar on the Snowiest Day in the Greatest City”, and the crowd exploded.

Over the years, The Lawrence Arms have come to expect certain occurrences during their sets, one of those being the “Hennessy” chant – which is an homage to their drummer, Neil Hennessy.  During a break between songs, one person started chanting, “Hennessy! Hennessy! Hennessy!”, and the rest of the crowd joined in, as did the lighting director, who flashed the lights in time with the chant.

When the crowd was done, bassist and vocalist, Brendan Kelly, shared that during the first stop of the tour in Boston, MA., the crowd chanted, “Neil! Neil! Neil!”.  Kelly expressed it was similar to putting ketchup on your hotdog, it just doesn’t work, the audience cheered in agreement.

Anyone who has attended a Lawrence Arms show before can tell you, the vibe often switches.  While “Seventeener (17th and 37th)” played, the crowd continued moshing with elevated energy.  Then, “Brickwall VIews” began and the shift occurred.  No longer was the audience moshing and sending each other “up” to crowd surf.  Instead, they were putting their arms around each other, and singing the lyrics with such raw emotion – the energy was elevated but in a more deep, emotional sense.  This is what makes a Lawrence Arms show such a moving experience.

The raw, emotional energy continued through the rest of the set and into the encore of “100 Resolutions” and “Are You There Margaret? It’s Me, God.”.  It is safe to say Chicago fans were ecstatic with this hometown show.

“We Are The Champions Of The World: The Best Of” is available for purchase here: https://www.fatwreck.com/record/detail/984

The post The Champions of Chicago – The Lawrence Arms appeared first on Red Roll.