As soon as Michigander enters the stage, they launch into “Better”, which has a strong driving beat and immediately gets everyone moving. “I don’t want to live without you anymore” sings Jason Singer, the lead singer of the band.
Later on, they play “Reds”. This is just one of many songs that sound a lot like the great band, The War on Drugs. They both have long lasting guitar chords with strong repetition that creates a great atmosphere.
To introduce the band, Jason does a little skit with each of the band members. Firstly, the bass player, Connor Robertson, says he came up with an original riff that he would like to play. They then launch into a Tenacious D song about getting kicked out of the band. Then, the lead guitarist, Jake LeMond, says he is feeling down because of seasonal affective disorder. Jason gives him a hug with their guitars making a whole bunch of noise being pushed together. The other guitarist, Dylan Grantham, is new to the band. They don’t have a skit yet, so he just gets a normal intro. Lastly, the drummer, Aaron Senor, says they just wrote a song called “West Chicago”. Jason then proceeds to sing a completely improvised song while Aaron pretends to sing along like he knows the words. This is just like the recurring sketch that Fred Armisen and Kristen Wiig do on SNL as Garth and Kat.
Before the finale, Singer says this will be last song. They aren’t going to play an encore. He begins by singing acapella “I’ve got high hopes. I’ve got high hopes, but they let me down. They usually let me down.” He then stops and the audience sings it without the band. It’s a very cool moment. Then the band joins back in and rocks it out.
At one point, Singer mentioned this is their first show playing in a venue with a balcony. This surely will not be the last time as their future looks bright. See them next in Chicago with the Lumineers on December 6th at the Aragon Ballroom.
See the full setlist here.
Cost of a ticket: $20
PlaylistHQ Economic Rating: Exceptional Value
Rating Scale: Exceptional Value > Worth It > Half Price > Go for Free > Don’t Bother
Quinn Delaney
PlaylistHQ 