Sunday night at Lincoln Hall I got to part of the intimate crowd that came to the north side club to check out Bleached on their latest tour with supporting acts The Paranoyds plus Rave Ami.
The openers had an entertaining set, with the final two tracks by far being their best offerings. Both were epics jam-outs with hazy instrumentation. Not enough people were present yet for good Rave Ami were, but I’m certain those that were around got a good enough of taste of what they bring to the table that they’ll want more. They finished playing and said “We’ll be at the merch table to shoot the shit, talk Chicago history, exchange recipes,” and I hope people are out here having good dinners thanks to this show.
While I am well aware of what makes Bleached such a great act and elevated them to headliner status, I was mostly here to see what The Paranoyds could do as a live act. Keyboardist Laila Hashemi got on the mic to say “welcome me to Chicago, I’ve never been here” and the crowd made sure to show love throughout their set like they were a hometown fave doing good. There was an enthusiastic fan behind that kept saying “I love you guys,” and the set hadn’t even started yet, which prompted Hashemi to reply with “aww you love us already? But we just got here.” I have to thank that fan because she really set the tone from there.
The LA band’s set was driven by their recently-released debut album, Carnage Bargain plus EP standouts. Among my highlights included the band “Pet Cemetary” (which was introduced with the band asking “should we get spooky?”), the similarly chilling “Face First,” along with stellar renditions of the jammiest of jams like “Bear,” “Hungry Sam,” “Ratboy,” & “Heather Doubtfire.” The rawness of this band’s sound, the catchy tunes, the fuzzed out distortion that’ll trip you out, and the captivating presence of the band’s front line (Hashemi, Staz Lindes, & Lexi Funston) is what made ’em deliver on all expectations on a band that’s become revelation to me this year. As the Paranoyds closed out their appearance for the night, that one energetic fan I mentioned earlier gathered her things and proclaimed out “they’ll be back and they won’t be playing Lincoln Hall that’s for sure. They’ll be playing fucking Aragon.” No shade at all for LH because I absolutely love this venue, but I sure found myself agreeing with her belief. Not sure when that jump to a bigger venue like the Aragon will happen, but I am sure we’ll be seeing it happening.
I had been prepping for this weekend show with Carnage Bargain on my mind, and in the interest of honesty, I have to admit that I had not done my due diligence to catch up on what Bleached offers… Damn was I missing out, but gotdamn am I glad to find out this way.
The LA band was on tour in support of their 2019 album, Don’t You Think You’ve Had Enough? When I checked up on my notes from the show and cross-referenced them with the night’s setlist for this write-up I was pleasantly surprised that my favorite moments were live renditions of the new material from sisters Jessie and Jennifer Clavin.
The third song, “Kiss You Goodbye” was a great song to dance to, and it only got groovier when it was followed by another joint from their new record entitled “Hard To Kill.” I’m a sucker for songs that combine whistling with a glittering guitar and a pacy Disco beat. If you like the sound of James Murphy productions, this one’s a killer track to witness for you.
The vintage Punk undertones of “From the Valley to LA” sounded so sweet to me and it got the crowd dancing. One of the best moments their set came when they played older track “Sleepwalking,” with its punchy production inspiring a mini mosh pit to form at the center of the floor. Singer Jennifer Clavin finished the performance and said in reaction, “that was the coolest mosh pit I’ve ever seen cuz it was all girls.”
The band closed things out with a pair of tracks from earlier in their catalog. The Garage Rocker “Think Of You” was the song that kicked off their encore, which was notable for reasons beyond its general dopeness thanks to the bassist coming into the crowd and playing the whole song from there. Ending with “Dead in Your Head” was the cherry on top of this live music Sunday sundae. The feedback blaring from the speakers at the beginning, the crunchy guitars, and that melodic chorus allowed us to say goodbye to the night with fists firmly in the air as fans passionately sang along to the “Do you start to dream about all the things that / all the things dead in your head” chorus.
Photo Credit: Oscar Oliva Jr / Pursuit Of Dopeness
