Last Saturday, 2/11, Chicago Mixtape celebrated their 1 year anniversary of sharing amazing free music from local Chicago bands. On Saturday, Casey Meehan the founder and creator of Chicago Mixtape, brought four of the Chicago’s best together for one night. The lineup included Architecture , The Damn Choir, Elephant Gun, and headliner The Shams Band.
While the rest of the city froze in temperatures lower than 18 degrees, TVD-CHI was at the Subterranean enjoying an open bar and some fantastic music.
Opening the show was the female trio, Architecture. Their nostalgic psychedelic-pop sound and echoing rock was an amazing dynamic to start off the night. Playing through a few new tracks alongside their debut release, When We Were Young, Architecture put on a truly hypnotic set.
Breaking from the electronic drums featured in their recordings, Architecture even included live drums on a number of tracks throughout the set.
Next up were Vinyl District favorites, The Damn Choir. The band’s folk-rock style and powerful stage presence really boosted the energy for the night. Alongside some old favorites, they played a few tracks from their upcoming release, You’re My Secret Called Fire.
As an added bonus, if you were at the show, you could have picked up a copy of the upcoming album before it’s release next month.
Playing off of the energy of the night, the nine-piece rock orchestra known as Elephant Gun took the stage. Cramming nine amazing musicians onto the Subterranean’s small stage was no easy task, but Elephant Gun did not let it stop them.
Playing songs from previous releases as well as their newest LP, Kid Scissors, Elephant Gun brought the house down with a fast paced horn section, powerful violin, leading guitar, bass, drums, and keyboards. The whole set felt like a giant on-stage party.
Taking the headlining spot for the night was the bluegrass/rock group, The Shams Band. Having just played the Chicago Bluegrass and Blues Festival, these gentlemen did not disappoint. High energy guitar and banjo led a fantastic rhythm section throughout the set.
Playing tracks from their fantastic 2010 release, Champagne, The Shams Bands took the party into the early hours of Sunday morning.
If you didn’t get a chance to check out the show, you can still sign up to be part of the Chicago Mixtape and get new music every week from these bands and more.
Architecture
The Damn Choir
Elephant Gun
The Shams Band
Photos by Eric Slager & Patrick David
