When I think Hinds in Chicago, a few words pop in my head. Party, moshing, crowd surf, Twin Peaks, madhouse, and fun barely scratch the surface. These are just some things are expected when this quartet of Spanish musicians come to town. Last week, Carlotta Cosials, Ana Perrote, Ade Martin, and Amber Grimbergen lived up to all those expectations and more with a rousing set at Lincoln Hall.
Starting out the evening was the always excellent
Bunny. Their song set doesn’t entirely fit in with the more rambunctious crews that would follow, taking a much more laid back and hazy route. But their sound is undeniably alluring and set the night off in a welcome direction. Jessica Viscius’ deep and entrancing voice lures you deep into songs like “Let Me Be Your Dog” and “Promises”. You can’t help but be mesmerized by the plainspoken lyrics that hide a wry commentary on relationships and feminine stereotypes right in plain sight. Between the songs, Viscius playfully toyed with the crowd (“are you guys 18? I’m 16.” and “We’re from Chicago. Actually I’m from the suburbs.” are two memorable favorites) and updated the possibility of an album to soon (!) rather than some far off date. Their set was a nice serene performance before the explosiveness that would follow.
Goodbye Honolulu raised the energy quite a bit with their extremely boisterous and fun set. From the start of "Bum Me Out" there was not a single moment during their time where the four piece band wasn't going full bore into their exuberant songs. At one point vocalist/guitarist/bassist Emmett Webb declared "I almost throw up every time I play that song," to which Fox Martindale (who admittedly was doing the brunt of the showmanship during the track) exclaimed "You almost throw up?"
The group's songs are noisey garage rock that have this incredibly poppy edge to them. It was nigh impossible to to find your self Dancing or at the very least bopping along to "Codeine" or "Where You Wanna Go?". Even their slowest number "Typical" eked out that desire to groove along. Capping off their time with "Goodbye, Honolulu", the band set the table just right for the quintet from Madrid.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The best time to see a band is after their second full length album. They’ll have enough songs for a decent length set, they’ll play nearly everything, and anything missing makes what you’ll hear all the sweeter. It seems like
Hinds doubled down on that sentiment as they tore into a pretty spread out 16 song set that sent the crowd into energetic (although genuinely chill) mosh. As the opening moments of “The Club” poured out of the band, the crowd responded with an emphatic cheers and frenzied movement that never slowed down.
One of the hallmarks of the Hind's onstage presence is the feeling that they are just having fun and living in the moment. That energy adds to the rawness of their songs, making them feel lively and and spontaneous. Songs off their latest album
I Don't Run, benefited the most from this energy. "Tester" exploded from Carlotta Cosials and Ana García Perrote's combined shrieks as Ade Martín's bass and Amber Grimbergen drumming charged forward.
Their cover of "Caribbean Moon" stood out early in the set while the latter half of their time seemed intent on driving the already wild crowd over the edge. The previously mentioned "Tester" ran into "Rookie", which sounds like a lost gem of the 50s full of love and rough edges that make you enjoy the song more. The familiarity of "Garden" and "Bamboo" had everyone dancing their best up to this point, losing sense of time as it became clear after their riotous performance of the songs that the show was climbing to its end.
When it came time to ”wrap things up”, Cosials invited Goodbye, Honolulu to the stage for the final song. However they were not alone as Twin Peaks (you now ‘em , you love ‘em) followed and began partying to their hearts' content as “Davey Crokett” rang out to the crowd. Band members were climbing speakers (Jack Dolan), stage diving (Clay Frankel), and letting Cosials jump onto their shoulder and feed them beer (Cadien Lake James). There was so much happening onstage and throughout the crowd that it was impossible to catch everything. It was an utter madhouse and everyone was reveling in the fun times.
This moment was nearly matched at the end of the encore that followed. “Finally Floating” and “New For You” kept the crowd’s unending enthusiasm up a before “San Diego” closed out the night. The Twin Peaks dudes returned popping bottles into the crowd, treating the whole a fair more like a homecoming than a tour stop. Who's to say that it wasn't? The subsequent rush of “Hinds move to Chicago” posts on social media the following day further cemented the atmosphere at the end of their Lincoln Hall set. A perfect way to cap off a successful Hinds show.
All photos by Julian Ramirez