It was a sea of tie-dye and top hats on Clark Street Friday night as Deadheads poured into Wrigley Field for Dead & Company’s farewell tour. Across the street at Metro, black t-shirts packed the club for a night of raucous indie rock with Ultra Q, Cloud Nothings and Wavves.
Chicago was their third stop on their 22 date co-headlining North American tour. The bands are no strangers to collaborating, having released the joint effort No Life For Me LP in 2015.
Oakland four-piece Ultra Q kicked things off, celebrating the release of their debut album, My Guardian Angel, that day. If frontman Jakob Armstrong’s vocal intonation sounded familiar, it may recall his father’s—Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day. Thankfully the band is skilled in filtering a variety of familiar influences through their own musical perspective. Synths shimmer and glitch as soul-bearing new wave gives way to snotty pop-punk. The resulting sound is both nostalgic and youthful, familiar and fresh.
Cloud Nothings took the stage next. The trio of Cleveland natives last toured in 2022 for the 10th anniversary of their Attack on Memory LP. After pummeling the Rebel Stage at Riot Fest last fall, it was a pleasure to see them back in Chicago for a longer set. The propulsive performance spanned their catalog, including their latest release, 2021’s The Shadow I Remember.
It’s rare that a drummer steals the show, but I spent the set in awe of Jayson Gerycz brutalizing his kit. Understated in their stage presence, guitarist Dylan Baldi and bassist Chris Brown let their wails and hardcore riffs do the talking. Attendees attempted to break through the wall of sound by pogoing to favorites like “Stay Useless” and crowd surfing to “I’m Not Part of Me.” They were in for a treat when Baldi announced the last song before launching into the epic “Wasted Days.” The nearly ten-minute ripper was as euphoric as it was chaotic, leaving the crowd out of breath and eagerly awaiting Cloud Nothings’ next visit.
Once it was Wavves’ turn to headline the evening, the crowd was more than ready. Wavves' sneering, sunny garage rock was a welcome start to the weekend. The San Diego outfit also embarked on an anniversary tour last year, marking 12 years since their breakout album King of the Beach.
Circle pits formed immediately to fuzzy punk favorites like “Nine is God.” Frontman Nathan Williams took swigs from a bottle of Jameson between songs while bassist Stephen Pope headbanged to the beat of Ross Traver’s drums featuring a drawing of Macaulay Culkin. It was Wavves’ first performance at Metro, yet the steady stream of stage divers gave it the energy of an intimate punk rock club. As the band closed with “Green Eyes,” fans stood onstage waiting for the right moment to fling themselves upon the mercy of the crowd. When one fan milked the moment too long, Williams pushed him himself. As Williams sang, he was “just not fast enough.”
All photos by Jessica Mlinaric.
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