I am almost certain that most of us have come across the indie rock legends, more commonly known as STRFKR, at some point or another while listening to Pandora Radio during the heyday of alternative music in the early 2010s. The Portland band made its way through Chicago’s beloved venue; The Salt Shed, for a soldout evening of some of indie’s greatest tunes that surely had everyone feeling nostalgic last Friday night. But nostalgia was the only thing at play. This was STRFKR’s largest headlining show. Ever. It's a huge stride of achievement for any band, of course, and it was both well deserved but way overdue.
This was my second STRFKR show and based on the first time I got the opportunity to see them live; so I was overwhelmed with excitement for this show. STRFKR is known to put on very animated performances for their fans; which includes stunning visuals, costumes, confetti cannons and an abundance of wigs to name just a few surprises that STRFKR has up their sleeves for their shows.
After two opening sets, STRFKR finally came on stage around 10 pm. At this point; the Salt Shed was filled to the very brim with fans as anticipation grew alongside the crowd’s density. With a flash of the house lights; the band walked on stage and jumped right into one of their most acclaimed songs, “While I’m Alive.” The entire room roared in enthusiasm as the rush of nostalgia quickly overcame everyone’s senses. The band was accompanied by a pair of backup dancers fully cloaked in golden robes and reflective masks. Grappling their pockets for their phones to take a video recording, numerous screens throughout the room flickered on as STRFKR played the first few drum beats of their most adored song “Rawnald Gregory Erickson the Second.” This song in itself encompasses all that STRFKR is. Having been released back in 2008, this song clearly still holds a special place in many folks' hearts (and their 2000’s throwback playlists!).
STRFKR performed an ideal sampler of their discography. Typically bands focus on their current album cycle—however STRFKR played an equal amount of their body of work including a handful of songs from their latest album, Parallel Realms. The only thing I personally felt was missing from their setlist was a little more love for their 2016 album Being No One, Going Nowhere, which to me is a perfect front-to-back LP. They did however bless us with one of the best songs off that album, “Open Your Eyes,” which was right before their iconic cover of Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” At this point the backup dancers doubled and we now had four astronauts on stage that were crowd surfing throughout the last portion of their set along with flailing inflatable tube men that would come and go throughout the set. To say their show was very visually stimulating is an understatement.
STRFKR brought upon a wave of simpler times with their music that has been around for over a decade now along with their latest material. Confetti, astronauts, inflatable tube men, crowd surfing, and an overall feel-good high energy performance—there was never a dull moment last Friday night at the Salt Shed. It was an unforgettable evening with STRFKR playing their biggest soldout show yet and I think this may have set a higher bench-mark for the band to perform bigger shows in the future as they are just going up from here!
All photos by Andrew Lagunas.