May 20th - British Metalcore band, While She Sleeps, made a special headlining appearance last night at Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL. Currently out on tour with a mix of Wage War, The Plot In You, Gideon & Chamber (depending on date), the band set a 6-date east coast headline run to fill out dates in between shows, with support from none other than Alabama heavyweights Gideon on 5 of the 6 dates. The scene for the evening was the always popular Bottom Lounge, nestled just a few miles from the Chicago landmark United Center. The intimate venue accommodates around 700 guests in the main stage area, which has a wide open layout with no view obstructions, making for a typically great view of the performance regardless of where you're standing.
A personal favorite band of mine, Gideon, wasted little time setting the tone for the evening, coming out to their track "Sleep" off their last album "Out Of Control". The 4-piece has a powerful stage presence with heavy hitting riffs and bass drops throughout their set that you're sure to feel as they reverberate throughout the crowd. I have seen the band on numerous occasions, and cannot express how good their live performances are, with them arguably sounding better than studio quality live. They went maybe a little too hard, as at one point, drummer Jake Smelley broke a bass pedal, but had the day saved by While She Sleeps as they lent him theirs to finish out the set. The band ripped through "No Love / No One", "More Power, More Pain", "Champions", "Cursed", "Take Me" before closing out the short-ish set with "Bad Blood" & "Bite Down", leaving the crowd clearly wanting more as the chants ranged from "one more song" to a few rowdier "play everything you got!".
Next up was While She Sleeps. This was my first time getting to see the band perform live, and I left thoroughly impressed with what I had witnessed. One thing was clear right away: the band had no shortage of energy as they began chaotically with "Sleep Society" before ripping into "Anti-Social" and keeping the pace with "You Are All You Need." The mix of multicolor strobe stage lighting and the neon painted amplifiers made for an awesome visual as the band jumped around the stage, cranking out track after track. They filled out their set with the likes of "The Guilty Party", "I've Seen It All", "You Are We", "Four Walls", "Know Your Worth (Somebody)", "Eye To Eye" and "Fakers Plague" before bringing the house down one last time with "Systematic".
Both bands had absolutely stellar performances that left the crowd begging for some more riffage. If you have the opportunity to catch either Gideon or While She Sleeps in a city near you, I would HIGHLY recommend it! It might have (regrettably) been my first, but it will not be the last time I attend a While She Sleeps performance, as I look forward to my next opportunity to catch the band in Chicago.
- Nick B.
Commentaires