Jonny Craig Spring Headline Tour – REVIEW

We recently had the chance to attend the Chicago date of Jonny Craig’s spring headline tour with Kurt Travis, Hail The Sun and The Seeking. You can check out our review of the show, after the break.

First on stage was The Seeking. This five piece band from California is definitely not one to miss the chance to see live. They played songs from their album, Yours Forever, such as “Restless”, “Alone”, “Yours Forever”, “How Did You Know”, and “So Cold”. With recently having their van broken into and having their stuff robbed that did not discourage them from continuing on. It was really nice to see how they interacted with their fans after the show taking pictures, signing items, and just talking in general. I can without a doubt see them headlining their own tour in the future.

Shane Gann, sporting a fitted ‘I heart Chicago’ t-shirt, and playing a neon orange guitar with a cheetah print strap is one the things that stuck out to me during Hail the Sun’s performance. This band has incredible energy on stage. With drummer, Donovan Melero, has being the lead vocalist, the other three members had full use of the open stage in front of him to just go crazy. People crowd surfed and moshed during their set. This being the first time I had heard them; I can say I am a fan of them now. Playing songs such as “Dead Messages”, “Eight-Ball, Coroner’s Pocket”, and “Testostyrannosaurus”, they have great stage presence and are exciting to watch.

Up next was Kurt Travis, from the band, A Lot Like Birds. Playing with him were the musicians from Hail the Sun. Kurt Travis’s solo music has more of an acoustic feel to it so it was a nice balance between the other bands playing. “I know this isn’t what you’re used to…but these songs mean a lot to me,” is what Travis told the crowd in between songs. He played songs from his EP and new album, such as “Wha Happen”, “Let’s Remember Time”, “Angband”, and “Illuvatar”. His performance providing a more chill atmosphere was still a powerful one.

“Today I am one year and twenty-nine days, clean from heroin”, said Jonny Craig to his cheering fans after he took the stage and played a few songs.  Donovan and Aric Garcia from Hail the Sun also played with Jonny during some of his songs such as “I’ve Been Hearing that You’re Freaky” and “7 AM, 2 Bottles, and the Wrong Road”. Jonny Craig also gave a speech to the crowd about his intentions and inspiring words to his fans:

“I just want you guys to know that more than anything I know I don’t deserve this so I’m going to fucking work extra hard to gain your respect back. I just want to say that no matter how hard it is to be at the bottom, no matter how hard the climb back up is, it’s not fucking impossible to get back to what you fucking had, so I just want you guys to know that. You don’t need a fucking substance to be happy…”

He then did an acoustic set where he played covers of “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake, “Rehab” by Amy Winehouse,“Rolling Stone” by The Weekend, and even did an acoustic freestyle with Kurt Travis. Afterwards he played two of his own songs “Rhythm to my Soul”, and “Children of Divorce”. By the end of each song he was wiping his eyes, to which then the crowd responded with chanting ‘We Love Jonny’ over and over. For his final songs, Donovan and Aric came back on stage to join him, as well as Will Sowers from Emarosa, for the song “Nobody Ever Will”. His last song being “The Lives We Live”, Jonny Craig’s set has shown that he has not given up and truly cares about his fans.

I really would not pass up the opportunity to see these musicians live. Each set is filled with such genuine emotion and positive energy that it leaves you wanting more.

Information about the review…
Tour: Jonny Craig Spring Headline Tour
Acts: Jonny Craig, Kurt Travis, Hail The Sun, The Seeking
Reviewer: Ali Jimenez
Date: March 29, 2013
Venue: Bottom Lounge in Chicago, IL