Metronomy Fall Tour feat Class Actress – REVIEW

The Metronomy Fall tour feat. Class Actress came dancing its way to Lincoln Hall in Chicago. You can check out our review after the break!

One of the common questions coming out of England has been, “Is guitar music dead?”  This is a very valid question as the hot trend across the pond is multiple keyboards and Mac Books strewn across the stage for virtually any band.  The answer  to the question seems to be yes, but if bands keep making music in the vein of Metronomy, that may not be a bad thing.  While Metronomy does have a guitar in the band, the are propelled by keys, saxophones, bass and drums along with lead singer Joseph Mount’s rich vocals.

The crowd was about at capacity, with some people already dressed for Halloween, and they were ready to dance.  With their first US headlining tour behind their most recent album, The English Riviera, wrapping up in Chicago the band were enthusiastic in their performance and the crowd built off of the energy.   Opeing with We Broke Free, the first non-instrumental from their new album, the crowd were in to the show right away.  Following up with the last song of the album, Love Underlined, really got the crowd going.  With it’s thunderous drums, and catchy bass line, the bass player got the crowd clapping and dancing along with the band.

The band played a very mixed set list, with songs from all three of their albums.  First up was Back On The Motorway from Nights Out.  With the catchy keys and falsetto back ground vocals drawing the crowd in, the band then had lights on their bodies synchronize with the beats.  The band played all of the singles from the last two albums, and the most well received were the super catchy The Look and The Bay.  The Look is a super catchy 80’s new-wave sounding song, and really drew the crowd back in to the show.  The Bay was introduced as a song about our big lake.  It featured a throbbing dance beat and plinky keys.The excellent musicianship of the band showed on a couple of instrumental tracks played throughout the set.  Usually a band can only get away with a minimum of instrumentals, but with big dance beats, these proved to be among the crowd favorites.

The encore featured Everything Goes My Way, which was primarily sung by drummer Anna Prior.  The song  is the band’s biggest hit to date.  It has a very catchy beat and Prior and Mount’s vocal interplay is key to the song.  The final song of the night was Radio Ladio, which was released as a single twice.  Upon the announcement that it was the final song, the crowd cheered loudly and got ready to dance.  They were not let down as the catchy synth and heavy bass provided a great dance beat.    The band thanked the crowd for the great energy they provided but the feeling was definitely mutual.

Openers Class Actress hail from the music hotbed of Brooklyn, NY.  As part of the chill wave scene, they have picked up a lot of support for their newly released album, Rapprocher.  The band is influenced by early 80’s Madonna, disco, pop.  If they were not dressed up for Halloween, their clothing could have been mistaken for costumes.    Singer Elizabeth Harper had on an 80’s looking jacket and the guy in playing keyboards had a jean jacket with cut off sleeves, trucke hat and big black glasses.

The hook-heavy songs and Harper’s vocals carried the set.  Highlights included Love Me Like You Used To and set closer Let Me Take You Out, which was the only song to feature a guitar.  The sparse crowd was very in to the band and danced throughout the entire set.

Information about the band…
Tour: Metronomy Fall Tour
Bands: Metronomy and Class Actress
Date: October 27, 2011
Venue: Lincoln Hall in Chicago, IL