The Fling Headlining Tour feat. Yukon Blonde – REVIEW

The Fling Headlining tour feat. Yukon Blonde came to the Ultra Lounge in Chicago. You can check out our review after the break.

After a lethargic and lazy Thanksgiving and Black Friday, there is nothing better to get you up and moving than a good rock concert.  Yukon Blonde and The Fling were up to the task for the small but enthusiastic crowd at Ultra Lounge.  Touring around the holidays must be difficult, but an energetic crowd and two bands that give it their all regardless of the number of people in the crowd resulted in an excellent show.

Ultra Lounge is one of the stranger venues in Chicago.  It is literally an upscale lounge on one side, and a concert venue on the other side of the wall.  It was a very loud venue, but did not suffer from distortion, which is a pleasant change as compared to other small venues.

The Fling are on their first headlining tour in support of their new EP, “What I’ve Seen”.   Hailing from the current musical hotbed of Long Beach, California, they are a band to watch out for.  Formed by singer Dustin Lovelis, and later joined by his brother Graham.  Their vocal interplay is beautiful, no doubt because of their familiarity of the great music they were raised on.  The band is now a 5 piece, which allows them to reproduce the complex sounds on their EP as well as their debut album “When The Madhouses Appear.”  With wide ranging influences from folk to psychedelic to rock, their sound is both unique, yet familiar.

After an opening song plagued with vocals being way too low in the mix, the band hit their stride with “Wanderingfoot.”  A jangly Southern rocker, with some pedal steel and great harmony vocals, it is easy to see why this was the lead single from Madhouses.

The next section of 5 songs highlighted their new EP.  “Bottom Feeders” is a mid-tempo song with a great guitar riff and catchy drumming.  The lead single from the “What I’ve Seen” EP, “Dogpile” features Graham Lovelis on vocals and has a bouncy, upbeat vibe.  “Cuz a Good Man’s Hard To Find” is short and soulful, and made for a great lead in for “Leave Me Alone.”  The haunting keys and chiming guitar make this one of the standout tracks on the EP.  “Teeth” featured vocals from both Dustin and Graham.  The final song that was played from the EP was “You’re In My Dreams,” which sounds like it could have been from the British Invasion.  The short, catchy songs on the EP make for a fun listening experience, especially with the great vocals and instrumentation of the band.

“Out of My Head” featured heavy riffing from 3 guitars, powerhouse drumming by Justin Ivey and an immediacy that makes you want to hear it again.  After thanking the crowd and saying have a great night, Dustin Lovelis realized they had forgotten to play a song, and the band started the epic “Cold Comfort.”   It is kind of an outlier among their songs as it is six plus minutes long while most of the songs are short two-three minute songs, but the long building introduction makes it a great choice for a final song.  The chiming guitars and haunting vocals make it the perfect sound track for a late night drinking session.

Opener Yukon Blonde hails from Vancouver, Canada and plays an updated version of classic rock.  You can hear influences from riff rock to Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young and even a more full sounding White Stripes.   Their most recent EP “Fire//Water” is a collection of songs that did not make the forthcoming LP, but if they are an indication of the strength of songs, Yukon Blonde will have a great future.  Despite their extremely short set of 6 songs, they really got the crowd dancing.

Set opener “Babies Don’t Like Blue Anymore” featured beautiful harmony vocals and searing guitar riff.  “Brides Song” starts with a catchy guitar intro, followed by the drums and a steady riff.  The highlight of the set was “Wind Blows,” from their self-titled album.  3 part harmonies and snappy drumming and the great chorus make for what should have been a hit.

Both bands are touring together for another month; make sure to try to catch them if you can!

Information about the review..
Tour: The Fling Headlining Tour
Bands: The Fling and Yukon Blonde
Date: November 25, 2011
Venue: Ultra Lounge in Chicago, IL