The Sounds North American Tour 2011 – REVIEW

On The Sounds North American tour 2011, they came to The Vic in Chicago. With them came supporting acts DJ’s Kids At the Bar, The Limousines and K.FLAY. You can check out our review after the break!

Having never been to the Vic Theatre before, I really wasn’t sure what to expect but the small, intimate theatre was the perfect venue for The Sounds fall North American tour.

I won’t lie, I was a little apprehensive before K.FLAY opened the show. All I knew about Kristine Flaherty was that she was a female rapper and a Chicago local. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that not only does she rap, but she produces, mixes, sings and plays guitar, as well. K.FLAY is as fun to watch as her lyrics are witty, and her ability to multitask is honestly just impressive. Her show was different, entertaining and refreshing. I hadn’t seen anything quite like her before and K.FLAY is a fresh voice for independent female artists.

The Limousines were up next with a light show and stage energy to rival that of any electronic band I’d seen in the past. Front man Eric Victorino and producer Giovanni Giusti got the crowd dancing in no time with their Bay Area “indietronic” sound. Victorino was as animated in between songs as he was when singing. His tongue-in-cheek lyrics paired with Giusti’s beats are a perfect match. A fan prior to seeing them Saturday, I liked their song Wildfire when I’d heard it on their album. Hearing it live, however, easily made it my new favorite. Shortly after, when Internet Killed The Video Star started, you could barely hear the beginning of the song over everyone cheering. The Limousines set was great, I was genuinely disappointed when it was over.

However, Kids At The Bar didn’t disappoint. Starting immediately after The Limousines ended, DJ duo Matt Buckley and Chad “Rad” Raunborg kept us on an electronic music high without skipping a beat. These two were full of energy, jumping around while mixing popular songs to house and electro. Kids At The Bar are a must see if you like to dance to club music, but regardless of their taste, it felt as though everyone at the Vic couldn’t help but get into it. After Matt and Rad were finished, I was already checking for tour dates to see when they’d be back to Chicago.

Accompanied by a visual show that included intense strobe lights and a fog machine, The Sounds began their set. Ultra-talented and fiery lead singer Maja Ivarsson is even better live. A natural performer, Ivarsson danced, kicked and jumped around on stage without missing a note. In between songs, she kept the crowd involved cracking jokes and telling stories. Holding an unlit cigarette, she made everyone laugh as Maja explained to us how she had been forbidden to smoke on stage but was going to pretend to anyway. Then The Sounds multi-talented keyboardist and guitarist Jesper Anderberg accompanied Ivarsson, slowing down the high energy set to play Night After Night. With only the two of them on stage, Anderberg at the piano and Ivarsson singing, it sounded like the whole crowd knew the lyrics and the effect was truly beautiful. The rest of the show was wild and energetic, with everyone clapping and dancing to Better Off Dead. After taking a short break, the band came back out for a two song encore, Ivarsson truly owning the stage as they closed out the night with Hope You’re Happy Now.  Fun to watch, as well as listen to, I definitely won’t miss The Sounds when they come back to Chicago.

Information about the review…
Tour: The Sounds North American Tour 2011
Bands: The Sounds, DJ’s Kids At the Bar, The Limousines and K.FLAY
Reviewer: Rachel Djukic
Date: October 22, 2011
Venue: The Vic Theatre in Chicago, IL