WEEK OF 2/21/20

Faux Furrs / all 📷 : Aaron Pylinski

Wednesday night downstairs at the Subterranean was a trip-a-delic funky psyche-fest. Three musical talents plus a very pleasant surprise as a fourth met at the headwaters of Chicago music and laid down one delicious set after another. 
Zac Bron is the brainchild behind Breether and began the evening swaggering his talents in tandem with an incredible backing band. They opened with “Act Upon It,” an old favorite followed up with the title track from their latest album, “The Love Department,” a succulently playful tune. 
Even with a kick drum catastrophe toward the end of their set, Breether managed a solid warm-up for a chilly Chicago night. They closed with “Take a Minute” slowly walking the crowd through a velvety, sexual coda. 

Talk about a totally kick-ass last minute addition, when I saw Flora on the list at the door, I just about flipped. Like Faux Furrs, I had the pleasure of seeing them once before at Iconic where they slayed Schubas, and this evening was no different. 
With Ryan O’Toole and Max Miller anchoring a tightly tuned music machine, they were a perfect follow-up to Breether. While they showcased new material from their latest record, they didn’t stray from their amazing sound. You could easily sense the passion for playing their new stuff live. I’m so happy I had a second chance at seeing these folks live.  

Daydream Review followed-up Flora to release a new single and brought in Bron from Breether to round out the keys. As they rolled through their playlist, “Deja Vu” played live shows with the breadth and the depth that Elijah Montez brings to the table with a full band. His guitar skills in the Chicago pop-psyche world are near unparalleled. 
Kaitlyn Murphy added sweet complementing vocals, rocked the tambourine, and was feeling the Bern with her badassed blue Bernie shirt. It would be damn near stupid not to mention the rest of the band who Gorilla-glued the entire set together. 
They closed out with their newest single, “With You,” bringing out the ‘60s vibe always at the forefront of their music; you could feel it in their style and hear it in their sound. With that, I was getting to see yet another of my favorites for a second time. 

Ever since my first time seeing Faux Furrs at the Hideout, I knew I needed to see them again and this time, I wanted to vocalize the experience. They started the set with “Bag Baby” and rolled through relentless hits.  
“Smith Park” dropped twinkling keys and Ryan Deffet’s perfectly timed vox. The band played effortlessly with Lena Rush on bass and Ryan Nolen vibing on lead guitar. They jammed through “Wrong About It” with melodically religious fervor. 
I was swept away by “Invaders” and wowed by Faux Furrs’ prolific pallet of pop-psyche. This set was fantastic, and having been diving hard into their catalog, it was nice to bring it all full circle at this show. 
All together, everyone on the bill brought their unique talents to the table. It was like pairing a fine wine with three other fine wines and getting drunk as shit off some of the best pop-psychedelic music in the Midwest. Yet another great outing in this fair Windy City on a balmy February night.  

-Aaron Pylinski