📷 / ✏️ : Aaron Pylinski

The fact that it was a school night, the Beat Kitchen was a great setting for a show. That didn’t stop folks from crowding the room with knit hats, pints of beer, and chit-chat between sets. The evening showcased three great math rock bands from Chicago all bringing a special flavor to the stage.

Morinda started the night off with a band huddle in the crowd and then took the stage. For those who haven’t seen them live yet, don’t hesitate - get to their next show. They don’t have much for music out there on the interwebs, so a live show is the best way to get a feel for the music. 

The opener “Philip” showed off Chet Zenor’s great guitar while “Circles” rode in fast and hard like a tropical storm. With each song, the crowd was given the gift of dynamic musical soundscapes lifted up by drummer Jack Henry.

A standout song for the night, and crowd favorite, was “Form” which came out with a 100% yacht rock feel. “Fade” gave the crowd dueling guitars between Zenor and guitarist/vocalist Bailey Minzenberger, both complemented by bassist Jason Ashworth.

They finished with “Eyes'' which felt like a love song just for my ears. I couldn’t think of a better way to start the evening. Their set was relatively chill compared to the other two bands on the ticket, but the crowd still got a lot of power infused with beauty and grace. 

Spirits Having Fun took the stage next and wound the crowd up with a flourishing mix of prog meets jazz tuneage. This was their first set since July, but they were flowing well between bandmates on stage. They started out with “Silhouette”, a slow burn that ignited and showcased the intricate skills each member brings to the table.

They kept the vibe going with “The Leaf is a Chorus'' spelling out Jesse Heasly’s awesome bass skills that rival any 70’s funk and Phil Sudderberg’s unrelenting abilities on the drums. Songs like “Broken Cloud” and “See a Sky'' were rambling journeys mimicking a jazz improv trip highlighting the fact that Katie McShanes’s vocals and guitar styling are so syncopated it’s almost hard to tell which is which.

All-in-all, the set felt like they sprinkled jazz and stadium rock together over a washtub of prog rock. Just when you thought you were going in one direction, Spirits would change it up and shoot you on a tangent going the other way. There was no shortage of intensity coming from the stage.

Rounding out the evening was Floatie. They’ve been on a lot of radars around the music scene and it’s not hard to realize why. Though their set was short, sweet and to the point it was packed with pu, prog, and a bit of whimsy. That was evident from the start when they opened with “The Envoy” and “Shiny”, both songs that got the crowd swaying to Sam Bern’s fanciful vocals and the combo of Will Wisniewski’s guitar and Luc Schutz’s drumming brought a bouncing journey the whole way.

When they played the title track from their Voyage Out album, the crowd danced to the plucky guitars that eventually took off like a rocket ship. You could hear influences from the likes of Gang of Four and Mogwai in their delivery. Though the band seemed to be all business on the stage, Wisniewski managed some quips about merch getting the crowd laughing asking where all the “gruel heads were at.” The set ended almost as fast as it started and the night was done, plenty of time to make curfew. 

As always, Chicago, tell us your stories. If you’re interested in contributing words, photos, or videos, let us know. We want the people to tell Chicago’s music story. Keep surfing, y’all! 

-A-A Ron