Hey, wasn’t Chvrches just here, in our fair city? That’s right partner. It was Lollapalooza 2018 in August. And now, they’ve returned for the special 101WKQX Christmas show, The Nights We Stole Christmas.
Must have been Saturday night, because the crowd was revved up and ready to party. Radio station events are run like clockwork, so after the hologram-like introduction on the big screen, accompanied by something like an end of school day countdown clock, the lights were hit, which seemed to be precisely connected to the audience’s vocal chords. Right on cue, the screams erupted. Thanks again to my trusty Earasers for knocking down those high freqs, saving my listening membranes from ripping clean through.
Singer Lauren Mayberry is a force. She must also carry the weight of center stage as her mates, Iain and Martin take cover behind stacks of machinery and their respective stringed things. For such a delightful creature, she unleashes quite the torrent. Her voice is so pure and also so unique, that one is enchanted. She’s fun to watch commanding the stage with a palpable confidence. Actually, for gear heads out there, Martin Doherty and Iain Cook are quite entertaining as well, even if you’re just wiping the drool off your chin from ogling 5 figures worth of analog synth equipment.
As they usually do, they remind the crowd that they’re a long way off from their homeland of Scotland, which always seems to elicit cheers of respect and support. Recover and The Mother We Share, one of their signature and most defining pieces, come late in the set, making for a big finish. Overall, they fit nicely together with their newer pieces such as Miracle and My Enemy, making for a very entertaining and well rounded one hour set.
Take an audible gander at Chvrches and their gift of tension laden verses and huge, explosive choruses:
