The Story So Far returned to Chicago for the first time in 3 years with a stacked lineup and in return got a massive sold out crowd on a cool Saturday night.
Kicking the evening off was alt rockers Microwave. Bringing a different and softer sound to the night they got the crowd singing along and ready to go as the crowd shuffled into the venue. With a set consisting of songs spanning their 10 year career this gave the crowd songs new and old to enjoy.
Following them up next was what is sure to be pop punks next huge thing, Mom Jeans. Unfamiliar much with the band before the show they kicked the now packed crowd to 11. Constant crowd surfers and the crowd singing louder than the band showed that for an opening band, they were beloved by those in attendance. Smiling and moving around the stage the band made sure to give all the energy right back to the crowd. Bassist Sam Kless should get extra credit though for not only the nonstop energy and smiles but also being able to rally the crowd before his every moment. Don’t sleep on this band because you’ll be seeing them at big venues soon enough.
The crowd was no stranger to Joyce Manor as they entered the set. Blasting through a set from their entire career including new material from their upcoming release “40oz To Freshno”, the band had fans singing along for every song. Mixing their sound between punk rock, pop punk, and even indie alt rock at times the band makes it work in a live setting changing it up to not wear fans out. As usual the inbetween banter as well had the crowd going include many talks about aliens.
Finally though it was time for the band of the evening. Its often stated that The Story So Far has a less energetic live show than they once did and while that is true they’ve clearly spent that energy into sounding on point. You won’t find many other pop punk bands that sound so perfect live as they do which balances out constantly jumping around the stage. Front man Parker Cannon strolled around smiling throughout the set while belting out what has become a set full of pop punk anthems.
With a setlist spanning 20 songs the band ran through their history with a heavy helping of songs from their latest release “Proper Dose”. Opening with “Clairvoyant” though is quite the choice though as most bands would want to kick the energy to 100 right away instead of starting with your slowest song.
This continued to show though that TSSF is one of the genres biggest and best sounding bands. With a stacked lineup that covers different genres to send you through during the night this is a must see tour.
