By Colette Custin
Chapel Hill indie gods Superchunk returned to Chicago for the second time in a year, with this go-round celebrating the 30th anniversary of the band’s 1994 album Foolish. Tuesday’s show at Lincoln Hall saw the band digging incredibly deep for some rarely played cuts like Magnetic Fields cover “100,000 Fireflies” and rarely played tunes from the aforementioned album.
At the start of the show, vocalist/guitarist Mac McCaughan dedicated things to one of Chicago’s greats.
“We recorded Foolish in Minnesota but mixed it in Chicago with Steve Albini, and we’re thinking about him a lot tonight,” he noted before beginning Foolish album opener “Like A Fool,” a slow burn of an intro that quickly moved into high-energy, anthemic indie punk rock that’s been Superchunk’s hallmark for over three decades. “Why Do You Have to Put a Date on Everything” and the triumphant chorus of “Water Wings” shone more light on Foolish, and there were more nods to Albini’s legacy with the band in the form of some classics from No Pocky for Kitty. “Skip Steps 1 & 3” saw bassist Jason Narducy, guitarist Jim Wilbur, and McCaughan laying down gang vocals that found the crowd shouting along, too, and “Reagan Youth” (‘a song about incipient fascism’) and “What A Time To Be Alive” sardonically addressed the current political climate.
Superchunk remains a force of nature in the world of indie rock, their live shows a cathartic explosion of emotional melodies and lyrics – there’s no better representation out there of the ‘90s indie and punk scene than McCaughan and crew, whose legacy just continues to grow with each tour.
30th anniversary run for Here’s Where the Strings Come In next year? Let’s hope so.
Superchunk – Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL, 10/15/24 (setlist)
Like A Fool
Why Do You Have to Put a Date On Everything Reagan Youth
Sprung A Leak
Punch Me Harder
Learned to Surf
Kicked In
Water Wings
Low F
Low Branches
Seed Toss
Skip Steps 1 & 3
Driveway to Driveway
The First Part
What a Time to Be Alive
If You’re Not Dark
Hello Hawk
100,000 Fireflies
Slack Motherfucker
Precision Auto
Throwing Things
