Jawbreakers “Dear You” is now 27 years old and with it has ushered in an entirely new generation of punk blended emo music along with it. After announcing 2 shows at the House Of Blues in Chicago fan reception to them was so grand with quick sell outs that 2 nights quickly turned into 4 sold out nights.
Kicking off the evening was local stand up comedian Irene Tu. This gave the night a different start than your typical show but ushered in the crowd well warming them up for what was to come. Irene got the laughs from the crowd that weren’t expecting comedy and made some fans along the way.
Next up were Chicagos own Smoking Popes blasting through a set of pop punk hits that had the crowd singing. Singer / guitarist Josh Caterer brings his unique voice to the band that has helped Smoking Popes remain popular for 30+ years now. With a short set this meant they could blow through a set of crowd favorites and more keeping it short and sweet.
Keeping on trend for being a night of different sounds indie rockers Built To Spill hit the stage. Now performing as a 3 piece with Doug Martsch being the only original member they made it sound like a large band. With a stand full of pedals and mixers Dough makes one guitar sound like an army with a brand of their catchy but also jam band style rock. With a longer set than Smoking Popes they had the crowd engrossed the entire time that the band had graced the stage returning to Chicago.
Finally though was the moment fans had been waiting for. Now performing as a 4 piece Jawbreaker hit the stage and broke right into a 90 minute set. While they are doing “Dear You” in full they are playing it out of order and sometimes intertwined with other songs. This leaves fans in attendance some mystery to the set and helps to pace out the setlist better I believe. It should also be noted that the band seems to be changing their set list nightly both in order of songs played and what songs they are performing.
With all 3 original members holding up different areas of the stage with only frontman / guitarist Blake Schwarzenbach up front the band blasted through a set while fans went rabid jumping and singing along. Known for being a band that has held massive influence in the genre and influenced bands like Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, all these years later its clear that the love for Jawbreaker has only grown stronger. If you’re even a slight fan of the band or genre as a whole this is a tour you must see.
