Show review: Chairlift, Class Actress, Polica at Schubas, 1/14

By Frank Krolicki

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

We're not even through the first month of 2012 and I'm already declaring Something, the upcoming sophomore album from Brooklyn's Chairlift, one of my top favorites of the year. To make that statement even bolder, I haven't even heard the whole thing yet. After incessantly listening to its three pre-released tracks, live versions and samples on iTunes, I feel that confident about it. So as soon as I found out the band would be passing through Chicago to headline Saturday night's installment of this year's Tomorrow Never Knows fest at Schubas, I made sure I'd be there. The full night consisted of an endurance-testing bill of five acts that focused on female voices, and while I didn't catch first openers Wild Belle and Willis Earl Beal, I arrived in time to take in Polica and Class Actress before the main event.

Polica (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Polica was mesmerizing, not so much because immediate hooks were in great supply, but because of the way singer Channy Leaneagh's powerful voice snaked around the room with both mystery and conviction. Sometimes processed with a slightly spooky, robotic touch and other times more natural, the front woman's delivery accompanied equally atmospheric music for trance inducing effect. Songs like "Violent Games" and "Amongster" off the band's debut Give You the Ghost struck just the right balance between pleasing and strange, and succeeded in setting a mood that captivated a packed Schubas.

Next came Brooklyn's Class Actress, fronted by the coquettish Elizabeth Harper, who despite her act's name didn't seem quite ready for her close-up. Dressed in a trench coat, with a tousled flop of brown hair and almost no stage light directed at her, Harper came across as a bit of an enigma (as well as a damn hard subject to capture a good photo of). This seemed a bit odd considering the unashamed, neon '80s synth sound of her music, which clearly looks to the dancey extroversion of vintage Madonna for inspiration. It didn't help that Class Actress's set began with Harper repeatedly requesting that the electronic drums be made louder for what seemed like five long minutes, which created confusion (I overheard a fellow audience member wonder if it was a comedy part of the act). Even if it was all kind of weird, it would have been tough to resist the candy-coated grooves of "Keep You" and "Weekend," highlights off the 2011 album Rapprocher, as well as the uplifting new wavey set closer "Let Me Take You Out." Class Actress made the smallest impact of the three acts I saw Saturday night, but the performance was entertaining overall and not without its glitzy high points.

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

After a night filled with late start times, Chairlift finally took the stage around 12:30, almost a half hour after they were supposed to begin. By this time a portion of the audience had already trickled out (post-midnight start times can have that effect), but there was still a sizable crowd, and Chairlift quickly made it clear that anyone who decided to soldier on to the end made the right decision. I went into the show admittedly biased, but I would have a hard time understanding how anyone could resist the enchantment of the band's live show, loaded with slinky synth lines, sexy bass grooves, and most importantly, the stunning ethereal vocals of front woman Caroline Polachek. Like influencers Kate Bush and Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser, Polachek has the gift of not only being an exceptional singer, but an exceptional singer who can transport you to a different world with her delivery. "All of the bones in your body are in way too few pieces for me, time to do something about it if you know what I mean," she coolly asserted as the first line of opener "Sidewalk Safari," and a threat of physical harm never sounded so alluring.

Patrick Wimberly of Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Although technically currently a duo--Polachek is teamed with multi-instrumentalist Patrick Wimberly--a larger band is smartly present on Chairlift's current tour. This allowed for a fuller, more grabbing sound than just two people could fill a room with, which was especially needed to give boisterous, '80s new wave-drenched songs such as "I Belong in Your Arms" and "Met Before" the sort of punch they have on their recorded versions. Those two new tracks joined a handful of others off the soon-released Something to make up the bulk of the set. To represent their 2008 debut Does You Inspire You, Chairlift wisely chose to include the four most memorable tracks--the playful French cut "Le Flying Saucer Hat," the dreamy, slap-bass heavy "Planet Health," a dancier take on single "Evident Utensil" and their most widely known song, bouncy iPod anthem "Bruises." In place of former member Aaron Pfenning's vocal part on the album version of "Bruises," Polachek cleverly inserted a bit of Modern English's "I Melt With You."

After opting to skip the theatrics of leaving the stage and coming back out for an encore, the band closed the night with "Amanaemonesia," a titan of a synth-pop tune that has generated plenty of buzz online thanks to its bizarre unitard-and-wonky-dance-heavy video. Polachek concentrated on singing the hell out of the song instead of doing the infamous Amanaemonesia dance. It was a reasonable trade-off and a high-energy finale.

At one point during Chairlift's set Wimberly quipped, "Somebody shut those back doors. You can't leave." The thought never crossed my mind.


Chairlift setlist: Sidewalk Safari, Le Flying Saucer Hat, Take It out on Me, Wrong Opinion, Planet Health, Ghost Tonight, I Belong in Your Arms, Guilty as Charged, Bruises, Met Before, Evident Utensil, Amanaemonesia

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Chairlift (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Class Actress (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Polica (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Polica (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Polica (photo: Frank Krolicki)

Polica (photo: Frank Krolicki)