Last night a friend and I went to see "The Whigs" in concert at The Bottom Lounge in Chicago. I didn't know much about the band before I bought tickets, to be honest. They were at Lollapalooza last year, so I received a free itunes song from them when I went there, and I liked THAT song ("Right Hand On My Heart"). So I figured I might like some of their other music too. And at $15 a ticket, that's not a bad night out on the town.
The Whigs are from Athens, Georgia; they're obscure enough that they can only pack out small venues, but they definitely have some loyal and very enthusiastic followers. The venue was a bar nestled underneath the Metra Line in a Chicago neighborhood off the beaten path. In the front portion of the Bottom Lounge is a regular sports bar and grill, but to see the show, you have to walk out the back doors into a large, dark, concert hall reminiscent of something Edgar Allan Poe might dream up. There were perhaps 500 people packed inside, mostly white, young professionals in their 20s and early 30s.
The Whigs are basically a three-person garage rock band, so if you like that sort of thing, this band's for you. They were great entertainers and if you appreciate very skilled drummers, the dummer for the Whigs was VERY impressive. It was a fun night. My ears are still ringing, and it was pretty late by the time I got home, but it's the kind of experience that's pretty fun once in a while.
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