As I walked into the venue, the vibes were noticeably casual. The headliners, bounced around the venue, talking to local friends and fans while watching the opening act. Ricky Eat Acid moved swiftly through the crowd in a brown fur coat. But don’t be fooled by the name, the former member of Teen Suicide’s name is actually Sam Ray and he didn’t pull any punches this Thursday night at the Empty Bottle. 

Beginning his set with the opening songs from his album such as “f*cking to songs on radios”, he progressed into shimmering beats, melting into some tropical house that got the room pretty humid. Harsh noise abruptly marked the sets halfway point, waking one up the way it does after having fallen asleep on the couch as a child greeted by a staticky television break at one in the morning. From there, a cohesive wall of noise melted into a systematically broken video-game hacked just to the right meter. 

After a quick break, Kitty moved through the crowd and up to the stage where her husband Sam joined her. After solving some technical difficulties, Kitty popped things off with “2 Minutes” sending the crowd into a frenzy. As she continued playing songs from her long-anticipated studio album, Miami Garden Club, the dynamic of the crowd started to feel like the gathering of old friends listening to middle school dance songs in someone’s basement. Kitty attested to this, stopping at one point to comment, “I love coming to Chicago because you all know my songs” before the crowd erupted into a chant to the opening lyrics of “Mass Text Booty Call”. The highlight of the performance had to have been her spontaneous decision to perform the viral song that put her on the map, “Orions Belt”, with help from an audience member. To end the 45-minute dance party, Kitty performed “Miss You”, her most popular track to date. 

Kitty and Ricky Eat Acid can be found on Twitter at @kittyaveli & @rickyeatacid.