Article by: Emily Schwarz
The return of live music, especially festivals, has been an interesting transition back to normalcy after the eventful last year we’ve had, with Chicago being in the forefront with the return of Lollapalooza. This weekend-long festival brings in all types of artists and music, but most importantly, it always makes an effort to make room for some of Chicago’s hometown heroes. This year, the beloved Post Animal played the festival, as well as an aftershow at Sleeping Village on July 30th, for which we were in attendance.
Though live music has been forever changed by the Covid-19 Pandemic, walking through the doors of Sleeping Village, I was overwhelmed by a sense of normalcy, which was an amazing thing to experience after so much uncertainty for the past year. The twinkling lights of the outside patio, the disco ball reflecting around the room, it almost felt right to be there, like the year-long wait for live music was worth it!
Opening the show was Valebol, the self-described “express pop” duo, who brought a lot of good energy to the start of a late-night, as the show started at 11 PM. Up next was Post Animal, accompanied by lights projecting deep colors across the stage, to match the energy of their music. They started out almost immediately by playing some of their classic songs, especially off their 2018 album When I Think Of You In A Castle. They played songs from Forward Motion Godyssey, which came out right before the Pandemic began, and for their encore, they played “Alabaster,” which has been a fan favorite for years since their first album in 2015.
We were lucky enough to catch Post Animal at the aftershow because every time they play in Chicago, it’s always very high energy and a lot of fun! Sadly, Post Animal won’t be playing in Chicago again any time soon. After Lollapalooza, the Chicago-based band will be spending the next few months preparing for a tour in October, where they are accompanied by Hot Flash Heat Wave and Reptaliens, touring some of the Midwest and Western states. Following that tour, they will be hopping on tour with Ron Gallo to play more shows around the Midwest.