Khruangbin A LA Salt Shed
Along the Chicago River, right across from Goose Island, music lovers from far and wide gathered at the former Morton Salt Factory, now converted into a new-age music venue, Salt Shed. Brought together by psychedelic / Thai-Funk band Khruangbin the weekend of June 7, fans were in store for a night of excellent weather, music, and hospitality.
There are 2 stages at the Salt Shed, the indoor venue, and the Fairgrounds, where Khruangbin and supporting act John Caroll Kirby were set to perform. The Fairgrounds is a fairly large venue, allowing for thousands of fans to congregate for a substantial amount of time before the shows began. There are numerous vendors at the Fairgrounds, including food, dessert, and beverages.The cherry on top was the marvelous view of the Chicago skyline seen from the venue, as the John Handcock building and the Sears Tower were visible behind the stage.
John Caroll Kirby is a pianist, composer, and producer who has been making music for about 10 years, collaborating with popular acts like Frank Ocean and Miley Cyrus . With Danae Greenfield on keys, Logan Hone on flute, JP Maramba on bass, and William Alexander on drums, the band plays various styles of jazz music. Supported by the rhythms of Maramba and Alexander, and the melodies of Kirby and Greenfield, Hone stole the show with his energetic and expressive performances on his flute. Moving around the stage and dancing to the infectious tones, Hone raised the energy levels of the crowd dramatically.
The highlight of the set was the group’s performance of ‘Butterfly’ by Herbie Hancock. The song was transformed by the group’s danceable performance. With a focus on the rhythm and the saxophone, this song had the whole crowd dancing along. The band aptly concluded their performance with a bow in the center of the stage, allowing each band member to receive their due praise.
The stage setup for Khruangbin’s set was unique. An asymmetrical staircase led up to the drum kit, and along the back of the stage was a giant wall with 3 large window cutouts, behind which was the LCD screen. The setup mirrored similar aesthetics to the cover for their latest album, A LA SALA, as well as the city-specific posters they have been releasing for each stop on tour. As the band members took the stage, each taking position in front of a window. They began their performance with the intro track off the new album ‘Fifteen Fifty-Three.’ Bassist Laura Lee, guitarist Mark Speer, and drummer DJ Johnson launched into the soothing track, featuring a beautiful guitar tone from Speer, and a wonderful bass riff from Lee.
They continued into one of the singles from the new album, ‘May 9.’ The song continues similar musical motifs from the previous song, but introduces some vocals from Lee and Speer, singing ‘waiting for May to come, hoping for the rain,’ in beautiful, quiet voices. The band continued to play the whole album through, taking brief intermissions between songs, but never allowing the audiences attention to waver. The way Lee and Speer moved around the stage was similar to highly skilled dancers, as if every step was carefully choreographed. It felt as though every movement was considered, and the position on stage held some kind of significance.
One high point from this set was the back to back performances of ‘Todavía Viva,’ and ‘Juegos y Nubes,’ which both sounded wonderfully different live on stage than they do on the album. As the performances went on, the clouds outside the windows on stage grew thicker and darker, and rain sounds began to play. This culminated in a simulated storm, and an emotional performance of the final song on the album, ‘Les Petit Gris.’ Lee and Speer sat on the edge of the stage, feet hanging down as they slowly and lovingly played each note. At the end of the song, the band members slowly walked off stage, allowing the audience to reflect on the performance, with only the sounds of rain and thunder to accompany.
After a brief intermission, the band came back on stage, and began their second set, consisting of songs from their previous records. They hit on fan favorites like ‘Time (You and I)’ and ‘Evan Finds the Third Room,’ as well as deeper cuts like ‘The Man Who Took My Sunglasses,’ and ‘Master of Life’. They even brought out Logan Hone to perform the flute on an extended ‘August 10’ jam, with members of each band making a line and marching around stage, dancing to the music. The second set really felt like a celebration of Khruangbin, with beautiful, vibrant colored lights, and danceable, mind-bending jams to our favorite songs. The show concluded with an encore performance of two more fan favorite tracks, ‘Zionsville,’ and ‘People Everywhere (Still Alive).’
The atmosphere, performance, audience, and experience are all top-notch when going to a Khruangbin show. If you have the opportunity, I would definitely recommend going to one of their shows. After finishing their US tour at Bonnaroo, Khruangbin will be going to Europe before coming back for a second US leg in late summer into the fall.