Surfing the Subterranean with Prince Daddy & the Hyena
Article and photos by Sam Hartman
Jam-packed on a Monday night, Prince Daddy & the Hyena sold out Wicker Park’s Subterranean. Filled with pop-punk fans from all around Chicago, Prince Daddy & the Hyena took the stage with openers Carpool, Riley!, and saturdays at your place.
Starting off strong, Carpool brought the heat opening with the song “Come Thru Cool (Punk Ass)”. Carpool got the crowd moving with their high energy and rambunctious attitudes. Bassist Tori Ross leaped into the crowd to mosh when lead guitarist Tommy Eckerson played his solo. Later on, the lead singer got up close and personal, playing his guitar in the middle of the pit. At the end of their set, lead signer from Ogbert the Nerd came on stage to finish with “The Salty Song (Erotic Nightmare Summer)”.
Up next Riley! brought their punchy sound to the stage as their devoted fans jumped right into the music. Just like the gears of a finely tuned machine, each instrument fulfilled its role to bring Riley!’s in-your-face sound. Playing songs off their new album Keep Your Cool, the crowd jumped up and down, all around to every song. Shredding the bass like no other, tapping their guitar in between chords, and swift, quick-moving drums, Riley! left their mark on the crowd.
The last opener, saturdays at your place, came on with a much more mellow sound. Opening with their song “future” the crowd immediately sang along with the band. Paying tribute to their hometown, Kalamazoo, MI, the band played hit songs like “it’s always cloudy in kalamazoo” and “tarot cards” causing the crowd to create a circle pit covering most of the floor. Despite having their trailer stolen in Cleveland, saturdays at your place were able to play their set thanks to Prince Daddy & the Hyena lending them their instruments.
After three exciting openers, Prince Daddy & the Hyena got on stage and jumped right into “Adult Summers (PART 2)”. The venue started to shake as everyone on the floor jumped up and down simultaneously. People wasted no time getting on stage to crowd surf across the venue. Waves of people went by as PD&H brought their high energy, spunky sound to their fans. Lead singer Kory Gregory had fun with the crowd when trying to get them to move during newer songs. He said “we are gonna play a new song and we may or may not be filming a music video” and the crowd went wild. Gregory then laughed after they played the track telling the audience that they were not filming but got them to dance for a new song. Ending the night with “I Forgot to Take My Meds Today” after the crowd demanded one more song, people flew to the front of the stage to crowd surf away and scream the lyrics. It was clear that even after 9 years since the release of their first EP Adult Summers and playing hundreds of shows together, PD&H could put on a memorable performance for both lifelong fans and those who had just heard their music for the first time that night.
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