A Window Into Ratboys at Thalia Hall
Written by Natalie Silva
Chicago band Ratboys finished up their last tour of the year with a Thanksgiving holiday hit at Thalia Hall that maintained their reputation as hometown favorites. Sharing the stage with Ducks Ltd. for the evening, the end of November was filled with a bounty of indie rock and good company.
Kicking off the night was Canadian duo, Ducks Ltd., formerly Ducks Unliminited. Their performance was special for a multitude of reasons, but taking the cake was the fact that the concert fell on the night of the 5 year anniversary of the release of their debut EP “Get Bleak”. Sharing their gratitude for their journey and the tour, Ducks Ltd. played a celebratory and fast paced set full of fun and upbeat songs. Slowing down to play the first part of “Heavy Bag” before ramping it back up again, Ducks Ltd. proved they can do it all. Ending the set with popular song “18 Cigarettes” proved a perfect close to a fantastic set, and built anticipation for the rest of the show.
Taking the stage not too long after was the main event. Ratboys put on a fun and playful show that featured the addition of some Chicago musician friends to the band, and interludes with silly stories that added meaning to the songs. When introducing “Elvis is in the Freezer,” awkward chuckles could be heard throughout the crowd as lead singer, Julia, explained that her childhood cat was kept in a freezer until she could return home from college for the burial. After playing it, Julia segwayed into “I Want You (Fall 2010),” a song about falling in love with a person at the same time as falling in love with music. Other song lyrics came from deep dives into random Wikipedia pages, and familial love, like in the song “Molly,” a song about Julia’s sister.
The band kept the opener’s pace and packed their set full of old favorites as well as so many new, unreleased tunes. Julia expressed her excitement to get back in the studio to record in the new year, so new Ratboys should be right around the corner. “Morning Zoo” was another hit and the crowd danced around, enjoying the melody and the fiddle as the set started to come to a close. The band played a few more songs before exiting the stage. Not to be fooled however, Ratboys came back out for a three song encore, with a solo song and two full band songs that got the venue all fired up again. Finishing the night with “Black Earth, WI,” off of their album “The Window,” Ratboys said their farewells to the crowd, but promised to return back to Thalia Hall for another extravaganza in the future. They will no doubt be welcomed back with open arms.
You can listen to Ratboys here!