And Without Further Ado… ‘This is Lorelai’
Article by Lauren Travers, cover photo by Grace Wallace
On a cold January night in Chicago, there is no better place to be on a Friday night than Schubas Tavern as ‘This is Lorelai’ prepares to take the stage. After years working as a singer/songwriter in the indie pop duo Water From Your Eyes, Nate Amos set out on his own with the recent release of Box for Buddy, Box for Star under his alias ‘This is Lorelai’. Amos has been releasing ep’s under that name since 2014, but his new album is a departure from his typical sound, focusing more on lyrics with clear inspiration from the country music that Amos grew up listening to.
The show is opened by Options, better known as Seth Engel, a local Chicago sound engineer, supported by his 5-piece band. Options is the best high-energy pop has to offer, kept interesting with a pronounced electronic sound as best demonstrated in their performance of ‘Lay Low’ halfway through their set. Towards the end of their time on stage, Engel reiterated his thanks to the audience, thanking them profusely for coming out early, and based on the reaction from the crowd, they were glad they came early too.
Youbet saw themselves on stage not long after, with Frontman Nick Llobet and bassist Micah Prussack taking opposite sides of the stage, leaving the center empty, with Jojo Quinn on drums tucked in the back. Rock filled the room in an instant as the band started playing, with Llobet losing himself in his own voice, only in tune with his guitar, as if the audience were not there at all. Prussack struck up a rapport with the crowd, joking around in a way that was overtly Gen-Z, citing the crowd as stereotypically “midwestern”, saying “You midwestern folks are so nice, so silent,” joking “Don’t you guys have conversations to get back to” in the lull between songs. As the set progressed Llobet found his confidence, and the ‘shy rockstar’ persona from the beginning was stripped, and after songs like ‘Deny’ and “Boris’ reverberated through the speakers, it was easy to forget there was a performance still upcoming, the crowd easily losing themselves in the loud rock Youbet offered.
By the time ‘This is Lorelai’ strolls on stage, the audience is buzzing, and the room is packed to the point of overheating. Amos mutters a simple “Let’s go” into the microphone and with no introduction the show has begun. Amos starts with ‘Angel’s Eye’, and in front of bright white lights, he embarks on a mellow journey through his recent album, not straying off the setlist. Between songs, there is no time to breathe. The audience is almost gasping for more and after a simple “thank you’ uttered between each track, Amos jumps right into each song, not needing anything more than the music to draw the audience in, no frills and especially no fuss. The band perform the album in it’s entirety with stand out performances on ‘I’m All Fucked Up’, with it’s upbeat melody and lyrics dripping with anguish, and the finale ‘An Extra Beat for You and Me’, which closed the show and left the crowd begging for more. The final note rang out not even forty five minutes after ‘This is Lorelai’ started their set, but the warmth humming through the audience lasted well after, surviving long into the sub-zero temperatures outside of Schubas Tavern that night.