In Review: Slow Pulp at Thalia Hall
Photos by Will McLaughlin
Last Saturday, Slow Pulp finished out their North American tour with a sold-out show at Thalia Hall.
Entering the venue I passed dozens of warnings taped on nearly every surface near the entrance, the disclaimers stating simply: “NO TICKETS AVAILABLE, TOTALLY SOLD OUT.” Between the crowd’s excitement for the music to begin and Slow Pulp’s excitement for their much-deserved hiatus before their European tour, the atmosphere of Thalia Hall was similar to that of the last day of school before summer break.
Being from Madison and now living in Chicago, Slow Pulp is arguably one of the most midwestern bands performing today, representing all the virtues typical to a midwestern outfit: they’re polite, incredibly grateful for their fans and they work their asses off. Slow Pulp, comprised of Emily Massey, Alex Leeds, Teddy Matthews and Henry Stoehr, has been finding a stronger and more effective creative rhythm with each new release, their new album Yard being the most recent addition to their catalogue of bubblegrunge rock.
I-90 Southbound typically offers anywhere between ten and twenty construction-related reasons to delay someone from reaching their destination on time, but luckily for me I managed to get to Thalia early enough to catch Babehoven’s performance before Slow Pulp went on. As the room filled, the audience collectively fell into a trance listening to the New York-based duo, rocking and swaying to each song they played. The crowd didn’t have any mid-song conversations or disruptions, Babehoven garnered everyone’s undivided attention as they performed. Even lead singer Maya Bon couldn’t help but acknowledge the patient silence as everyone waited for the next song to begin.
“For an opening band, it means so much,” she told the room with an embarrassed laugh.
Once Slow Pulp came on-stage, the room erupted into applause and they wasted no time by going straight into “Slugs” from Yard. Slow Pulp played with the precision of a band that has been polishing their live sound for months. Since moving to Chicago, they’ve opened for The Pixies, Death Cab for Cutie, and Alvvays, and now, with this tour, they have had their chance to properly headline for their new album. They can finally enjoy the spotlight that they undoubtedly earned.
Even coming off the heels of weeks on the road, weeks of travel and performing night after night, Slow Pulp had no signs of slowing down. They played new Yard songs, all-time hits from Moveys and older tracks from their EP “Big Day.” Emily, in addition to giving an incredible vocal performance, showed complete comfortability with the Chicago crowd. For “High” she inspired the sold-out room to sing along at full volume while her harmonica performance on “Broadway” sent everyone clean over the edge of excitement.
When they did slow things down after a four-track streak of Yard hits, Emily introduced “Fishes” with a dedication to her good friend in the audience who always goes out of her way to house them when they need a break from city life. With it being one of the most tender and fragile songs in Slow Pulp’s discography, it’s the best example of their range that never drifts away from their specific style. They can move from the bangers to the tear-jerkers without losing a trace of momentum.
Finishing off the night, they thanked the crowd and waved their goodbyes. The crowd remained clapping and cheering, waiting for the obligatory pre-encore anticipation to build before Slow Pulp returned and finished off their North American tour with three back-to-back-to-back hits. By the time the lights came up and the guests scattered out the doors of Thalia, it seemed like the whole concert flew right by. Seeing that several camera operators had been floating around the stage throughout the show, there’s some hope that some sort of video might be in the works to give us all the chance to re-experience Slow Pulp’s killer performance. In the meantime, Slow Pulp will rest up, get a few hours of sleep and prepare for their European tour later this month.