Bleachers sold-out The Salt Shed
“You guys are better than Cleveland,” Bleachers’ lead singer, Jack Antonoff announced to the loud crowd at the Salt Shed, located at 1357 E. Elston Ave. on Saturday, May 25, 2024.
Antonoff alongside his bandmates, Zem Audu, Mikey Freedom Hart, Sean Hutchinson, Michael Riddleberger and Evan Smith gave everything to their performance to the sold-out crowd for the From The Studio To The Stage tour, where everyone got lucky with the perfect weather and beautiful sunset.
To be honest, I was extremely nervous to cover this show, so nervous I am putting myself into this review. I was a substitute reporter for this show, and I didn’t know much about Bleachers beyond Jack Antonoff’s impressive accreditations in other works. The nerves evaporated as soon as I walked into the fairgrounds and quickly acquainted the passionate fans who have camped outside of the venue to get a good spot.
A father-daughter duo towards stage right caught my attention, both of them wearing Bleachers shirts and the daughter dancing around in the sun before the set.
Rich Driscoll was introduced to the band in 2015 and saw them perform at Chicago’s Riot Fest in 2022.
“[Antonoff] is just going to engage the crowd,” Driscoll said. “You're gonna be part of the show and feel like you're part of the show.”
Driscoll brought his love of Bleachers home to his daughter Lucy, who said “I liked their music and this type of music that they always do really well.”
The set was electrifying and jampacked. Energy from the fans was fed right back to them from the band, with most of the members moving around constantly creating a feelgood connection that doesn’t happen much anymore.
Most of the time, a show feels the way it is– a stage with the artist on it, and a barrier– this show had that setup but didn’t feel like there was any sort of barrier between the crowd and the band. Probably because Antonoff posted a note to Instagram before the tour started, explaining his welcoming of signs, appreciation of homemade merch and being kind to one-another.
The band also explained their love to Chicago venues, remembering all of the venues they’ve played at like Schubas, Aragon Ballroom and The Vic, and expressed their love for Chicago musicians. One of which from one of the most iconic bands to come from the city joined them on the Salt Shed stage.
Wilco’s lead-singer Jeff Tweedy joined the band for a duet rendition of “Margaret,” and the crowd went wild.
While leaving the Salt Shed after the show, I couldn’t help but think about what Driscoll had said to me.
“You're going to be listening to him for the next month afterwards, because you're gonna lose your mind,” Driscoll said. “They're just I think they're the best band out there right now.”
