A review and commentary on Ethel Cain’s 9/20 performance at the Saltshed in Chicago.
You may not think a 16 hour round trip drive for a concert and one night in Chicago is worth it, but I certainly did. I loved every minute (except maybe some of the driving) of the experience and Ethel was a fantastic live performer. We got to the venue around 6:00 for a 7:00 PM opener start time and had a great view of the stage without having to push through the crowd. The opener was a band called 9Million, an alt rock group originally from Toronto. While their sound wasn’t properly mixed and the vocals were difficult to hear, they had great stage presence and provided fun environment for the audience.
The set design for this tour is exactly what you would expect from Ethel Cain: earthy, minimal, and a little offbeat. Mostly consisting of draped ivy and other plants, the set keeps the music at the center of the experience. Her voice is enough to keep the crowd engaged, and the intimate feel of the Saltshed venue made her lyrics feel more personal. Her set was about two hours in length, making the total concert run about three hours with the opener. Given the length of some of her songs, I was concerned that she would play very many, or that the concert would be incredibly long, but the setlist had a great balance of both, and she ended up playing fifteen songs in total.
The setlist itself was overall pretty good, although I would have enjoyed a few more songs from Preacher’s Daughter to be included. She played all of the stand outs from Willoughby Tucker, I’ll Always Love You, the album she is on tour to promote, as well as a few songs from previous albums and EPs. My favorite performance of the night was her song, Thoroughfare, which worked very well in a live setting, and provided opportunities for audience engagement. The last song of the encore was American Teenager, and as her only real pop song, this was perfect to close out the night. As an aside, I strongly recommend making a stop at Taco Bell after your next concert if given the chance.