On Friday, December 20th, I had the amazing opportunity to cover the first night of The Blood Brothers’ three-night sold-out run at Thalia Hall, as a part of their 20th anniversary tour for their album Crimes. One of my most anticipated shows of the year, it did not disappoint at all. The show follows the recent trend of more bands doing reunion tours and I am extremely grateful that I got to attend. While I only started to listen to The Blood Brothers earlier this year, they have quickly cemented themselves as one of my favorite bands. I love discovering new bands, even ones from before my time, and this show was a perfect example of that, with it being clear that I was one of the youngest people there.
As the night kicked off, Stress Positions, a hardcore punk band coming from Chicago, took the stage to open the show. Their set was extremely captivating, with high-speed D-beat drums and a talented vocalist with great stage presence. After hearing their set, I knew that I would become a fan and immediately followed them on social media to stay updated on their future shows and releases.
The Blood Brothers performed next, delivering an amazing show that I will always remember, especially with it being their first tour in over a decade. As the show started, a very energetic pit opened right behind me, and I found myself going in it several times throughout. Within the first few songs, they played my favorite of theirs: “USA Nails.” This show was exceptionally good live, as you could feel the energy in the venue along with the high speed and danceability of the song. Later into the set, they launched into the song “We Ride Skeletal Lightning,” another favorite of mine from their album Young Machetes. This song was amazing to see live, with great energy, vocals, guitar, and much more, as it picks up speed towards the end.
The band also had an exceptional stage presence. Both vocalists Jordan Billie and Johnny Whitney constantly moved around on stage, with Whitney crowd surfing and diving into the crowd several times as he interacted with the crowd. As the show neared an end, both vocalists wore fur coats that were thrown at them from the audience as the crowd cheered in excitement. As one of their final songs that night, The Blood Brothers played their most popular song, “Love Rhymes With Hideous Car Wreck,” which had the crowd breaking into even more excitement as Whitney sang into the crowd for nearly the entire song.
I found The Blood Brothers’ performance incredible and am super grateful to be able to cover this show. Their set and energy were amazing and gave me an unforgettable night. I highly recommend seeing The Blood Brothers’ live, and I suggest catching them on one of their upcoming stops for their 20th anniversary tour in celebration of their album Crimes.