By: Cassie Limberakis
CHICAGO– On Wednesday April 2nd, I had the chance to see “The Army, The Navy” at Beat Kitchen for their first ever headline show. This tour celebrates the release of their second EP “Sugar for Bugs.”
“The Army, The Navy” is made up of childhood friends Maia Ciambriello and Sasha Goldberg. They met through a shared singing coach and have since been inseparable. They write songs about everything under the sun, including dead baby rats. The song “Vienna: In Memoriam” is about a deceased baby rat killed by their house cat in New Orleans.
The opener for this show was Aggie Miller, a folk musician from New York. A friend of Miller named Emma accompanied Miller on guitar with her viola. Her sound can best be described as a hybrid between Andrew Bird and Joni Mitchell.
After the show ended, Miller stuck around at the merch booth to connect more deeply with fans.
Goldberg and Ciambriello then came onto the stage wearing oversized versions of their tour merch. Their harmonies are intricate and methodical. Their music also has a pulse, inviting movement.
Near the end of their performance, they did a mashup of their song “40%” and “Say My Name” by Destiny’s Child. This mashup was inventive and witty, inviting everyone on the floor to sing and dance in unison. Each note and accent is deliberately written, meant to evoke some sort of emotion in the audience.
Both members of the band are natural musicians, allowing their musical intelligence to shine through within their writing. In the track, “Persimmon” the lyrics “What’s a flame to a candle if you’re melting regardless” refers to the inevitability of strong human emotion affecting life actions.
“It’s giving boygenius, in a dissonant and cool way.” Said 16-year-old concert goer, Evelyn.
###