By: Darci Michon
CHICAGO—On Friday, May 2nd, San Francisco-based band Spiritual Cramp took the stage at Thalia Hall as the opening act for Bad Nerves’ “Still Nervous” U.S. tour. The Bay Area rockers, fronted by Michael Bingham, have made a name for themselves with their attitude-filled, catchy, punk tracks conveyed by ruthless and energetic performances. As the crowd eagerly awaited the show’s start, it was made clear that despite their opening slot, the room was filled with eager fans ready for Spiritual Cramp to take the stage.
The band launched into their set with the fast-paced, politically motivated track “Blowback,” which got the crowd moving immediately. From the moment they started playing, Spiritual Cramp established that they were going to give the audience their all.
As a frontman, Bingham is absolutely a force to be reckoned with. The way he moves across the stage is less of a walk, and more of a powerful stride that perfectly conveys the urgency behind the music. Even as he stays put on the mic stand, his stage presence never wavers. Whether he was balancing over the crowd on the monitors, flinging his mic stand around, forcefully stomping, or frantically punching his fists in the air, Bingham never failed to command the crowd with his merciless energy.
A highlight from the band’s set was their track “Slick Rick,” an even tempoed song with satirical commentary about the prominence of consumer culture and material success in our society. While the theme of the song falls in line with the band’s rebellious nature, their live performance of the track showcases their depth as a band. While still harnessing their powerful stage presence as a band, their energy was more even-tempered, highlighting their effortless swagger which is backed up by Jose Luna’s mad tambourine skills.
Throughout their set, the band plugged in a few unreleased tracks, such as “Young Offenders,” and “You’ve Got My Number.” These songs signal a new era of Spiritual Cramp as they create a sound that further emphasizes a more softhearted side of their already well established melodic skills. This created a buzz after their set, as I heard many of the Spiritual Cramp fans in the crowd excitedly discussing how great the new music they had just heard was.
The band closed out the night with the fan-favorite track, “Better Off This Way,” which got the audiences’ fists up in the air as the crowd went wild. Spiritual Cramp made the most out of the thirty minutes on stage with their jam-packed and mighty set as they made a lasting impression on the crowd before Bad Nerves was up next.
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