Last night I went to see Tortured Soul perform at The Smart Bar on North Clark. Tortured Soul’s drummer and singer is the boyfriend of a friend. I went because you should support bands when you know someone who knows someone in the band. I had no idea what to expect having never been to the Smart Bar (or the Metro) before and having not been able to get the MP3s functioning on their website.
I wound up going to the 10PM show straight from work and I went with Daniel, a guy from London that I met in Chicago. Wierd, I know. But first I went to the podium at the Metro to see if I was “on the list.” At 8:30 she kindly told me that the doors didn’t open until 10PM, so I went to Gingerman Bar and waited until 10PM. At 10PM, we went back to the podium and asked again. “This isn’t the Smart Bar, it’s next door.” Oh.
But wait, let me paint the picture a little better. The Metro Show was mainly attracting the Goth Crowd. Piercings, tatoos, black hair, black lipstick, black makeup. I felt super suburban in my denim skirt, black tights, black shirts and lavender pashmina. “um, yes, do you have the list for “Tortured Soul”? I think I’m on it.”
I felt like a monster of normal. Suburban. Corporate. Lame.
But nobody treated me like an outsider, so it was okay in the end.
Back to the band. Tortured Soul is amazing. When yout can’t see them, you think you are listening to a HIGHLY skilled DJ mixing some of the best dance music you’ve ever heard. Then you realize, this is a live band. They play straight for an hour or an hour and a half, maybe two. When you are mixing your songs live, you never stop playing, ever. sometimes they would drop just a bass line or a bare bones keyboard to allow each other a chance to grab a bottle of water, but otherwise it was straight, strong music.
The crowd went crazy for them and stayed on their feet dancing the whole time. It was unbeleivable.
So, when they come to a town near you, go. Go and be prepared to dance the night away.