Schubas’ Tomorrow Never Knows Festival aims to alleviate the mid-winter blight that typically hits Chicago’s live music scene in the winter.
Though in the past, TNK has had more of a local focus, in recent years it has branched out to showcase up-and-coming artists from around the country.
This year’s festival, which ran from Wednesday, January 13 through Sunday, January 18, benefitted from recently opening of Lincoln Hall, which played host to more established bands like the Bowerbirds, Atlas Sound, and Lee Fields and the Expressions.
One of 2010’s up-and-coming acts was Peter Wolf Crier, who opened a sold-out show on Saturday headlined by Owen Pallett (a.k.a. Final Fantasy). Despite being unknown to many in the crowd (the Minneapolis-based band isn’t even a year old), PWC held their own in a room that was already filled with Pallett’s fans by their set time.
Singer/guitarist Peter Pisano runs his vocals through a loop pedal, allowing his raw, unrestrained guitar playing to fuel the band’s indie-garage rock sound. The result was a canyon-like quality to the vocals and two bloody fingers by the end of the energetic set.
– Ian Wilson