Something Corporate gives Chicago a night to remember at Riot Fest Aftershow

Something Corporate has been on their Out of Office Tour for a few weeks now – a well-awaited reunion for a band that was at the forefront of the alternative music scene in the early 2000s, while most fans were probably in the high school-college age range. Now, even being a couple of decades older, the band and their fans both still have the same energy they did twenty-some years ago, and they gave their all showing it at their Riot Fest aftershow this past Saturday night at Concord Music Hall. Not a lot of bands are willing to put on a show the night before playing a festival, but just like they did in the 2000s, Something Corporate gave it their all for a crowd of folks that have more than likely not seen them in years (though there’s always a chance a few folks were there for the band’s one-off shows last year, but that’s a story for another day).

As the band came out and the stage was flooded in blue light, it became clear that their backdrop was a stage-sized video wall (something pretty rare in a thousand-cap room), showing a constantly-moving medley of neon, technicolor visuals, as well as interludes of old interviews with the band’s members. Video walls are not new to live performances, but SoCo decided to kick it up a notch with theirs, expanding it to also include vocalist/pianist Andrew McMahon’s piano. (As in, every facet of McMahon’s upright piano, positioned at center stage, was a video screen matching their backdrop – both helping his instrument blend in, and highlighting it as something worth remembering). 

Anyone who has seen McMahon live (whether it be with Something Corporate, or one of his other projects) will quickly let you know that he is a hell of a performer, slamming his fingers into his keys like his life depends on it, belting every note into his mic, throwing his body into his instrument and his performance for the entirety of the night. 

Guitarist Josh Partington, introduced by McMahon as being the guy “always wearing a T-shirt of the city [we’re] playing in so he remembers where we are” was also so full of energy, moving all over his side of the stage without a second thought for the entirety of the band’s set – as was fellow guitarist William Tell, who was all smiles all night long. Kevin Page in a full Blues Brothers-style suit and sunglasses held it down on bass alongside drummer Brian Ireland, and the five were joined by another fantastic keyboardist, as well. A six-piece performance can be tricky, but these guys work together like peanut butter and jelly, not missing a rhythm or beat for a second.

Doing something a little bit more popular in recent years, Something Corporate has been changing up their setlist from night to night, playing a fairly similar mix of songs, but swapping the order around so fans don’t know what to expect. Fans at this Riot Fest aftershow, however, got a little extra treat.  Because everyone knows an aftershow has to be memorable, the band decided to add in a special treat during their encore, cycling in “Wait” acoustic – a special treat for the die-hards. However, it does appear that nearly the entire set was a treat for die-hard Something Corporate fans, and the response of the crowd on every song from “Hurricane” to “Cavanaugh Park” (screaming, cheering, and going just short of ballistic) exemplified that.  

Even in the show’s (quite literally) messier moments, the room was all smiles. Near the tail end of the set, a huge space cleared on the floor, and of course the band paused to make sure no one was injured – turns out, there were no injuries… just someone throwing up all over the floor. McMahon laughed and shook his head, tossing the crowd his towel, and then realizing “it looks like that’s not enough towel,” before continuing the show. What’s a Riot Fest aftershow without someone going a little too hard at 1 A.M., after all? 

Something Corporate also spoiled fans with a new song, “Happy”, as a beautiful mix of sunflower graphics floated onscreen behind them, feeling like an acid-trip in real time, hypnotizing and entrancing fans all over the room. 

Something else unexpected, was how long the band performed. Let’s face it, nobody has much energy after midnight, but they sure did. Played until 1:50 in the morning with a crowd singing, swaying, and jumping around all night, even the night before playing Riot Fest, SoCo definitely spoiled their fans. 

Closing out with a nearly ten-minute-long banger, Konstantine, Andrew wore a friendship bracelet including every word of the song around his neck – apparently a memento that has been traveling around the country with them. And then after the emo ballad, the band fell right into the oh-so-very-classic fan favorite: “Woke Up in a Car”. All of a sudden, it felt like everyone in the room, regardless of age was 18 again, full of adrenaline, bouncing until the floor shook, finger pointing, yelling the words, and dancing like it was the rave to end all raves. It was like as if someone brought a Y2K house party and plopped it down in the middle of Concord Music Hall. It was phenomenal.  And then, alas, the night came to its end, everyone went home, and Something Corporate got up and did the same damn thing, less than 24 hours later, at Riot Fest in the pouring rain. Needless to say, playing a double whammy of sets in Chicago is an insanely impressive endeavor, and something that everyone who was there will remember for the rest of their lives. There’s no show like an aftershow, there’s no band like Something Corporate, and when you put the two together, and you’ve got magic.