Sunday night, Cold Cave made a welcome return to Chicago when they headlined a show at Thalia Hall. It was a great night for a show, even if it was a school night (replace school with work for us old-timers), and Thalia Hall is an excellent venue to see a show.
First up was Buzz Kull, who is touring with Cold Cave this time out. Hailing from Sydney, Austrailia, Buzz Kull is a one man industrial/dark wave band. The music was very dance driven and had great beats and energy. The vocals were less processed than many industrial bands of yesteryear and were a great compliment to the really enjoyable music that was emitting from the stage. He is well worth your time to check out and by all means if you’re going to one of the remaining shows on this tour, get there early so you don’t miss him.
Cold Cave were up next. The band is currently on tour ahead of their new album coming out, an odd bit of timing which singer Wesley Eisold pointed out before they played a song of the new album part way through the set. They opened up with “A Little Death To Laugh”, which is a hell of a strong opener and a long time fan favorite. The band was a five piece featuring two keyboard players, a drummer, guitar player, and of course Wesley on vocals (and occasional keyboards when one of the keyboard players would play guitar during parts of certain songs). The band opened with “A Little Death To Laugh” which was a really strong opener, and it only got better from there.
For those not familiar (and shame on you for not be), Cold Cave is a darkwave/post-punk band that takes some influences from such greats as Joy Division and Sisters of Mercy, adds often more danceable elements to the song structures, and puts a spin on it that’s uniquely their own. All this great layered sound is complimented by the great crooning of frontman Wesley Eisold. Decked out in a trenchcoat and sunglasses, Eisold is a striking frontman who stands front and center and captivates the audience while the band plays one great song after the next. The sound for them this night was flawless, and whoever was working the soundboard should be commended for a job well done. Everything sounded crystal clear and was mixed beautifully .
Cold Cave played a lot of favorites spanning their catalog of the last decade or so, and they also debuted a new song or two from the forthcoming album which sounded amazing and just made me all the more excited to receive my copy in the mail! Having spend the better part of the last decade largely making singles, it is great that we will get a new full-length album that is destined to become another classic like the ones before it. They also played the amazing, “The Great Pan Is Dead”, which is easily one of the best songs of the 21st century and one that should be on regular rotation for everyone! Talk about four minutes of perfection, it doesn’t get much better than that!
Cold Cave played an hour before leaving the stage briefly, then returning for a three song encore, sending the crowd home quite happy. The band seemed to really enjoy performing and Eisold seemed quite appreciative for the warm reception the band received. Those of you who opted out of this one really missed out on something special. Hopefully we’ll see them return sooner rather than later, but whenever that day comes you know it will be something pretty special.
