Wednesday night, the beloved brother band of the Descendents, All, made their return to Chicago to headline a show at Thalia Hall. Aside from playing Riot Fest a few years ago, I can’t recall the last time that All did a proper tour so it was nice to see them at it before the Descendents hit the road again soon.
First up was Snodgrass & Stevensons. Jon Snodgrass, of Drag The River fame, was joined onstage by the father and son duo of Bill and Miles Stevenson to perform a half hour set of Jon’s solo material. The music had elements of punk, indie rock, and a bit of folk too. It was an enjoyable set and how cool was it to see a punk legend playing drums on stage with his son filling out the rhythm section, all while a talented singer and guitarist led the charge? Their set was a very enjoyable way to start off the night.
Next up was All My Senses. This is a group of younger gentlemen and also featured Miles Stevenson. They played a familiar style of emo/punk that would’ve fit right in on a Warped Tour. The songs were mid to fast tempo, the lead singer had a mostly melodic vocal delivery and the drummer did the screaming parts. The other two guys also did some vocals/backups as well. They had a lot f energy and seemed to be having fun up there. If that style of music is your thing, they are worth checking out.
It wasn’t long before All took the stage. This configuration of All had Chad Price singing, who seems to be their goto vocalist in recent years, and it is a great choice (though All three singers were great). The band took the stage and wasted no time starting their set, which featured a lot of songs. They opened with “Original Me”, which is the opening track of their Breaking Things album and sounded great right from the start. They quickly followed it up with “Paper Tiger”. From there, they rarely stopped between songs, but they did a couple of times for Bill to say something to the crowd, including wishing a fan he met at the merch table earlier a happy birthday. I bet that made the woman’s night for sure!
All blasted through their entire set in less time than they were allotted for. They played 24 songs almost non-stop. The band had plenty of energy, and their delivery was pretty spot-on. Chad’s voice sounded great and he moved all around the stage, and even hopped down inside the barricade to sing along with the fans up front a couple of times. Some highlights included “Shreen”, “Teresa”, “She’s My Ex” and many more. When they got to the end of the set, they left the stage for a couple of minutes and then returned to play three more songs, ending right at the club curfew. Everyone in the crowd was singing along to their favorites during the performance and there were a lot of happy faces in the crowd. It was a great 75 minute set that was absolutely worth going out on a work night for to break up the monotony of the week. If you get a chance to see them on this tour make sure to go, it’ll be more than worth your time!
