Photos / Recap | Papadosio's Two Night Chicago Run

By: Zach Stone

Color me dumbfounded when Papadosio announced that they were bringing their 7th annual "Earth Night" to Chicago for the very first time.

It immediately jumped to must see status for me, and I'm doubly fortunate that I got to capture the event for this contribution to Tomorrow's Verse.

There's a lot to report, but let's start with the logistics.  Lincoln Hall is one of my favorite intimate venues in Chicago.

The smallish confines of the Lincoln Park club would be host to an entirely improvised "PA set". I first saw one of Papadosio's PA sets a few years ago at the last Rootwire Festival that they were apart of.

The Chicago gig was billed as the "Only PA Set Of 2017".  Rising to the occasion, Lincoln Hall was transformed, packed wall to wall w/ visual artists displaying their psychedelic work.  

Chicago locals Zombie Mañana opened up the evening. Originally a side project of Danny Biggins, once the frontman of Chicago's popular jamband The Coop, who was accompanied by a full band which helped add layers of depth into his music warming up the eager crowd for Papadosio.

The PA set did not disappoint. It wove through a series of improsied sections, which they have tracked out on the offical BandCamp release, ending with the impeccably titled "Poor Melania".

The following night's show took place at Concord Music Hall.  Lapa, the violinist from "Emancipator/Emancipator Ensemble" opened up the evening serenading the crowd with relaxing electronic music accompanied by his fiddle.

Meanwhile, visual artists lined the back of Concord by the sound booth.

Dirtwire took the stage after Lapa changing up the sound and vibe of Concord completely. Dressed in black outfits similar to what many of us invasion outlaws of the old west wearing and performing on primarily foreign instruments to the audience.

Papadosio kicked off their set with "2AM" one of their more popular tracks from their album Extras in a Movie and instantly the energy in the room spiked. The band then teleported us into "Paradigm Shift" which they stretched out into a long jam, clockign in at over 15 minutes.

All told, it was an eleven song, crowd pleasing set.

Lapa joined Dosio for an extra powerful "All I Knew" that pushed the fourteen minute barrier.

But when she exited the stage, the band gave the audience another treat:  performing "Planting the Seeds of Life" an acoustic rarity that delighted the hardcore.

When the band dropped into "Drift" from their most recent instrumental EP Pattern Integrities as their first encore song, its downtempo, chill vibe may have weeded out any fans who weren't there for the long haul..

But they shifted gears and wrapped up the set with "Night Colors" the first song to make me gravitate to Papadosio's music when I discovered the band nearly 7 years ago. Seventeen minutes later, and those who remained were sent off extremely satisfied.

Zachs Full Gallery.  Click on thumbnails for full size and more shots.

Lincoln Hall

Concord Music Hall