Chicago – Last Saturday night Foxing and The World Is A Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid To Die rolled into the Windy City on a co-headlining tour, with support from TTNG and Brightside, for a sold-out show at Subterranean. All four have been touring together in one of the best line-ups any emo kid, punk rocker, or indie fan could hope for. As a matter of fact, plenty of concertgoers were overheard talking about just how epic this tour was. People cried, sang their hearts out, moshed hard, and crowd surfed throughout the night, feeling every ounce of emotion pouring from the stage into the venue, from down below and up to the balcony. Though, the most remarkable performance of the night came from Foxing, who Best New Bands caught at Riot Fest this summer, in what I declared the best performance of the festival weekend. I mean, who doesn’t love a good horn and violin?
Foxing (above) was created in 2011 by Conor Murphy (vocals, trumpet, & piano) and drummer Jon Hellwig – both of whom were in the band Hunter Gatherer – with the understanding that the band wouldn’t always be around forever, hence the name. Guitarists Ricky Sampson and Eric Hudson and bassist Josh Coll joined the band to create a magical five-piece, that expands into an even more astounding group of six, when touring with multi-instrumentalist Emma Tiemann, who also records with the guys. All six musicians left fans in bewilderment at SubT thanks to heart stomping renditions of beauties like “Inuit,” “Bit By a Dead Bee, Pt. II,” and of course the biggest tearjerker of all and longtime fan favorite, “Rory.”
That said, Foxing played plenty of new material, seeing as the band just released their latest album Dealer (Triple Crown records) a few days before hand. Their ten song set even started out with a new tune; the entrancing “Redwoods.” The sophomore album is surprisingly more personal than their debut The Albatross. The band wrote on Facebook: “Dealer is a record full of songs that mean a lot to us; every part speaks to a specific part of our hearts.” According to Pitchfork, Murphy and Coll, the primary songwriters, drew from their personal experiences of loss, in particular, Coll’s time spent at war in Afghanistan, while a member of the U.S. military. There are of course songs about the crippling power of love and religion, such as the single “The Magdalene,” that deals with the shame felt from good old Catholic guilt with the loss of virginity. Foxing performed “The Magdalene” with help from the crowd, thanks to a little bit of a sing-along. There was also the chilling “Three On A Match” and “Glass Coughs,” both of which seem to hint at either an abortion or miscarriage, especially the latter, with the lyrics “The dove on your collar / And we survived on I’s and You’s alone / While I could have been some poor soul’s father.”
Foxing was brilliant. There just aren’t enough words to describe how stunning Foxing is live, but I will tell you this: I find the biggest challenge for any artist, whether they be a painter, dancer, actor, or musician is to convey true emotion to the point where a spectator becomes lost in a moment, completely enthralled, connecting, feeling, being the art. Some artists may go their whole lives striving for this, without fruition, but not Foxing. They consistently hit the nail on the head. Almost effortlessly, in fact. If you’ve never seen Foxing in person, you must. Bring some tissue. You’re going to need something to wipe away those salty teardrops trickling down your hot, blushing cheeks.
The World Is A Beautiful Place & I’m No Longer Afraid To Die was also amazing. TWIABP packed tightly on the cramped stage, nine deep, with Anthony Sanders of The Island of Misfit Toys filling in for Katie Shanholtzer-Dvorak, who was sick. Vocalist David Bello stood at the front of the stage, back lit, his long hair covering his face at times and occasionally whipping around as he shook his head to the beat. Josh Cyr, Derrick Shanholtzer-Dvorak, Tyler Bussey, Steven Buttery, Chris Teti, Nick Kwaś, and Dylan Balliett squeezed in around him. The crowd also squeezed in and swayed together like a rippling sea, to “January both, 2014,” off their recent release Harmlessness. TWIABP mostly played new songs offHarmlessness, including “Rage Against the Dying of the Light” and “Ra Patera Dance,” back to back. The World Is did play some older songs, such as “Victim Kin Seek Suit” from their 2010 EP Formlessness and “Heartbeat in the Brain” from the 2013 album Whenever, If Ever. Foxing’s Jon Hellwig joined TWIABP for the final song of the night, “Getting Sodas,” seemingly leaving fans more than a little melancholy.
Foxing and TWIABP will be touring together throughout November and December. TWIABP will then join MewithoutYou on a winter tour in 2016. A full list of dates is available on the band’s Facebook page. Harmlessness and Dealer can both be purchased on iTunes.
Photo of Foxing by Sarah Hess
Sarah Hess
After attending The School of the Art Institute in Chicago, Sarah went on to study education at Dominican University, earning a degree in history. When not teaching, writing, or taking in a show, she is most likely to be found with a camera to her eye or hanging out in a darkroom.
You can follow Sarah Hess on twitter at @Sarahhasanh and view her music photography on her website: smhimaging.com.
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