Photos by Mollie Menuck, Words by Mollie Menuck and Destiny Graham

Walking into Metro on December 3, you’re hit with the exuberant energy of expectant fans awaiting a show destined to warm them up from the confusing weather of the Windy City. The crowd was backed up all the way to the bar before the openers could even start; the classic Chicago venue was filled to the brim with entity. The Machiavellian architecture frames the stage like a picture; the audience is at a museum, and Metro is here to show them the past, present and future of music.

The vibe was set with Detroit-based indie artist Ally Evenson, who opened with an acoustic set featuring some of the tunes from her subtly radioactive yet indie 2023 EP “In My Dreams, You Laugh At Me.” Also setting the tone was Quinnie, who performed folk-esque versions of their songs, including the TikTok-recognizable single “Touch Tank” and more songs from their 2023 release “Flounder.”

Once the main event of the night, The Japanese House, appeared on stage, the show reached an incredibly significant climax. Amber Bain (The Japanese House) began writing music under this moniker after being introduced to The 1975 frontman Matty Healy in 2012. Since then, her musicianship has been carefully defined as indie pop but falls down an enjoyable rabbit hole influenced by 80s synth-pop, hints of rock with a folk base and attractive yet sexless vocals.

Tonight was all about their 2023 album “In The End It Always Does.” With an extremely upbeat start credited to delicate, yet raw “Sad To Breathe” and personal favorite “Touching Yourself,” the band started moving into some older work and gradually slowing the tone down to play more of the emotional songs off their discography. The title track of EP “Chewing Cotton Wool,” released in 2020, as well as some more songs off their 2023 album, including “Baby goes again” and “Over There.” made an appearance on the setlist. The classic indie-synth tune “Saw You In A Dream” rounded out the planned performance and brought fans back to 2017, the starting years of The Japanese House’s career.

Bain’s encore stuck with the crowd and mellowed out the night with an emotional reach out to her listeners. The singer began by performing the ending track of her 2023 album  “One for sorrow, two for Joni Jones” on the piano, a heartfelt and spiritual song about losing a romantic relationship but her incredible bond with her dachshund, Joni Jones. To finish off the night, the entire band came back on stage to perform the popular “Sunshine Baby.” As the lights turned a fitting soft shade of yellow, the acoustic guitar came in, and the song soared as the entire crowd moved and shouted the lyrics with barely a phone in sight. 

With that warmth lingering, it made the cold air of Chicago a little bit more bearable to the fans that poured out into the sidewalks of Clark Street. The tune of “Sunshine Baby” stuck and remained afloat as a shockingly real memory and experience of this December night.