Highly Suspect
Radius
Chicago, IL
October 13, 2022
by Connor Hannan
Highly Suspect’s The Midnight Demon Club Tour stopped through Chicago October 13th at Radius… Scratch that… Concord Music Hall. Just a few days before the show, there was a last minute venue change. Even with the last minute change, people showed up in droves with a line stretching to the end of the block on Milwaukee Ave in the Logan Square neighborhood.
To get the night started, Dead Poet Society took the stage. DPS hails from Boston Massachusetts and is a 4-piece rock band with a mainly rock influence with a splash of pop-y groovy vibes that i think can be heard in their last song of the night .CoDA.. Even being a small band out of Boston, DPS looked to have a loyal following in the streets of Chicago.
Highly Suspect finally made it’s way to the stage with a restless crowd in the waiting. HS originated from Cape Cod Massachusetts with frontman Johnny Stevens on guitar, Rich Meyers on bass, and twin brother Ryan Meyers on drums. in 2019, the band introduced touring members Matt Kofos on guitar and Mark Schwartz on keyboards as official members.
Highly Suspect started the night off with songs off their latest album “The Midnight Demon Club”; “The Sound,” “Natural Born Killer,” “Ice Cold,” and “Midnight Demon Club.” The album itself I feel rings true of Highly Suspect’s style with hints of “Mister Asylum” and “The Boy Who Died Wolf” vibes, where “MCID” was a little more experimental for the band and lost some of that Highly Suspect tones.
They then went on to play some of their most popular songs such as “Bloodfeather,” “Sertonia,” “My Name is Human,” and “Lydia.” Highly Suspect kept the energy at 110% throughout the entire show with a slight intermission half way through with Rich Myers “Wild Eyed Son” which is a soft acoustic melody that is soulful with depth. After ending the set with “Cluadeland,” the crowd was at it’s loudest with a “ONE MORE SONG!” To which HS obviously obliged. Johnny came back out and noticed the crowd also looked a little thirsty and figured they could use some water by throwing some out his water bottle at them. HS then finished the night “Look Alive, Stay Alive” and “Pink Lullabye,” with a guest singer in Siiickbrain, who’s currently touring with Bring Me The Horizon.
