DRAB MAJESTY / WINGTIPS / FEE LION / DJs:
THE PIRATE TWINS ( Scary Lady Sarah & William Faith)
The Empty Bottle Chicago
Thursday 11/29/18

Drab Majesty from Los Angeles, on the road in support of the Smashing Pumpkins, and in between stops on their North American tour, make a special stop in Chicago at the Empty Bottle with special guests Wingtips and FEE LION.
From its incarnation Drab Majesty was a solo act- an interplay with guitars and samples with triggered machines, with lots of guitar pedals to add effects and luster.
By 2016, with word getting out about Deb Demure (aka Andrew Clinco) and his sophisticated stylings of washed synth pop, slash darkwave sounding music, with ever growing audiences and heightened interest, Drab Majesty expanded into a duo, employing the keyboard partner in Mona D (aka Alex Nicolaou).
Talk about upping the ante in their live performances.
Last year saw the release of their second album “The Demonstration”, with giant strides forward toward spreading the Drab Majesty sound to new and grander audiences and critical acclaim.
Always shrouded in smoky lights when on stage, Deb Demure and Mona D put on a show that consists of plenty of white makeup, costumes that are cool and lots of somber drama.
These guys may come off cold and forlorn, but make no mistake, there’s a true and sincere undertone to all of the melancholy, and there lives shows are quite infectious, no matter the size of the venue they’re playing in, witnessing firsthand several times now the audiences swaying and dancing in place.
Otherworldly synth rhythms, crooning low baritone vocals with shimmering guitars that are over the top.
That kind of describes Drab Majesty, but then, I really have to say, their music crosses so many genres rendering it unclassifiable.
How perfect then to dwell and participate in all things Drab Majesty.
Wingtips, consisting of Vincent Vndgrm and his partner Hannah Ava Lonzo, also have a sophisticated sheen of shimmering layers of synths and layered guitar, concentrating on beautiful melodies and atmosphere that is trance inducing and infectiously listenable.
Vincent and Hannah just keep better and better with their live performances, ever delving into the grooves and samples, witnessing firsthand several times now how more carefree and relaxed they are performing live with each passing show, growing more confident, and more self assured.
Like they say in their bio: “Hook so compelling that they are cinematic in scope”.
I just love saying that. They are that good.
And in regards to FEE LION (Justina Kairyte) – She’s a pop chanteuse- a multi- instrumentalist who crafts otherworldy sounds with layered synths and guitar that takes you on dream that is worlds away from the your present state of being.
Some of her tags on social media to give you a clue: electronic, synthpop, dance, lo-fi, new wave, post punk, and witch disco.
Now that’s badass.
Equal in performing with costumes and makeup that are sophisticated and well thought out, down to the latex rubber on the plank of wood that holds her synths which are draped front and center with a canopy of lace like curtains.
Equal to the music, is the grand visuals of her performance, brought forth with lots of smoky fog and concentrated hue lighting courtesy of Spenny Love Lighting.
A grand time from beginning to end, with all three acts, and to make things even more interesting and worthwhile, the incomparable DJs in The Pirate Twins (aka Scary Lady Sarah & William Faith), making things all the more pleasurable with their fine music tastes before during and after the show.
Cheers- Bobby Talamine – Music Photographer