SHE PAST AWAY and TWIN TRIBES
Americas Tour 2021
Thalia Hall Chicago
Wed 12/1/21

She Past Away and Twin Tribes – with opener Wingtips, and DJ’s The Pirate Twins, on a blustery Wednesday night on the first of December from Thalia Hall in Chicago.
And Chicago’s underground faithful came out to this show in droves, which was a pleasant surprise.
Had a difficult couple hours prior to the show to do my best to catch at least some of opener Wingtips set- That same night I was at another show in the West Loop at Cobra Lounge with Baroness- left that show about 5 songs into their set to bolt to Thalia Hall.
And the parking options around Thalia around 8:30 pm or so?
There were none within a 6 to 7 block radius.
And so ensued the waiting game for something to open, which when waiting patiently in a strategic spot usually within a couple minutes, something inevitably pops up.
15 minutes later- a prime parking spot within a block of Thalia, then catching Wingtips, and of course She Past Away and Twin Tribes.
When this tour was announced back in the early fall for She Past Away and Twin Tribes, I was so excited for this- not having the opportunity to photograph She Past Away the last time they were in town a few years back with a show at the Chop Shop in Wicker Park.
Had prior commitments with another show at the Aragon Ballroom that same night.
I had heard they had trouble getting from the east coast to Chicago- their were limited dates on that North American tour as I recall, and they were committed to getting their asses to Chicago- one way or another.
They did, but barely as so I was told.
And now here we are in early December in 2021, and everything’s a go, and the tour is running smoothly with She Past Away and Twin Tribes, with not many hiccups.
I took my time to get these photos right with both bands, not just with cropping, but with the accurate hues from the stage- mostly both bands were bathed in dark blues to start, and then burnt orange seemed to be the running theme with both bands after.
Of course working with hues like that has its limits creativity wise, resorting to black and white conversions of certain images when appropriate.
As far as She Past Away and Twin Tribes, let alone Chicago’s Wingtips, and of course William Faith and Scary Lady Sarah of the Pirate Twins- the running theme of the evening is Duo’s.
And it works throughout- each band providing their own unique wall of sound to emulate the mood, and elevating the dancing on the main floor of Thalia, which for all three bands, and also the Pirate Twins, was evident throughout.
The Darkwave theme was pleasant throughout, with meticulous musicianship between Volkan Caner on guitar and lead vocal front and center with She Past Away, and his partner Doruk Ozturkcan stage right with keyboards / synths and of course electronic percussion.
And the backdrop was cool, with their logo of She Past Away to start the show, into warbly and psychedelic hues permeating their entire set.
Have to say it can be hit or mis with backdrops depending on budgets and useful configuration of backspace- have seen many bands over the years via Spinal Tap moments making the attempt in larger venues than they’re used to playing, still insisting on their one and only backdrop, and it’s so little in conformance that you barely know that it exists, or at least blocked three quarters by said musicians.
Not for tonight (thank god)- big enough to set the mood and convey the energy between Volkan and Doruk.
And even though She Past Away are Turkish, and most of their songs are sung in Turkish- it doesn’t matter.
The quality of the songwriting, the quality of the musicianship, the extraordinary and detailed PA of Thalia Hall allows for communion with the band from the beginning of their set to the very end.
Opening with “Durdu Dunya”, followed by “Katarsis”, and then into “Disko Anksiyete” – the theme was a mesmerizing burst of three songs which elevate dance and swing, through the genre of darkwave.
And it’s all done with class, especially towards the middle of their set with song nuggets such as “Ruh”, and especially “Insanlar”, which is one of my faves from them, along with the iconic song “Monoton”.
14 songs in total from She Past Away- with no filler – just killer.
Same holds true for Twin Tribes, who also know a thing or two about heavy synths with a propulsive beat, and of course amped up with lead guitar and vocal from Luis Navarro, and partnered with Joel Nino on bass and synth- they equally like She Past Away can produce the heavy in their dark and romantic weave of embracing darkwave, and pushing it boundary wise with intoxicating atmospheric walls of sound, making the main floor at Thalia, from my viewpoint, looking like everyone is in hypnotic dance from song after song.
Such a pleasure to put my camera down for a few minutes and soak this vibe all in, and knowing things are ok, even during a godawful pandemic, and limiting our indoor music choices to take in.
And all three bands- all duos – all providing their take on sonic and hypnotic walls of sound, with confidence and showmanship galore.
And as for Twin Tribes – 10 songs for their set- closing with the intoxicating and oh so awesome “Fantasmas” – a song written for the darkwave faithful, full of heavy vocal and an underbelly of sexy / cool pushing you to dance, even if you don’t want to dance.
If ever a song for the ’20’s upped the ante to embrace all things new in this genre of music, and let the minions know that bands are still creating awesomeness which in my opinion will never get old- it’s the song “Fantasmas”.
Wish I could’ve had time to produce an I Phone video from the main floor of Thalia of what I saw for “Fantasmas”.
Everyone- I mean everyone from front of stage to back was dancing in place to this song from Twin Tribes to close out their set.
What a delight to behold, with a terrific bill band wise.
You can’t go wrong with a billing such as She Past Away and Twin Tribes- even on a cold December weekday night in Chicago at Thalia Hall.
Hope you enjoy the photos everybody- it was a pleasure taking my time and doing my best to get them right, and do justice to all the bands.
Cheers – Bobby Talamine – Music Photographer