Aaron West & the Roaring 20's | Show Review

Saturday, June 8th, Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties rolled through Chicago with Diva Sweetly and Pronoun to a sold-out show at Cobra Lounge. First up was Diva Sweetly, a comfort pop band from North Carolina, the group released their debut album, In The Living Room. This was their first ever show in the Windy City. The group often would incorporate a synthesizer and acoustic guitar, on top of drums and electric guitars and bass. However, underneath the radiant guitar riffs and synth, there is an underlying message of uncertainty. Pronoun is a one-woman indie-pop band from Brooklyn, New York made up by Alyse Vellturo. Vellturo recently released her debut album i’ll show you stronger with her leading single ‘run’, that is tinged with emo influences. It may not be Warped Tour ‘06 emo, but in a sense, she conveys raw emotion in her tracks. In her song “no one new is in your area” it states, “There’s no one new in your area, don’t you know you walk all over me, these days“ and “You have heavy-handed hopelessness, booing yourself off of the stage, what a wasteful way to weave out” demonstrating her battles that tug on the heartstrings. She has also been praised by Dashboard Confessional’s, Chris Carraba, for creating “the best new emo music of the moment.” Finally, Aaron West & the Roaring Twenties took to the stage toting his acoustic guitar. His set up donning the stage with greenery and lights spelling ‘A W 2 0.’ Immediately, the entire room was up and singing along, even louder than West on stage. Standing there, in a place of 450 people, for a show that’s sold out, you can’t help but a sense of awe. As cheesy as it may sound, every person in the room came together that night to celebrate one thing, live music, probably without even realizing it. Though the majority of songs by West share the theme surrounding his divorce, it is still enlightening to see couples, groups of friends, and individual people there singing their hearts out.

Review/Photo By: Astrid Elstrom