The theme of the evening at Lincoln Hall on Saturday night was ‘unhurried’. With two hazy jangle pop bands making up the roster for the night, a chill vibe descended on the Chicago venue and stayed throughout the night.
LA trio Tashaki Miyaki opened for the Allah-Las and set the rolling, leisurely pace. With Lucy Miyaki on drums and vocals (like female drummers aren’t impressive enough, but also taking on drums and lead vocals? Nice.) and backed by Rocky Tashaki (hence the name Tashaki Miyaki) and Dora Hiller on guitar and bass, the threesome combines hazy jangle pop with fuzzed out female harmonies at a sedate and stately pace. Give “Keep Me in Mind” a listen – it’s a good example of the band’s unhurried essence.
All sporting retro denim-esque button up shirts, and a sweet fur hat for the bassist, the Allah-las took the stage next (until about halfway through the set I was sure the frontman was wearing a bolo tie until I realized that I was just inserting it in my mind because it seemed so fitting with the attire). With a backdrop film of a dusty, deserted desert road with occasional windswept debris going by behind them, the band moved right into their slow, rolling, jangle-guitar driven indie rock. Moving between instrumental pieces and vocal driven tracks, the fivesome made their way through “Better than Mine” “Catamaran” and “Artifact”, taking heavily from their new album. The band not only has a sound reminiscent of the 70’s (I heard someone say that they reminded them of Jefferson Airplane), but their stage presence also embodies the chill vibe of the 70’s – lead singer Miles Michaud has a lop-sided smile he flashed at the audience as the band rolled through their tracks and dude was clearly not in a hurry – took them so long to come back on stage for their encore that honestly the applause had sort of trailed off, but it didn’t seem to bother the band at all. They came back in their own time and played their encore – after all, good things come to those who wait.