Album Reviews
Movies
Concert Reviews

Top 10
Resources
Contact Us

As the blustery winds were blowing on the first winter-like night in Chicago this year, the smooth acoustic pop/rock sounds of Ivy brought a heat wave into the Double Door. Part of the warmth stemmed from the near capacity crowd huddled closely together in hopes of nearing the stage, while the other sense of radiance resonated from Ivy’s ability to play songs that simply make you feel good inside. The New York based pop trio (backed by two session musicians on stage) has been making a peaceful blend of ethereal vocals and Brit-pop beats (calling to mind the likes of Oasis with Tori Amos on lead) since 1995, often bouncing from record label to record label.

Their latest label home comes in the form of Nettwerk, on which the group recently released their catchy and dreamy Long Distance release. The concert featured a lot of that disc’s material, starting early out with songs like “Disappointed,” and “Undertow.” But the group’s prior album, Apartment Life, was also showcased liberally. 

During the first half hour of so, it seemed like Ivy strained to perform as a unit, perhaps still chilled as a result of their freezing walk from their tour bus to the backstage door. But later that evening they revealed the core of their distraction. It turns out Ivy realized only a few hours before show time that they accidentally left a crew member stranded eight hours away in a Minneapolis gas station! After a few minutes of hysterical laughter from concert goers, the group seemed to ease up and iron out their kinks, fully engulfing themselves in the music, from “Edge of the Ocean” to “Quick, Painless, and Easy,” to “Get Enough.”

However, it was during those songs that Ivy’s greatest strengths and weakness were revealed. All of the band’s songs have a certain degree of simplicity to them, ensuring their infectious catchiness halfway through a first listen. As a result, all of their songs can seem to run together into one big dreamy blur. But by the time the Ivy encored with “The Best Thing” and “These Are the Things About You,” fans seemed to embrace the more flattering version of that observation, singing each and every word, genuinely pleased with the group’s overall delivery for the evening.