Ferocity: Badflower Captivates House of Blues Chicago

Feb 26

L.A. rockers Badflower treated the sold-out House of Blues to a raucous show on Sunday to kick off another cold week in Chicago, touring in support of 2025’s No Place Like Home.

Badflower’s blend of both classic and indie rock styles lends itself to a wide audience, and vocalist/guitarist Josh Katz seemed to really enjoy interacting with an at-times frenzied crowd. “I’m going to take this guy’s request,” he said at one point, introducing “Ghost” from 2018’s Ok, I’m Sick, “mainly because it’s the next song on our setlist.” Katz turned it over to the crowd, who sang the first few lines in a collective, arena-sized voice. Badflower’s no-BS style of rock gives their material a timeless quality, and new tunes like “London” and the new album’s title track fit in beautifully with older material like “30” (which was introduced as being for the ‘old-timers’).

Proof that you don’t need gimmicks or over-the-top theatrics to carry a crowd, Badflower’s return after a brief hiatus between records was welcome indeed.