By Colette Custin Bevard
A sold-out House of Blues turned into a sea of black on a Monday night, with the Chicago crowd showing that She Wants Revenge’s brand of dark, danceable post-punk still has a pull. Between songs, frontman Justin Warfield surveyed the room and called it full of “black-clad people who look beautiful” who were “out on a school night.” He then asked who was seeing the band for the first time. Plenty of hands went up and cheers rose, including from a good number of younger fans who clearly found the band long after their early-2000s heyday.
The set opened with “Sister” and moved quickly into “These Things,” and the room was singing along almost immediately. “A Little Bit Harder Now” and “Your Love” kept the energy high, while “Rachael,” “These Things Happen in Threes,” and “Disconnect” gave the middle of the night a moodier, more hypnotic feel.
The band also played its new single, “BLACK WAX/OUR LOVE,” the lead track from The Loved, their first album release in over 15 years, due out in February. It fit in with the older material without sounding like too much of a deviation from the humble beginnings their diehard fans know and love, and the crowd’s reception suggested the long wait was worth it.
As expected, the final acts belonged to the hits. “Out of Control” built the room toward “Tear You Apart,” one of the greatest dark-wave anthems of all time and a fitting end to the night.
