KONGOS headlined the Taste of Chicago at Petrillo Band Shell in Grant Park on July 7, 2016

7 Jul, 2016 John Kosiewicz Alternative, Concert Reviews, Rock 0

36th ANNUAL TASTE OF CHICAGO. July 6-10, 2016

With the possibility of severe thunderstorms forecasted throughout the day, the Taste of Chicago performances by KONGOS, Elle King and Transviolet at Petrillo Music Shell were in jeopardy of being washed out. However, die-hard fans gambled on the weather and attended anyway.

Despite a few downpours here and there throughout the evening, it did not dampen the dedicated audience. Recognizing the fact that the weather was not ideal for their audience, KONGOS thanked the fans for sticking with them through the rain. Even after the rain let up, Daniel Kongos made reference to it being the “Hottest, sweatiest club we’ve ever played in.” Mother Nature even rewarded them for their efforts with a rainbow over the lake. Daniel said, “not that we want you to look away from us, but turn around and look at the rainbow.”

KONGOS band members consist of four Kongos brothers: Daniel on guitar and vocals; Dylan on bass guitar, lap slide guitar and vocals; Jesse on drums, percussion and lead vocals; and Johnny on accordion, keyboards and vocals. The band really seems to appreciate Chicago. “Chicago was one of the first places to support us, especially this station (making reference to sponsor station, 101wkqx). We’ll take any excuse to come back.” In fact, a quick “Thank you” note to Chicago from them on Instagram, mentioned that they’ll be back in Chicago soon with an official announcement next week.

Their set list for the evening contained a close to even mixture of songs from their most recent album, Egomaniac, which was released on June 10, 2016, as well as their 2012 release, Lunatic. Some highlights from the show included: first and second singles from Egomaniac, “Take It from Me” and “I Don’t Mind;” hit singles from the Lunatic album, “Come with Me Now” and “I’m Only Joking.” In addition, they brought on stage, hip-hop rapper, Moe’z Art, who helped perform a special rendition of The Beatles cover, “Come Together.” Another song from Egomaniac called “Autocorrect” needed to be autocorrected, as it was stated, making reference to being under contract not to use foul language or gyrate on stage. Fans cheered, “Gyrate, gyrate!” Closing the evening off, the band covered New Order’s song, “Blue Monday.”

Keep up with the latest information and tour dates at KONGOS website.