Last night, the ongoing ‘Above The Storm’ tour arrived at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre for a night of reggae and dub. Headlined by Stick Figure, the show was supported by Iya Terra and well-known jam band Twiddle. It was interesting to see Twiddle play to an audiencethat was a bit different from their own, but ultimately the Rastafarian crowd that came to see Stick Figure left satisfied by all the musicians that played.

Iya Terra opened up the show with a short and upbeat set. Twiddle was up next, dove right into their trademark style. Not catering to the crowd, they opened up with the authoritative power chords of “Nicodemus Portulay”. The reggae vibes then seeped in, as they followed that up with “Beethoven & Greene”. Fan favorite Plump: Chapter 1 track “Lost in the Cold” came next. “Doinkinbonk!!!” saw bassist Zdenek Gubb seemingly slapping his strings just short of their point of breaking. For the last song of their set, Twiddle brought out Stick Figure’s Johnny Cosmic on guitar for a rousing rendition of Tom Petty’s “You Don’t Know How It Feels”, perhaps not-so-coincidentally for the evening on which Petty’s autopsy results were made public and the world learned that his October death was caused by an accidental prescription drug overdose.

The headliner of the tour, Stick Figure, then played a set filled with songs spanning their 10+ year career. The band’s leading force and frontman, Scott Woodruff, led the band through the set, bringing along his Instagram-famous tour dog, Cocoa, to join in the fun. At first, it was odd to see a dog on stage the entirety of their set. However, it quickly became clear that the dog was almost as much a member of the band as the other musicians. She had a great stage presence, and it was great to see that Tails of Love, a charity supporting animal rescue, had booths set up so fans could help support animals like Cocoa in need of a loving home.

The band played plenty of old favorites like “White Fire” and “Livin’ It” as well as newer numbers “Fire on the Horizon” and “Easy Runaway”. They also invited Twiddle frontman Mihali out for a cover of Bob Marley‘s “Mellow Mood”. Perhaps the most special moment of the evening came during the show’s encore the encore, as Stick Figure worked their way through a sing-along rendition of The Beatles’ “Hey Jude”. Finally, a show-ending version of “Smoking Love” with a multitude of musicians from the opening bands brought a great night of reggae music to a close. The ‘Above the Storm’ tour is just starting so be sure to check it out if it comes near your town.

For a full list of upcoming “Above The Storm” tour dates, head to Stick Figure’s website here.

Below, you can check out a full gallery of photos from the evening courtesy of Daniel Ojeda.

SETLIST: Twiddle | Riviera Theatre | Chicago, IL | 1/19/18

SET: Nicodemus Portulay, Beethoven & Greene, Lost in the Cold, Daydream Farmer, Doinkinbonk !!!, You Don’t Know How It Feels*

*with Johnny Cosmic of Stick Figure

SETLIST: Stick Figure | Riviera Theatre | Chicago, IL | 1/19/18

SET: Lincoln Intro -> Shadow, Above the Storm, Fire on the Horizon, Weary Eyes, White Fire -> Bongs Jam, Think N Thin, Winds from the West, Coming Home, Mellow Mood^, Smiles on Faces, Boulevard, Livin It, Let the Music Play, Intro -> Choice is Yours, Weight of Sound, Easy Runaway

Encore: Shelter, Breathe -> Hey Jude, Smoking Love^

^with Mihali

[Cover photo: Daniel Ojeda]