2025-05-17 Radius - Chicago, IL

[Kein]

Cut my vacation two days short just to be there tonight. It was worth it.

Hope everybody had a beautiful time.

[fivesixzero]

I think that might’ve been the best experience I’ve ever had at a show. Thanks for being a great impromptu show buddy, cdave2! Utterly lost my mind on the rail, finally got to see the guys live after so long. Even listening to all those bootlegs (and Bootleg Babies) a million times couldn’t have prepared me. If you saw a dazed, sweaty dude with a Mezzanine shirt after the gig that was probably me.

Gonna post a few photos/videos I managed to get between utterly losing myself on my Instagram. Same username as the forums here. Edit: posted a ton to IG stories. Not the best medium, probably, but it works for now.

Will be in Chicago for another day, so if anyone wants to get lunch or grab a beer and talk music drop me a message. Every UW fan I met today was good people, down to meet some more.

[potatobroth]

awesome! any idea if the set was exactly the same as brooklyn or did they swap anything in/out?

[fivesixzero]

Saw a setlist on Insta.

1. GENE POOL
2. CONFUSION / LOW BURN
3. DIRTY EPIC
4. TECHNO SHINKANSEN
5. PUSH UP
6. KITTENS
7. JUANITA
8. TIN THERE

Set Two

1. JUMBO
2. DENVER LUNA
3. STAR
4. PEARLS GIRL
5. DARK TRAIN
6. TWO MONTHS OFF
7. COWGIRL
8. AND THE CLR RED
9. KINGS OF SNAKE
10. BORDER COUNTRY
11. ARPEGGIO12 (KI/KI)
12. MOANER
13. NUXX

Confusion, Tin There (face melting!) and STAR were highlights for me, but the whole set was gold. Gene Pool made for a nice chill entry point, then Confusion/Low Burn just opened the floodgates.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

that was amazing. pretty sure I saw you fivesix. idk if I've ever been to a show as special as that. not just because of the performance but because of the crowd. you could really feel how much this meant to everybody. I still can't believe those dudes were like...30 feet away from me.

such a dream setlist too. don't get me wrong, like most of you I think these 'greatest hits' type sets aren't as interesting as what the band is capable of when they get really out there, but you know what, if you're only gonna get one opportunity to see these guys (or...fingers crossed??), that's absolutely the set you want them to play. I remember listening to Everything Everything and thinking "do they really play banger after banger like that?" ...well last night they did

[spacejunk]

"Some of you have aged since last we were here...."

My 1st ever show. Loved it! Me and the missus were up near the front of the soundboard for the 1st set. We moved to the back for the 2nd set and had more space to bounce. I can't say anything bad about the whole set. Only thing from the back section was we couldn't see the boys too well through the over abundant use of the smoke machine.

I'd go see them again.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

speaking of shout out to the venue for passing out water bottles near the front. between the physicality of the show and the heat of all the bodies together I got dehydrated quick and probably downed like 4-5 of them throughout the course of the night. given how much they cost at the bar that actually might've covered the cost of my ticket idk what I would've done otherwise. reminded me of LCD Soundsystem in 2007, I recall at the end of that being thirstier than I've ever been in my whole life

[StrangeLastName]

What a fantastic show. I brought my 12-year-old son and two friends, so there was a range of fandom, from knowing just a couple of songs to mega fan (me), and all of us ended up totally blown away and thrilled with the show. We were smack dab in the middle, about 10 people back from the stage, and it was perfect. The way they built the intensity in the volume, the setlist, the lighting design (!!!), everything was stellar.

Favorite points:
- Gene Pool - Such a great opener. All of us loved it. The slow unfolding of the visual elements was perfect.
- Techno Shinkansen - This was short and sweet and such a great inclusion in the setlist.
- Denver Luna - This was already one of my favorite UW songs of the last 20 years, but this live version took it up a notch. I think this has earned a place in one of the top 10 UW singles ever. People were singing along, this one seems to have really landed with people.
- S T A R - I have to admit I didn't care for this when it came out with Drift, but I really enjoyed it in the show, I think having a few shorter tracks in between the long bangers was pretty smart.
- Two Months Off - Again, have never been a huge fan of this track, but live? I get it now.
- Cowgirl - I loved, LOVED this version. It had so much extra energy, the pounding four-on-the-floor bass was unreal. The whole time I was jumping up and down, hoping that we'd get a good recording of this live version.
- Moaner - This has always been a Top 3 track for me, and I was so happy that they played it. Honestly, if it wasn't for the fact that NUXX is their most popular track and a natural ender, Moaner would have been a perfect show closer. The feeling in the room was like, this is INSANE right now.

If there was any negatives, it would be that "And The Colour Red" dragged a bit and kind of killed the vibe, and that I didn't need quite so many songs from Beaucoup Fish. I think we could have skipped a few of those (Kittens?) to get something from the OWB-Barking era (Beautiful Burnout or Downpipe maybe?) or Barking. But that's it.

Overall, an outstanding show and I loved every single minute of it and it was worth the 25-year wait.

[34958hq439-qjw9v5jq298v5j]

ya I definitely noticed Denver Luna got the same reception as any of the classic tunes, that's pretty rare to see in a group that's been around this long. hard to use the word "highlight" when that applies to basically everything they played but it was so great.

the one that won me over was Border Country. in retrospect I think that's clearly one that's meant to be experienced live.

[fivesixzero]

34958hq439, the need for water was real. I must’ve had 7 or at bottles by the time the night was over. Without that water I would’ve been hauled out of there by EMTs halfway through the first set. And when someone did pass out just after Tin There, during intermission, they got them out safely and professionally. All pro. I hope that guy is alright.

The FOH security crew at Radius were consummate professionals. I was chatting with the FOH manager (Roland, I think?) for awhile before doors and he was a solid guy. Really there to watch out for the fan and keep people hydrated and safe. He even made that gifts for Karl and Rick from a few fans made their way to the tour manager, which is just above and beyond.

I’ve got friends in that line of work back home in Minneapolis, and that mindset - as opposed to a confrontational mindset - is a very distinct choice on the part of venue management/ownership. Radius gets a 11/10 from me on that front.

Agree on Border Country. Experiencing the tracks live made the newer tracks hit totally different!

Moaner was huge for me too. For decades I felt like it was a bit of a weird fit on Beaucoup Fish. On my more flow-y mixtapes it was hard to place since it’s just so massive! But the live experience rearranged my thoughts about Moaner completely. Core memory, that one. And Two Months Off! Just beautiful.

Meeting fans was amazing too! I was able to introduce at least 5 or 6 people to Bootleg Babies, and a bit of the history around it, which was really cool. I kinda felt like it was my duty as an elder fan, who was there lurking on RTSR-trade and the dirtylist, to bring folks into the fold a bit. Was so cool
to hear people’s stories about how they fell in love with UW - all unique and beautiful. So many people that were also there for their first show! My only regret is not talking to *more* people. Next time I might just bring a bag full of burned copies of Bootleg Babies to hand out.