On a 10th grade trip to Chicago, Dave Monks and his friends experienced two milestones: eating at the Rainforest Cafe and coming up with a band name, Tokyo Police Club.
Now back in the Windy City, Canadian indie rock band Tokyo Police Club performed their last Chicago show at House of Blues Sunday evening as a part of The Final Tour.
The band, which announced its amicable breakup in late January, is composed of four friends who met in high school. Vocalist and bassist Dave Monks, keyboardist Graham Wright, guitarist Josh Hook and drummer Greg Alsop founded their band while still in school in 2005.
Since then, Tokyo Police Club has garnered a healthy following, having performed at music festivals like Coachella, Glastonbury and Lollapalooza.
Prior to Tokyo Police Club’s performance, Canadian musician Menno Versteeg of the indie rock group Hollerado serenaded an audience of around 1,800 people with an acoustic guitar session. His tongue-in-cheek personal anecdotes and diaristic writing proved entertaining.
A standout song was an unreleased “dyslexic song” for Versteeg’s mother, who is dyslexic. With letters swapped within phrases, the track was lighthearted and instantly brightened attendees’ moods.
“The New York Times crossword can suck it,” Versteeg said to the crowd.
When Tokyo Police Club arrived 45 minutes after Versteeg onto a stage full of LED lights, the intimate crowd’s energy was palpable. The band kickstarted its set with “Favourite Food” and “Favourite Colour” off their 2010 album “Champ.”
Strobing lights and a strong bass highlighted the band’s lively music. Monks sang passionately as Wright danced impressionistically. During “Tessellate,” a percussion-heavy track, Wright and Hook tossed tambourines across the stage to each other, adding a playful visual flair.
At one point, Wright described Tokyo Police Club’s Lollapalooza set in 2007, where the group’s van lost a wheel on the way to the festival, delaying their trip. Although the wheel fell off the van, Wright said it did not fall off “the metaphorical van that was the tour.” The show went on as the band arrived with minutes to spare. It proceeded to perform on Lollapalooza’s main stage to what Wright said was the group’s largest crowd to date.
“Chicago has always welcomed us and blessed us, and even though sparks flew from our busted a– sh–ty van, the show still went great,” Wright said.
Halfway through the show, Monks performed a mellow acoustic set of “The Harrowing Adventures Of…” and “Ready to Win,” the latter of which was undoubtedly the concert’s highlight. Written by Monks after celebrating his 30th birthday, the song is a poignant commentary on failing and “f—ing up” in various aspects in life, but being ready to prevail.
Although “Ready to Win” starts out as pessimistic and regretful, it turns in its third verse to shine a brighter light — asking listeners to tell their neighbors they’re splendid. Monks’ lyrics rang clear, sending a burst of compassion to attendees.
Perhaps the most memorable part of the concert was the crowd. Mainly composed of millennial men, it was wholesome to see these fans engage with one of their favorite bands one last time. There was no shortage of dancing — big groovy moves, for that matter. The ground felt like it pulsed the entire night.
Despite it being Tokyo Police Club’s final show in Chicago, the House of Blues emitted a sense of joy. It seemed that although the band was breaking up, there was hope for each individual musician’s futures. When Monks asked everyone to wave goodbye before Tokyo Police Club’s encore, the departure was truly bittersweet.
“We got to make the music that was in our hearts for 20 years and have an audience that would listen to our records, come to our shows,” Monks said. “We got to have an experience that not every band gets to have, and we feel very lucky for that.”
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