House Of Vans Presents: The Breeders

Words by Hillary Hedstrom | Photos by Patrick Luhrs

The 2019 season of the House of Vans House Parties continued to go strong with their second show on June 15th. This show was curated by The Breeders, with Divino Niño and Palehound opening and an art installation by Chris Bigg.
Upon first viewing, the House of Vans appeared charmingly small. A beautiful concert space, but nothe most optimal for max-capacity crowds. Eventually, the place was packed with people, thus proving me wrong. As more people filtered in, the show’s aura and energy became undeniable. We were in for a great show.  
    

Before the show and in-between sets, the audience enjoyed their free Goose Island while wandering around, admiring the curated art. Some lounged in bean bag chairs, some were at the merch table picking up their free House of Vans shirt. The art, covering the brick walls, was based on different album covers by The Breeders. 

Chicago-based Divino Niño went on first. Their 60’s surf-rock vibe make for a warm, nostalgic sound that many can enjoy. Their new album “Foam” is out June 21st. Catch them at The Empty Bottle on June 21st and their return to Chicago November 6th to perform at Thalia Hall.

Next up was the Boston band Palehound. This indie group has already built quite a resume from performing with artists like Courtney Barnett. This is all super impressive considering the band’s lead singer Ellen Kempner just turned 25. Palehound recently released their third album “Black Friday.” They’ll be back in Chicago on October 18th at The Metro. 

 Finally, The Breeders came on. Almost 30 years after their debut album, they still commanded the stage with a dominant energy. The crowd, both young and old, was engaged from the get-go. Whether they were fans since the release of “Pod” in 1990 or people who had just recently stumbled upon the group, there was a palpable excitement amongst the crowd. A woman next to me told me that she had to get her husband to hold her beer and purse so she could come into the pit like she did when she first saw the Breeders in the ‘90s. Her enthusiasm certainly was appreciated by many. 
    The Breeder’s brand of indie grunge made for quite a diverse show. With a few high energy songs opening up pits, there was a slower song thrown in every once in a while to give the pit a break. 

 With the setlist including both old and new songs, like “I Just Wanna Get Along” and “Nervous Mary,” all fans felt involved. A native to Ohio, Kim Deal even gave a shout out to all of the Ohioans who came to Chicago for the show, and there were a lot of them.
    The show set a very high standard for the rest of the House Party season. But with artists such as Taking Back Sunday and Anderson. Paak, it should be a great season. 

The Breeders Set List
Saints
Wait In The Car
All Nerve
Divine Hammer
No Aloha
Huffer
Iris
New Year
Cannonball
I Just Wanna Get Along
Off You
Bang On
Fire/SOS
Glorious
Nervous Mary
Driving On 9
Megagoth
Gigantic
Dylmn