The Ataris Beat Kitchen Review
Sunday, September 9, 2007
By Aaron Keker
BEAT KITCHEN, Chicago – Last night The Ataris played for a packed house at the Beat Kitchen in Chicago, Illinois.
The evening started with a hard-hitting performance by the local Chicago band 2*Sweet. After 2*Sweet performed they were followed by a lower tempo performance by another local Chicago band The Get Go.
After 2*Sweet and The Get Go closed their performance they received a loud ovation. Even though they both received a loud ovation that would not surpass the ovations that The Ataris received.
The moment arrived once Kristopher Roe and The Ataris entered the stage carrying their instruments. As Kris and the rest of The Ataris started to set up their instruments and tune their guitars and bass, the crowd waited in anticipation for The Ataris to perform. After the final microphone check, Kris remarked, “Chicago let’s get ready.”
The Ataris opened with “Summer Wind Was Always Our Song” from the album End is Forever. As soon as “Summer Wind Was Always Our Song” concluded the audience exploded with a huge ovation and whistling that must have been heard outside by any pedestrian passing by the Beat Kitchen.
Kris and The Ataris backed up the statement they made on MySpace when they wrote that a majority of their songs that they would be playing would be older songs. In fact, all but two songs, which were “Cardiff-By-The-Sea” and “The Cheyenne Line” from their album Welcome The Night, were older songs.
They played some of their most popular older songs like “In This Diary” and “The Boys of Summer” from So Long, Astoria. As The Ataris played “In This Diary” and “The Boys of Summer” the audience performed like they were additional background vocalists. About midway through “The Boys of Summer” an audience member was body surfing as people kept pushing him along. As soon as and “The Boys of Summer” concluded The Ataris received their largest ovation of the evening. Besides the sing-alongs, the large ovations and the body surfing there were additional highlights.
The additional highlights were the clap-alongs on “1*15*96” from the album Blue Skies, Broken Hearts…Next 12 Exits and “The Cheyenne Line” to Kris’s short stories. One of his short stores he discussed about the hotel they were staying at and that “he is allergic to cats.” Also, he remarked later that, “we would like to play a lot longer, however we have a strict curfew… blame your local politicians.”
As “So Long, Astoria” concluded from the album So Long, Astoria the audience cheered with excitement as the concert concluded Kris remarked, “Thanks Chicago!”
I have been a huge supporter of The Ataris and this is the first time that I saw their performance and I have to say that I really enjoyed it. From the short stories, to the sing and clap-alongs to the body surfing, what an awesome Saturday evening to spend it with The Ataris.
However, I wished they had performed several other hits like “The Saddest Song” from So Long, Astoria and “Not Capable of Love” from the album Welcome The Night. I believe they would have received even a larger ovation from the audience than “The Boys of Summer.”
If you are unfamiliar with The Ataris, I encourage you to visit their website at www.theataris.com and their MySpace page at www.myspace/theataris. Once you familiarize yourself with their music head on over to iTunes or any other store that sells their music and purchase their albums. If you listen to their live album Live At The Metro you will get an idea of how they sound live in concert. Believe me they sound as good in concert as they do on the live album!
Finally, I am looking forward to providing future coverage of The Ataris next time they perform in Chicago. Hopefully, next time they will play hits like “The Saddest Song” and “Not Capable of Love?” What would be even cooler is if they played an acoustic set. I am looking forward to The Ataris new album, which according to their MySpace, should be released sometime in early 2008. Guys, good luck with the rest of your tour! Below is the set list from Chicago.
Chicago Set List:
- “Summer Wind Was Always Our Song”
- “Unopened Letter to the World”
- “Cardiff-By-The-Sea”
- “1*15*96”
- “Fast Times at Drop-Out High”
- “In This Diary”
- “I.O.U. One Galaxy”
- “Road Signs and Rock Songs”
- “The Cheyenne Line”
- “Your Boyfriend Sucks”
- “San Dimas High School Football Rules”
- “The Boys of Summer”
- “So Long, Astoria”
