REVIEW: House of Vans brings together Lala Lala, Torres, Wolf Parade

by Genevieve Kane

There are three words that have been on the lips of every DIY kid and concert junkie this summer and those words are: House of Vans. For those of you who are not familiar with the House of Vans, I’ll set the record straight. No, it is not a warehouse filled with boxes of old checkered sneakers and abandoned beanies.

The venue is actually held in an indoor skatepark in the West Loop which is repurposed as a concert venue equipped with a photo booth, luxurious beanbag chairs, a bar with complimentary beer, and wonderfully wacky art covering the walls. The great reputation House of Vans has earned is so pervasive that people will line up one to two hours before doors even open just to ensure that they won’t miss out on the concert experience of a lifetime. I also found myself waiting in that massive line to see Lala Lala, Torres, and Wolf Parade, who would all be the last to perform at House of Vans this summer.

The moment I set foot inside the venue I knew that the wait had been more than worth it. Lala Lala was the first band to perform, and they were who I was most looking forward to seeing. Lala Lala is Lillie West’s Chicago-based project and possibly the most slept on band to come out of Chicago’s music scene, which is not just my opinion but was the consensus of everyone I spoke with at the show. If a garage band and a grunge band had a musical lovechild it would be Lala Lala.

Their songs have a reverberant quality that will ring throughout your body and steal your soul. When they performed the song “Okie Dokie Doggy Daddy,” off of their album Sleepyhead, I witnessed a bunch of bearded men succumb to the power of West’s deep and resounding vocals which resulted in some pretty vivacious head bobbing. The band also debuted a song off of their upcoming album The Lamb (out September 28th on Hardly Art), which promises only great things.

Overall, Lala Lala’s performance not only lived up to the hype, but blew any expectation I had out of the water. Watching West command the stage was so inspiring and I think I may have to dye my hair pink now.

The next performance of the night came from singer-songwriter Mackenzie Scott, also known as Torres. The way Torres began their set was the definition of iconic. Scott’s back was turned to the audience as she began moving her shoulder up and down. Picture that one vine where the girl with frizzy hair and athletic sunglasses is dancing to A-ha and whips around as the song begins, but imagine it in slow motion and with more allure than hilarity. Basically, it was riveting. Scott was in motion for more or less the entire set.

Her spooky dance moves were heightened by dramatic lights that bathed the entire stage in crimson. The lighting and dancing combination was particularly powerful when Scott sang “Righteous Woman” these lyrics echoing throughout the warehouse: “Next time you're in the city/ Should you decide to call me/ Just know that I am dealing/ With a flesh that's far too willing.”

Torres finished strong with the song, “Helen in the Woods” off of the album Three Futures, which was incredibly raw and reminiscent of gothic new wave music. I was extremely jazzed after seeing back-to-back stellar performances from female-fronted groups. Throughout the whole concert I couldn’t help but think to myself, “This is why I am queer.”

The Canadian band Wolf Parade took everyone home with a power hour curated of classics and deep cuts. They opened with the song, “You Are a Runner and I Am My Father's Son” which is the first track on their 2005 album Apologies to the Queen Mary. Wolf Parade was beckoned back to the stage to play a 3 song encore, closing the night out on a song from their 2008 album At Mount Zoomer, “Kissing the Beehive.”

One would think that after watching Wolf Parade perform a song that clocks in at a whopping 10 minutes and 52 seconds, I would be ready to call it a night and head home to my Hulu. However, I was genuinely disappointed to see the night come to an end. I was fully prepared to pound free water and jam out to some Canadian indie rock until the sun came up but unfortunately, this was not the case. Like all great things, the show came to an end, forcing us to vacate the building and kiss the sweet House of Vans goodbye.