Evan Weiss, the driving force behind Chicago’s punctuation heavy Into it. Over It., is tired. It’s no surprise considering his recent touring schedule, one which has taken him and his band half way around the globe since leaving their home comforts two months prior. As he excitedly announces his morning flight back to the windy city, an unreserved smile gleaming across his face, he sets his final UK show – a solo show – up as an exhausted victory lap. Yet from the moment he launches into what will be the first of twenty five songs, his apparent fatigue vanishes.
Weiss stands under dim lights, nestled under the stairs at Dalston’s Servant’s Jazz Quarter. A darky decorated unfathomably trendy bar lies above, hidden behind unassuming black-framed windows. It proves the perfect setting for Weiss’ introspective performance, teasing out the intricate stories behind some of his most heartfelt material. Spanning his back-catalogue and welcoming requests, it’s a far cry from the larger impersonal spaces his full-band have played in recent weeks.
The majority of tracks come with a short preamble, a notable memory or anecdote that led to their creation. Weiss speaks of his various brushes with depression and despondency, either in himself or those around him. He half-jokes about “trust-fund punks” before launching into a particularly poignant ‘Local Language’, seemingly spurred on by his reignited frustration of the lyrical inspiration; his acquaintances refusal to house his trailer due to their judgement of Weiss’ punk credentials. For a man who has declared himself exhausted, he is refreshingly candid and approachable.
His singular guitar, one he admits he has never played before, allows Weiss to deliver both the punch and the delicacy of his career-spanning set. The likes of ‘Spinning Thread’ and ‘The Shaking Of Leaves’ are met with reserved singalongs which literally stop Weiss in his tracks. He laughs at his own distraction, met with the room’s unequivocal approval. There’s no such thing as an error tonight.
As he finishes on the fan requested ‘Wearing White’, he steps off the small stage to high-five ever member of the audience. It’s a subtle move that perfectly sums up the room’s ever-growing familiarity. As he prepares to depart to his hometown after months overseas, he returns an unparalleled musical hero to tonight’s lucky few.
BEN TIPPLE