Post-Nothing Rock: CHILIØ-Quarter-Life Crisis (2024)

Why I Like It:

A few months ago I went to a local venue called the Effie Arts Collective for two bands that were coheadlining a cross Canada tour. The bands were Cawston and CHILIØ. Cawston I saw last year opening for Edmonton post-hardcore band Calling All Captains and was impressed by their showmanship and music, and decided to check them out again when they came through town. Now before I continue with talking about CHILIØ, I highly recommend checking out Calling All Captains and Cawston because they are both fantastic Canadian bands I'm excited about and they both put on one hell of live show. If I had more time in my busy mom life, I would be doing posts about them too.

So at this jam packed show I was having a blast and couldn't fanthom it getting any better after Cawston's circle pit of fun, where lead singer Jenna Johnson joined the crowd in running around while still singing, but then CHILIØ came out and honestly floored me. The first introduction was a sound clip saying we are starting on level 1, where gaming music (that seemed like Wii fit music) played in the background. Then the band comes on stage with high energy and starts right into their music, getting the crowd jumping along fast. From there on they would be actively getting the crowd first pumping, moshing, phone light waving and shouting at the choruses together. They even had the crowd split into two sides and competed with how loud they could sing the lyrics (my side lost). Throughout this show we kept getting sound clips of us going up in levels, with the stakes getting higher and higher, and the energy of the room matching.

I haven't had this much fun at a show since Warped Tour in 2009 and this is what the music and showmanship highly reminded me of. Sadly I was pregnant and couldn't join in all the fun physical activities but it was still very much enjoyable being apart of the experience. I will also add that this was a small venue of about 50 people, which it felt like CHILIØ were treating it as a venue of over a thousand.

My take home message for this memorable concert experience is go and support your local music venues. The Effie made this awesome space where they allow kids as young as 12 (with parent supervision) enjoy this kind of live music in an inclusive and safe environment. I wish I had this option as a young kid and teen. Everyone was was being courteous and there all types of young to old people (I'll throw myself in the old category) enjoying music together. Don't be afraid to see bands you've never heard of too because you just never know what you will get!

PS- As a side note, I will likely not be posting as much for a little bit, as I get readjusted to the newborn life with no sleep, but I'll try to when I can!

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