“One cannot, ever, go back to the place which exists in memory. You would not see it with the same eyes.” When Agatha Christie first uttered these words in the late 1950s, she clearly wasn’t talking about seeing Franz Ferdinand in concert in 2024. But she could have been.
While Democrats aren’t always great at winning elections, there is one area in which they consistently excel: They sure as hell know how to throw a party. Such a fact was immediately evidenced by the unqualified success of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, which Chicago Innerview was on hand to witness.
Having attended the first North Coast Music Festival in 2010 and last making an appearance in 2015, I decided it was time to check in with an old friend this year. I knew it had been a while since North Coast transitioned from its “throw everything in a blender” approach to music when it hosted rock, jam, hip hop, indie, and electronic acts all under one weird roof during its Union Park days, and I was curious to see how the festival has aged since its more recent rebirth as a straight EDM fest at SeatGeek Stadium in 2023.
It was the Summer Solstice in Chicago. And the Riviera was in a good mood. In fact, the phrase “good vibes” may be the most succinct encapsulation of upcoming jamband legends-in-the-making Goose. As is the case with tie-dyed forebears The Grateful Dead, Phish, Widespread Panic, et cetera, their 3-hour-plus show is a much an excuse to party as anything else. But something about their sound feels instantly more contemporary and relevant, as evidenced by their growing battalion of fans from teens to grandparents.