By Jodi Root

The Bottom Lounge hosted a very interesting and solid music line-up last evening here in Chicago. Opening up the night was the rhythmic, electro-drumbeat, ambient yelp chant sounds from the duo The Berg Sans Nipple—wasn’t sure what to expect from these guys, especially with the remainder of the line-up—but I was not disappointed. Warming things up a bit, Doomtree ringleader P.O.S. was next up—busting out yet another, incredible live performance with several numbers from his recently released album, Never Better. P.O.S. got the kids to their feet, hands in the air, and bouncing to his fresh ass rhymes, backed up by the DJ mix of Plain Ole Bill, as he thanked the crowd for making it out earlier for his set—the last of four stops with Cursive. It seemed like an odd bill for these two groups to be paired up with this Saddle Creek rock staple, but the overall theme of solid music definitely prevailed.

For their final U.S. tour stop until June, Cursive took to the stage around 11:00 to a full house, busting out several older numbers and giving their loyal fans exactly what they wanted. The sound quality was super crisp, and the beats were right on, loud and immediate. Songs seamlessly blended from track to track—led by Tim Kasher’s misplaced, spoken word/yelp/shouting vocal work, atop driven guitars, steady bass, disarrayed organ action, tight percussion and polished horn segues. The crowd loved it.

Highlights from the set included older jams, “Dorothy at Forty,” “The Night I Lost the Will to Fight,” and “Bad Sects.” My only complaint from last night would be that I really would have liked to have seen more new songs accounted for. “I Couldn’t Love You” was pretty rad, and of course “From the Hips” was accounted for as the final encore number—which was dedicated to the wives and girlfriends of the group for sticking it through despite their constant absences on the road. But still, even though I do dig their older material as well, I feel like I see the same show every time I make it out to see these dudes—last year at Belmont Art and Music Fest, their SXSW set at Radio Room (video above), and lastly, Bottom Lounge. Mama, I’m Swollen may be one of my top albums of ’09 thus far and I think it’d be super great to see a more consistent representation of the album live. Still, I see why older material is showcased as well; these dudes have been around on the scene for a while so it’s great to see they are sticking true to their roots. Overall, it was a solid performance and a kickass night of music.

Discuss: Did anyone else make it out last night? What were your thoughts on Cursive and the openers?

Additional U.S. tour dates are listed below.

JUNE 13 DENVER, CO WESTWORD MUSIC SHOWCASE
JUNE 18 SIOUX FALLS, SD NUTTY’S NORTH
JUNE 20 BILLINGS, MT YELLOWSTONE VALLEY BREWERY
JUNE 21 MISSOULA, MT THE OTHER SIDE
JUNE 22 SPOKANE, WA KNITTING FACTORY
JUNE 23 SEATTLE, WA NEUMO’S
JUNE 24 PORTLAND, OR WONDER BALLROOM
JUNE 27 SAN FRANCISCO, CA GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL
JUNE 28 LOS ANGELES, CA EL REY THEATRE
JUNE 29 POMONA, CA GLASSHOUSE
JULY 1 SALT LAKE CITY, UT CLUB SOUND

Buy: Cursive – Mama, I’m Swollen
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Myspace: Cursive
MP3: Cursive – “From The Hips”