Suckers Triumph Over a Lackluster Crowd in Chicago

Posted on Oct 15th 2009 10:30AM by Anna Deem
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The room may have been close to empty, but Brooklyn, N.Y.'s Suckers made it feel like a packed show with their energetic 45-minute headlining set Wednesday night at Chicago's Subterranean. With only 20 or so people looking on, the relatively new four-piece tore into song after song, only pausing to say "Thank you" several times.

Lead singer Quinn Walker set the tone for Suckers' provocative set when he walked on stage with painted-on mascara-smeared teardrops running down his cheeks (perhaps in tribute to the poor crowd turnout). Grinning amidst his makeup, Walker led his bandmates with his shrieking Prince-esque wail into the first song, only taking his hands off of his guitar to shake a maraca and bang on the tom drum positioned in front of him. Without pausing, Suckers proceeded to go straight into the second song, 'Afterthoughts & TV,' a track from their self-titled EP featuring three-part vocal harmonies, a drum breakdown and even more maracas. Proving their road-tested chops to be completely in sync, Suckers performed as energetically as they could, given the lack of audience. Where most bands would have given up and put on a mediocre show, Suckers did their best to win the room over.

"This is our first show in a metro area in over five days," announced drummer Brian Aiken halfway through Suckers' set, referring to the Daytrotter Barnstormer tour, which came to a close earlier this week. It was clear that Aiken and his bandmates were glad to be back in a big city, even joking around and calling "special guest" Ghostface Killah to the stage for a song (unfortunately, he didn't show up).

Relying heavily on samples and offbeat percussion, Suckers brought their set to a close with 'It Gets Your Body Movin,'' another track from their EP. "This song goes out to these guys right there," exclaimed Walker, motioning to the two guys closest to the front of the stage that hadn't stopped dancing since the minute Suckers played their first note. A triumphant-sounding trumpet carried the song, as Walker howled into his microphone and broke into a whistling solo during the bridge while Aiken stood up and tapped his drumsticks on the spiral staircase next to the stage. Walker banged his guitar onto the head of his tom drum several times and it was hard to believe that there were barely more than a dozen people witnessing this great sight. With the release of their debut full length planned for next year, Suckers won't be a secret for that much longer.