Looking Ahead • Mr. Bill, Live at Subterranean
We’ll keep this brief! There is an event crew in Chicago that should be creeping onto your radar, throwing some of the wildest parties Illinois has to offer in some of the most low-key, unassuming settings you’ll find. This organization is called Notion Presents, and how they manage to rope artists such as Joker and Desert Dwellers into small house and warehouse shows is beyond me, but I absolutely love it. After having just recently caught a Notion Presents show in Humbodlt Park that was quite the notable event (featuring Thellem, The Widdler and an incredible performance from Desert Dwellers, one for the books), I was very pleased to see that there was another such event coming up in the near future, albeit in a more official setting, Subterranean.
The performance is Mr. Bill (Live), and from him you can expect funky, crunchy, electronic music. An exceedingly respected musician in glitch and dubstep circles but with the song-writing ability and ease of touch to move him beyond niche audiences, Mr. Bill takes the DJ set and twists it up with his live band into something new, creating a different journey for his fans each time. Spun into the live experience of Mr. Bill is an emphasis on the incorporation of the visual elements (a matter Notion Presents has never, ever slouched on). Mr. Bill will be bringing his own video team, Black Market Armoire, for an interconnected audio/visual extravaganza. On top of that, he's recently released his project CSS 24-27 (which you can find to the right), meaning that there'll be a bevy of fresh beats just waiting to be played for a new audience. We'd like to emphasize that this music has serious soul - whether or not you like "drops", you will be able to enjoy this strange but accessible dance music.
Opening for Mr. Bill is ATyYa, a performer definitely worth mentioning. This DJ and producer is quite a bit farther toward the psychedelic end of the music spectrum, a style and vibe that frankly, Notion excels at. You can always anticipate at least one of Notion's billed artists to be getting a little weird, and in this case the money is on ATyYa, whose massive basslines somehow stay nimble, navigating a subtle, ambient take on electronic music. Fans of down-tempo should enjoy. Anways, take this and run with it – I haven’t really known what to expect for any of these shows, and can confidently say we've never been disappointed yet. Make an effort to get to this show if you are any sort of fan of electronic music, or if you're simply looking for something a little different than usual. You won't be disappointed.
Friday November 4, $15 Tickets, 17+ show, doors at 8PM.
