Last Friday (February 11th) I took a little roadtrip from UIUC’s campus into ISU territory: a journey I would only make for Meet Me @ The Altar. Playing at the Castle Theatre in Bloomington, IL, they took the stage along with Anxious, Hot Mulligan, and Knuckle Puck. Talk about a stacked tour lineup.
After stopping at a hot dog place down the road, my friend Greta and I headed to the Castle. It was insanely cold outside, but luckily the line moved pretty quickly and we were able to head to will call and grab our tickets. The theatre was essentially split into two halves, the front was a big open space while the back half had tables/the bar. Greta and I opted for a spot towards the back of the front half, where we could comfortably stand and have room to move.
The first band was Anxious, their set was incredibly energetic and got the audience engaged. I had never heard their music prior to the show, and their performance definitely convinced me to add a few of their tracks to my playlist.
Meet Me @ The Altar performed second, and from their introduction, I could tell their set was going to be a blast. Edith Johnson (lead singer) wielded a neon green microphone that matched her braids of the same color. Even when her hair got caught in Téa Campbell’s guitar, she didn’t miss a beat. Drummer Ada Juarez was enthralling, I found myself watching her quite a bit throughout the set. These girls are not only great artists, they’re great performers. Weaving through classics like “Hit Like A Girl” and “Garden”, along with some tracks like “Now or Never” and “Feel A Thing” from their latest EP Model Citizen, their set was packed with energy. I was beyond thrilled to hear “Tyranny”, one of their older songs, which was actually the first song of theirs that I heard, and the song that made me a fan. I was the only person in my general vicinity that knew the words to “Tyranny”, so you can bet that I was yelling at the top of my lungs. This was my first time seeing MM@TA live, and I can’t wait until they make their way back to Illinois so I can catch them live again.
Hot Mulligan and Knuckle Puck are both incredible bands, so I was so stoked to be able to see them both in one night. Knuckle Puck are from Illinois, so it was awesome to hear them play in their home state. I’ve previously produced a podcast episode featuring Chris Freeman of Hot Mulligan, but this was my first time seeing them live. It was cool to hear him talk and sing after spending several hours editing together clips of his voice, it felt like a fun little full circle moment. Knuckle Puck played my absolute favorite song of theirs, “True North”, so I left the venue feeling very satisfied. It seriously doesn’t get much better than being able to see four great bands all in one night. Be sure to grab tickets to this tour if it comes to a city near you, you definitely don’t want to miss this.
