At last: Mickey Darling is on tour. After years of fans begging in their comments section for the duo to come to their home city, Mickey Darling announced a string of shows across the U.S. The first of these stops was, conveniently, my home city: Chicago. It was also conveniently on my very last night living in Illinois, as I was packing up the very next morning to make the 16 hour drive to Orlando. Austin Medrano (one of the band members) was gracious enough to put myself and a friend on the list, so I was able to attend the sold-out show on September 8th.
The show was at Schuba’s, a small bar with a concert hall in the back. The last time I’d been to Schuba’s was in 2019, where I watched Mia Gladstone perform a short opening set at a show. This time around, I was old enough to actually enjoy the bar, and treat myself to a rum & coke prior to the concert starting. At around this time I actually ran into my cousin (hi Kevin!) who was attending the show with his girlfriend. Talk about a crossover episode! I immediately sent a selfie to my dad, and later our cousins groupchat, to document the iconic moment. I was at the show with my friend Greta, and we spent way too much time giggling about being surrounded by “male manipulators.” Before we knew it, it was time for the opener to start.
Nick Wagen was the opener for this tour date, a 4 piece band led by none other than Nick Wagen himself. We ended up standing near the guys later on in the night, and I had to confirm with the drummer (who introduced himself as Tim) what their band name was, as I didn’t catch it at first. “I think we should be ‘Nick Wagen’ and the Wheels”, Tim said, and I agree completely. So much potential in that band name. Nick Wagen’s set was great, incredible energy and a great way to kick off the night. Their track “Mine” quickly found itself into my monthly playlist, the funky guitar line really sold me.
Between sets, Greta and I theorized what track we thought Mickey Darling would open with. We settled on “Vroom Vroom”, and were pleasantly surprised when they actually kicked off with “Feed My Ego”. Skyler Molina (vocals) and Austin Medrano (guitar) immediately filled the room with contagious energy, dancing around in their Chicago sports team t-shirts. For just two people being onstage, they had the stage presence of a full band – there was never a dull moment.
Playing both deep cuts (“Em Rata”) and newer tracks (“SAY THAT YOU MISS ME”), they catered to every type of Mickey Darling fan. Frequently jumping into the crowd with no hesitation, they sang and danced with fans. The only word I can use to describe it was electric, everyone was fully engaged. It was sweaty, it was overstimulating, it was phenomenal. Austin and Skylar exchanged banter between themselves, as well as the crowd, between songs, and constantly expressed their gratitude to the audience. They played a lot of my favorite songs of theirs, including “Pink Socks” and “Protein Shake”. Their track “You Were Perfect And I’m So Sorry” was one of my top tracks of 2021, and Mickey Darling was actually my most listened to artist of 2021. Getting to hear all of these songs live for the first time was an experience I’ll never forget, and I couldn’t have asked for a better last night in my city.
The show wrapped up with their biggest hit, “Reverse Cowgirl”. Everyone in the audience was singing their hearts out, it was a great way to finish the concert. Immediately following the show, fans started lining up outside of the venue to meet the duo. The line went down the block and wrapped around the entire building – everyone wanted the chance to get to talk to Austin and Skylar. The two eventually emerged from the venue doors and started chatting with fans, taking their time with each one to listen to their stories and engage with them. While it was a slow moving process, it was evident that these guys care about their listeners deeply, and are willing to stay out past midnight to talk to them. Greta and I stuck around, despite being pretty sleepy and having about a half hour drive back to my house. I had gotten the chance to talk to Mickey Darling on Zoom about a year ago when I interviewed them for Poptized (read here), and I didn’t want to miss out on my one chance to meet them in person. When we finally got up to them, I didn’t even have to introduce myself, Austin addressed me by name immediately. It was a really special full circle moment, to be able to finally meet them in person after all this time. I started listening to their music in 2019, and so much has changed since then. We talked about the interview, about the show, and about me moving to Florida. Both of them were so kind and genuine, and I was so glad that I stuck around to say hello.
As I was walking back to the crosswalk, a girl in line wearing the same shirt as me (a pink tee that reads “big sad 4 u”, from Mickey Darling’s merch site) asked me “is it worth it?” She was sitting on the ground, visibly tired from waiting in the line. “Yes,” I urged, “it’s 100% worth it.”
