Nico Vega @ Schuba’s in Chicago IL, 12.15.09
This was my first time at Schuba’s, and I like that it was a small and intimate venue, albeit more long than wide. It’s just off of Southport and Belmont, so if you’re in the Lakeview area, not a hard place to get to.
Now, in my humble opinion, you have to be pretty famous to make people wait an hour, only to play a 30-40 minute set. Such was the case with Nico Vega, thus I was quite confused when they announced their final song so soon. However, when they finally did get going, it was clear that I was among many hard-core Nico Vega devotees.
They weren’t lacking in energy, which was much appreciated. I’ve read comparisons of Aja to Karen O, which I can kind of buy, but with one difference: Aja clearly was an active participant in all the fun, and really fed off the crowd’s energy. She came out in a Robin Hood-esque cape and hood, only to reveal the disco ball madness below it (it was Bob Mackieish). Her voice was soulful and angry, she was quite frankly a little scary (the fact that every picture I took gave her devil eyes didn’t help either). The sound is bizarre and haunting, sounds like a hybrid of several people (I’m thinking a little Grace Slick, some Leila Moss…) and that’s not to say her voice isn’t unique.
Rabbit in the Bag, very intense good moment, the song I was waiting to hear them play. Like Jefferson Airplane’s ‘White Rabbit’, albeit more in your face and sans metaphors. That song was definitely worth the wait, and with such sheer intensity the show reached its peak with this one. After that, they closed with “Beast”, much to my surprise. It was a great song to end with, but I spent most of the song disappointed that their set was over so quickly.
I guess in summary I would say that Aja’s amazing vocals and intense energy are what make this band worth watching. They already have a handful of songs in my head, and I wanna use the word “potential” without being trite. But I get the impression that with the wind blowing just the right way, Nico Vega could burst from their cult-following status to filling much bigger venues with devotees. I would definitely advice you to catch them if they’re in your area.
