Review: Brody Dalle at Bottom Lounge Chicago

by: Kitty White

On July 26th Chicago opened its arms and ears to Brody Dalle at the Bottom Lounge. The former front woman of The Distillers and Spinnerette just released her first solo album Diploid Love earlier this year and has been on tour since. This show was one of my most anticipated of the summer and it lived up to every expectation.

 The opening band Vamos, a local trio from Chicago, started the night out perfectly. All three members were incredibly upbeat and their music was hard hitting enough for the rowdy punk rock crowd. They did a great job getting the audience pumped for Brody Dalle and actually won over the hearts of a few of us in the process. At the Bottom Lounge there isn’t a bad spot in the house but I can safely say being front and center was ideal. It’s always a concern when at a venue that being too close or too far can distort the sound but there was no issue with that.

The wait in between sets was minimal which is always a plus when at the show. I knew it was going to be a great one too when the roadie tells those of us in the front row to watch the monitors to make sure they don’t knock into Brody’s microphone from the crowd pushing forward. Despite the opening band getting us all thoroughly warmed up for the night the crowd managed to turn it up to 11 when Brody entered the stage. She opened with one of her new songs ‘Rat Race’ which is the opening track to Diploid Love. After the show Brody had actually posted on instagram saying she was feeling a bit under the weather but from the beginning I thought she sounded amazing, even better than on her record. I love when her voice is a little bit rougher like it was with a lot of her Distillers material and I feel it works well with her new songs.

The majority of her setlist was Distillers tunes with a few key tracks from Diploid Love thrown in. Spinnerette is somewhere in the set but not this time. That was a little bit of a disappointment but I knew Spinnerette wasn’t usually touched upon in her shows so I wasn’t expecting much. Brody also played her cover of Misfits’ ‘Hybrid Moments’, which appears as a b-side to her single ‘Don’t Mess With Me.’ That was one song I was really hoping would be played and it was absolutely wonderful live. I actually prefer her cover to the original of the punk classic. The entire set went by quickly which is the usual with a punk show. So were the bruises on my hips from being rammed into the stage so many times. It was all worth it though. The only time anything slowed down was during the song ‘Parties for Prostitutes’ but even that track picks up pace near the end of it.
Usually 'Ghetto Love' from

The entire show went by in a blur in the best way possible. There was never a dull moment and by the end everyone was covered in blood, sweat, and beer. The intimate venue was the perfect setting for Brody Dalle’s style and seeing her anywhere else probably wouldn’t have left such a great feeling of punk rock satisfaction afterward. I think we all left feeling a little more bad-ass that night just from being such an amazing lady’s presence.