Yam Haus perform at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on Nov. 18, 2023.
When it comes to fall weather in the midwest, you never know what you’re going to get and when you’re going to get it. For example, it was 80 degrees the last week of October this year in Chicago only to snow on Halloween and stay pretty solidly in the low 30’s for a week. Mid-November saw some nice autumn days with highs in the low 60’s. But one thing’s for sure: once it gets close to Thanksgiving and gets cold, it’s gonna stay cold well into the next year. And while you do as much as you can to mentally prepare yourself for the switch, sometimes you’re just not ready to let the summer go. You need that one last blast of warmth before contemplating your upcoming hibernations (AKA seasonal depression and food comas).
Fortunately, the guys from Yam Haus scheduled Chicago as the last stop on their first national tour and made sure to do so in the second half of November, when the crowd would need their specific brand of guitar-fueled pop to give us that one last hit of summer, if not physically than mentally. With songwriting duo Sawyer in direct support, the Haus party was ready to wrap up a wild two months on the road at Chicago’s famous Lincoln Hall.
Sawyer performs at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on Nov. 18, 2023.
It’s not often these days that you come across a band with as few details about them online as there is for the band Sawyer. There’s no additional info available about them on Apple Music. The “About” section of their Spotify page just says “Happy to be here!” But after seeing them in action, in all honesty that might be all that needs to be said. Splitting both vocals and guitars between them, Kel Taylor and Emma Harvey (who also chipped in time on both bass and keyboards) performed a nine song set that seemed to be fueled on the pure joy of playing live music for packed houses. It wasn’t wall-to-wall good times, with the subject matter of a few of their songs touching on topics ranging from unrequited love to poor dating choices. But even those types of common problems tackled on songs like “Support Group” and “The Way My Friends Feel About You” are tackled with a wry, sort of “I know you know what I’m talking about” attitude that makes some problems easier to laugh off since you know it to be such a universal experience.
Regardless of the subject matter or feeling behind it, Taylor and Harvey are an absolute force onstage, with their musicianship and songwriting only topped by their live performance. To compare their type of indie pop to an act like Haim might seem lazy, but it doesn’t make it any less accurate. They write damn good songs and have the onstage chops to deliver them impeccably. Keep an eye on them because this is not the last time you’re going to hear their name.
Yam Haus perform at Lincoln Hall in Chicago on Nov. 18, 2023.
There are certain bands that do certain types of pop songs that for one reason or another you can’t help but associate with summer. And Yam Haus is definitely that kind of band that writes those types of songs. Describing them as pop music sounds like a disservice, with that being one of the most generic labels that exists in music. But I’ll be damned if that’s not the best way to describe their sound. They sound like pop music is supposed to sound. They write songs that you put on when you want to have a good time listening to music. Looking at the names that pop up in their “Similar Artists” on Apple Music, it doesn’t seem like I’m alone in that assessment, with Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, The Band CAMINO and Lizzo’s names listed as comparisons. And while the Lizzo comparison may be the result of some kind of algorithmic hiccup on Tim Cook’s end, the list should give you a good idea that Yam Haus is 100% that band you want to catch any time they come to your city.
Normally operating as a trio, the guys in Yam Haus (Lars Pruitt, Zach Beinlich and Jake Felstow) add an additional bassist to fill out their sound during live shows, which gives each song a lot more punch and urgency than their studio versions. And what a live show they put on, starting their set with “So Long” off their recent Stupid and Famous EP and blazing through an additional 14 songs on the night, the dancing didn’t let up for a single second, both onstage and off. And while some of their songs can invoke the feel of bands like The Killers and Jason Mraz, there’s a ton of variety in the type of sounds the band can bounce between while still maintaining their unique sound. Songs like “Give Me the Keys” and the aforementioned “So Long” sound as much like Talking Heads as they do Bleachers.
It’s bittersweet that Yam Haus wrapped up their tour with this show. On one hand, the synchronicity and rapport they have with each other has clearly developed on the road, and it’s clear they’re only improving as time goes on. On the other, that’s the end of the tour. Aside from a few select dates in the Midwest through the end of January, you might have to wait a while to catch one of their shows for yourself.
Check out photos from Yam Haus, and Sawyer, at Lincoln Hall below. Tickets to Yam Haus’ remaining dates can be found here.
(Photos and review by Rich Funk)
