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Concert Sun Jun 30 2013
Review/Photos: CSS @ Lincoln Hall 06/29/13
If you like Brazilian pop music, CSS is your band, and if you tend to favor bands with a triumphant lead singer who transfixes her audience, CSS could very well be or become your favorite band. Based in São Paulo, the four piece captures their songs with a sense of energetic laughter and considering the crowd knew many of the lyrics (both the English and Portuguese words) to sing along, it made the night even more incredible.
CSS adorned the stage with rainbow flags to celebrate gay pride and, with a total sense of ease, lead singer Lovefoxxx went through three versions of her outfit and danced as if it might be her last night on Earth and she needed to live up every moment with her long black hair flailing across the space between her and her bandmates. Though the band's music has always been based in pop throughout their four albums, they've always proffered some heavy guitar rifts suggestive of a rock band as well. Tonight's live performance played up the pop vs. the rock elements in a way that many previous life shows haven't while the soaring melodies made it feel more like a party with the band than a show. Probably the most certain thing is that the four-piece seemed to be having just as much fun as the crowd, making their playing look effortless.
Of course, the band has always been able to create memorable hooks with a playfulness that keeps listeners want to repeatedly listen to the same great songs on repeat. But the live elements of the band elevate this even further. Perhaps the most exciting part of the night was when, in honor of gay pride, the CSS's guitarist Luiza da Silva e Sá asked her girlfriend to marry her, which someone captured on YouTube here.
The height of the evening was definitely witnessing this marriage proposal, but overall one can't deny that the sense of the band's sheer exuberance throughout their nearly 90 minutes on stage covering material from all of their albums has an infectious quality that will make any concertgoer yearn to see them play all over again and come back for more the next time CSS makes it into Chicago because, while it's true that the quartet are adept at playing their songs, it's really the overwhelmingly positive experience you'll remember months from now.
Basic setlist with some minor changes -- does not include encore, the highlight of which was "Alala."
