Fort Frances- Bastille Days, 7/12/14

photo by Will Piper

Chicago's Fort Frances made their first ever appearance at Bastille Days for a robust set of music.  What was slated as a two-set opening gig for Vic and Gab, turned into a soggy show filled with loyal fans with umbrellas and Milwaukee Franco-enthusiasts jamming out to the band's music despite a steady drizzle which culminated in a full-on deluge of rain and knocked out the lights and forced the band to end its set after nearly two hours of tunes.  Many bands, under such conditions, could have chosen to "mail it in."  Fort Frances did the opposite-- they had fun and brought their "A Game."

This is the third time I've seen Fort Frances, and each show has been very different from the others, from seeing the band headline Club Garibaldi last November, to open for Lone Bellow in front of a near-capacity Shank Hall crowd this past January, to playing in front of an ever-changing group of passers by, festival attendees, and some die-hard fans at Bastille Days.

For an evening that was less-than-ideal for live music, Fort Frances's melodies and professional musicianship engaged the crowd, so much so, that several folks, despite the rain, parked themselves at the stage to hear the band's set.  One gentleman gave the band a $20 tip as he loved their music so much.

This was the loosest I've seen Fort Frances.  While their set contained a lot of more notable tracks like, "How to Turn Back Again," "Truths that I Used to Know," "Plastic Hearts," and "City By the Sea," there were a lot of new tunes which held up as strong as any of their previous work.  In fact, I would argue that the newer tunes seem more musically and lyrically ambitious which brings me back to my hypothesis that the band's best is still yet to come.  In addition to newer material, Fort Frances delivered a cover-heavy set which included renditions of "Summertime," (DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince), "Nothing Compares to You" (Prince), "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" (Paul Simon), "Friday I'm in Love" (The Cure), and my personal favorite of the night, a one-off version of "Sand" by Phish (which they jammed out to about the 7 minute mark... not bad for a band who prides themselves on concise melodies and riffs over noodling).   In addition, the band sandwiched "Ghosts of California" inserting the Beatles "Get Back" in the middle of the tune with drummer Aaron Kiser on vocals.  Simply stated, when you have fun doing what you're doing, others will have a blast with you.  I think cruddy weather aside all in attendance at Fort Frances's Bastille Day set had a great time along with the band.