Chevelle is band that has stuck with me since Wonder What’s Next (2002), when I use to listen to that record over and over in my portable CD player while riding my bike to high school. Over twenty years have passed since then and I still enjoy revisiting their discography more often than not. When I first moved to the US I realized I would have a lot more opportunities to see some of the American bands I really liked since they tour here more often than internationally. Since then, Chevelle as been sitting on the top of this bucket list. On April 17th they kicked off their 2024 US tour at the Yaamava Theater & Casino in Highland, CA and I was lucky to be there.
There was no opening band to warm up the crowd as it seems to be the norm in these casino shows, but nobody in attendance needed a warm up. A little after 8pm the Chicago trio got on stage and immediately started playing the heavy instrumental “Verruckt” from their latest album Niratias (2021). The saturated guitar, the heavy bass and the pounding on the drums set the tone for the show to come and excitement took over the venue. Chevelle decided to keep tapping on their heavier material and followed with “An Island”. At this point the crowd had turned into a giant synchronized headbang swerving back and forth.
Pete Loeffler shared how it had felt too long since they had seen their fans and that the band had just spend time in the studio recording new material. Niratias came out three years ago but had been recorded a couple years prior to the release. Therefore It shouldn’t be crazy to hope for a new record to drop by the end of the year. The setlist covered pretty much their entire discography other than their first album. There was something for everyone whether you were a fan of the earlier more melodic albums, or the latest harder records.
Watching Sam Loeffler hovering behind his elevated drum set was such a pleasure. It is rare to see a musician having as much fun on stage. Kemble Walters who has been the band’s touring bassist since 2021 stayed on the right side of the stage and his basslines blended perfectly well with Pete’s riff throughout the show. It is not an easy task to sound so heavy with only one guitar and a bass, but Chevelle does it to perfection. They hit you like a sonic brick wall. “Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)” and other hits like “Face To The Floor” gave the audience a good platform to sing along.
One of the highlights of the evening for me was personal favorite “Take Out The Gunman” from 2014’s La Gargola. Another memorable moment towards the end of the show was four songs in a row from Wonder What’s Next including the popular banger “The Red”. Pete took a moment to inform us that this was the first time ever that the venue removed the floor sits to allow a stand-up pit on the lower level. Therefore, April 17th will go down in history as it marks the first ever mosh pit at the Yamaava Theater & Casino. The band closed their set the same way they opened it, with a song from their last record: “Mars Simula”.
Chevelle will play a handful of shows in the southwest until the end of April and will be hitting the road again later this summer with shows all across the country. If like me, you have never seen them live you can buy tickets for their next show near you with your eyes closed as you won’t be disappointed. And if you’ve seen them before, I probably don’t have any advice to give you as you probably got some tickets for their next show already.
SETLIST: Verruckt / An Island / Door To Door Cannibals / Self Destructor / Vitamin R (Leading Us Along) / Young Wicked / Take Out The Gunman / Joyride (Omen) / Face To The Floor / Hunter Eats Hunter / The Clincher / Jars / Forfeit / Send The Pain Below / The Red / Comfortable Liar / Pistol Star (Gravity Heals) / Hats Off To The Bull / I Get It / Mars Simula
CHEVELLE
Photos + Review by Manuel Gay | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!