GROUPON GUIDE TO CHICAGO

The Summer Set Unplugs and Gets Personal at the Beat Kitchen

Feb 27, 2014

The Arizona emo-pop outfit gets personal on their latest album. They double down on all the feelings with an intimate acoustic tour that stops at the Beat Kitchen next week. In 1996, VH1 brought Ray Davies to a soundstage and let him get personal. The frontman of The Kinks was the first to appear on Storytellers, the network’s series that’s as much about the lives of the musicians as it is about the music itself. It’s a uniquely intimate experience—or, at least, it was. Arizona’s The Summer Set are out to prove they can recreate Storytellers without the cameras and the threat of Pop-Up Video. On their latest record, 2013’s Legendary, the emo-pop quintet strips back some of the shimmer and shredding they displayed in stints on the Vans Warped Tour and the Dirty Work Tour. What’s left behind is unplugged, infectious, and intensely personal. On their current acoustic tour, the band has taken to playing Legendary front-to-back, giving them a chance to share the album with their fans directly. Sets also include tracks from the band’s previous two albums, a surprise cover or two, and a lot of really, really great hair. (Friday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m. $25; currently sold out, but check for tickets here) Listen to “Boomerang” from Legendary, which the band will be playing in its entirety. Photo: Steven Taylor