There is always that one band that you so badly want to see but for some reason whenever they are actually in town, you can’t make it. As someone who goes to live shows in my past time, which is basically every week, it kills me each time I can’t see the one artist I have been eagerly wanting to see. In the past year I missed the chance to see Last Dinosaurs three different times, but on Nov. 23 at Park West in Chicago, I finally filled the Australian indie-rock hole that was in my heart. And let me just say, it was so worth the wait.  

After listening to a band for so long and never actually seeing them live, when I was finally at the venue, upfront and anxiously waiting, it was like I was at my very first concert all over again. There is no better feeling than connecting the streamed music you usually hear through headphones with real faces, voices and instruments--ones that you can feel echoing through your chest.  

With no photo pit or barricade to separate fans from the stage, everyone was up close and personal. I often attend concerts by myself and a Last Dinosaurs show is one where you can come alone and leave with a handful of new friends. The energy, excitement and pure bliss that radiates from the band to everyone in the room is unlike any other. It is nearly impossible to be at their show without a huge smile plastered across your face, mostly because their happiness while performing for everyone is so contagious.  

Although the band has fairly new music--their single “FMU” came out early October and their last full album “Yumeno Garden” is barely a year old--they played a fair share of older songs, which the audience went crazy for. One song in particular, “Beaux-Mont,” which is from their 2012 “In A Million Years” album, brought every person in the venue together. The fans, including myself, knew every single word to the nearly eight-year-old song and sang it at the top of their lungs, louder than lead singer Sean Caskey. He even admitted to not fully knowing the second verse for the song--it has been that long since they’ve played it.  

Not only was it great to dance my heart out to songs I have so closely admired for years, but it is also impossible not to mention how visually appealing a Last Dinosaurs show is. While live shows are always accompanied with a variety of different lighting and color, this one truly captivated me the entire time. The boys have a teal and pastel aesthetic and used that to their advantage with a mixture of blue and violet lights--which spun around onstage in different directions.  

Now, I tend to say this a lot but the band truly does sound better live than on a recording. With a mixture of the Caskey brother’s vocals, some strong guitar riffs and synth-infused sounds, Last Dinosaurs really forces you to live in the moment and soak it all in. As if it was even an option not to dance to their pop vibes, the band had a dance competition among the crowd, and whoever they felt had the most intensely insane dance moves won a custom-made shirt. Now, this really got the crowd going.  

Practically on the stage, the crowd was barely arms-length away from the band, and oftentimes would get the chance to hug them, and even push lead guitarist Lachlan Caskey back on stage after doing a backward stage dive into the arms of his beloved fans. That night, the band was one with their Chicago dinosaur family.  

With it being their final show of their Fall 2019 tour, they went out with a bang in Chicago--and I am already itching for them to come back again.  

photos by Kendal Polidori

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