Waltposium 2016: The Walters & The Symposium East Coast Tour Recap
Along for the ride with Chicago’s best up-and-coming rock bands
by Pete Clancy
Photography by Kevin Allen & Pete Clancy
Grab a backpack, throw in some jeans, t-shirts, socks, a book about the Founding Fathers, and a phone charger. “Let’s go!” Sam Clancy, lead guitarist of The Symposium, shouts from the open door. I’m packed and ready. “This is going to be nuts.” Outside, the band leans on the rental car. Charlie Gammill, the singer, Benny Goetz, the bassist, Jamie Seiwert, the drummer. The gear projects from the open trunk. I organize the guitars, slam the lid, and get into shotgun.
Four shows over five nights. A caravan of two prosperous Chicago bands — The Symposium and The Walters — set off on an East Coast tour. The spread: Double Happiness in Columbus, Ohio; Songbyrd in Washington DC; The Mercury Lounge in New York City; and a house show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Double Happiness is closed when we arrive and the evening is turning overcast. The Walters are out front chatting; Walter Kosner (lead guitar) speaks with Luke Olson (lead singer, guitar) about the set, while Charlie Ekhaus (drums), Danny Wells (bass), and Michael “MJ” Tirabassi (singer, guitar) congregate. All the while the gang unloads their gear.
General greetings ensue. Jon Morabito, who set up a Symposium concert in DC in April, stands with Kevin Allen, an aspiring photographer for many bands playing in Chicago. Benny and Charlie talk about getting drinks. Sam smokes a blue e-cigarette. The bartender arrives and opens shop. Within thirty minutes everyone carries a beer and sound check begins.
A crowd slowly files in. The Symposium hits off their set with a bang and the Walters follow suit. The audience goes off like a firecracker in a Midwestern summer night.
At Songbyrd in Washington DC, the tour takes on the character of the Northeast American roads that the bands cruised over during the day, up and down currents through the hills. The bands tighten their sets, Charlie’s banter strengthens, Luke raps, and the crowd grows. Highlights include a chant for Walter, which pulsed through the building and down the street, and meeting the gals behind Melted Magazine. Popular songs at this show include “Red River,” “Streets,” and “Threads” for The Symposium, “I Love You So,” “City Blues,” and “New Girl” for The Walters. After the set we look down 18th Street and see the Washington Monument reaching skyward and from where we looked stood we looked down on it. DC takes care of the gang well into the night.
Here we are, the Big Apple. Nudging through traffic, eyes darting every direction — the people, the storefronts, the skyscrapers. This is what we all came for. In front of The Mercury Lounge, Michelle, who helps book shows, underplays a cordial greeting. In straight, pinstriped slacks, Chuck Taylors, and a loose t-shirt, she evokes the fashion of the rock culture that filtered through the venue and made it the essential fixture of the Lower East Side it is today. Michelle leads the group to the green room. Along the walls and insulated piping above, the names of bands gleam like stars. I find a sharpie and get Charlie to make the mark for The Symposium on the last stretch of open canvas.
Tension starts to build. New York. Chicago boys in the big city. Tall ceilings and expert sound management make this performance the best. A packed house (including the random appearance of Martin Shkreli) is the perfect mirror to reflect the bands’ rock that night; dancing, moshing, jumping, screaming, beer flying, singing. What followed the show what memory can only hold in snapshots and energy.
“Cockadoodledoo, motherfuckers,” our host wakes us with at 3 pm. We’re off to see Central Park before the drive to Philadelphia.
Destination number four is an unknown house on the fringe of Philly, PA. The college house sells to capacity by 7 pm. A basement, a crammed and sunken cement floor. One light bulb swings from a thin cord. The temperature is 91 degrees. The set-up recalls the humble origins of both bands, playing shows in houses throughout Chicago’s DIY scene. The music is loud and sloppy. After the show everyone flocks to the streets for air. Naturally, the company memorializes their time with some photos. Charlie lays on the pavement and Walter poses in a mock punch-out gesture. Then Charlie poses on the car with arms outstretched, reborn. The whole team in a line from hood to trunk, grasping shoulders, smiling.
From Chicago to Philly, both bands gained useful visibility and a few lessons from more experience. It was a tour of finding yourself, as a band, member, friend of the group. This tour pushed everyone to a limit. And at the limits you get the rare chance to see yourself from a new viewpoint.
Stay tuned for much more from The Symposium and The Walters.
