March 20
The Orwells w/ Gordon
The Waiting Room Lounge, 6212 Maple St.
9 p.m., $8 in advance/$10 day-of-show, onepercentproductions.com
It makes sense that the Orwells’ tales of teenage debauchery and abandon would sound so full of conviction and honesty, the band members are still living it. The guys in this five-piece band all sit in between high school and their 20th birthday, but have soaked up and spit out a host of indie rock influences with a unique skill and verve. So while elements of the Arctic Monkeys, the Cribs, the Strokes, the Cloud Nothings and fellow Chicagoans Smith Westerns lurk in the sound, there’s no way to just fake the energy enthusiasm that bleeds from the speakers on the Orwells’ debut album, Remember When. Their song “Mallrats (La La La)” communicates all the frustration of weirdo, suburban teenagers desperate to break out of their sterilized, strip-mall environment.