The Chicagoist will be launching later but in the meantime please enjoy our archives.

Last Minute Plans: Moon Taxi Opens For Matisyahu At The Congress

By Samantha Abernethy in Arts & Entertainment on Aug 7, 2012 10:00PM

Nashville rock band Moon Taxi played a set at Lollapalooza Saturday afternoon, and they're playing one more Chicago show tonight. They've been making waves in the Southeast, and they've toured the east coast, but they haven't spent much time here in the Midwest. Tonight they're hitting the Congress Theater opening for Matisyahu, who also appears the tune "Square Circles" on Moon Taxi's 2012 LP Cabaret.

We caught this Nashville group's set for the first time at Forecastle Fest 2012 in Louisville a few weeks ago, and they brought a rock show with a tinge of jam sensibility that made for a fun dance party. While they're rooted in Nashville, their sound isn't. Singer Trevor Terndrup and drummer Tyler Ritter sat down with Chicagoist in Louisville to talk about their sound.

"Moon Taxi is sort of genre-less, and we like it that way," Terndrup said. "We have a nod to every style of music that we can pull off in a good way. I don't think we can really pull off a good country twang, which is weird because we're from Nashville."

The best part of Moon Taxi's live show is their infectious enthusiasm. If you have half as much fun as these guys do, that's a damn good time.

Below is the music video for Moon Taxi's "Mercury," shot exclusively with cell phones.

Moon Taxi, Dirty Heads and Matisyahu play at the Congress Theater, 2135 N. Milwaukee Ave., on Tuesday, Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m., Tickets: $24.50