Stage Buzz and Gallery: The Hu at House of Vans

Brassneck | October 30, 2019

The Hu at Riot Fest 2019 (photo Curt Baran)

The Hu

Vans Chicago

October 31, 2019

Nothing says “Happy Halloween” like a morin khuur solo, am I right? What the hell is a morin khuur you ask? Exactly! Anyone who attended the 2019 version of Riot Fest may have encountered such an instrument if they caught the much talked about set from The Hu.

The Mongolian rock band brought an assortment of exotic instruments and a completely original approach to what they call “hunnu music.” The band uses ‘throat singing” which delivers more tone than it does actual lyrical content to accent their surprisingly heavy music. Add to that the fact that the band performs in garb that’s somewhere between Attila the Hun and a Broadway version of Mulan, and a Halloween live set suddenly seems all too apropos. The band returns to Chicago as part of a special event dubbed “HallowWolfbat 2019,” hosted by House of Vans.

This is a free event, but it does require those interested in attending to RSVP at vans.com. Entry is based on a first come, first served basis. This is an 18 and over event. House of Vans is located at 113 North Elizabeth St. on the city’s near West Side.

– Curt Baran

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Chicago’s House Of Vans went all out to celebrate Halloween. They invited the Mongolian, unconventional heavy metal rockers The Hu into the shoemaker’s near west side space which, on this particular October 31st, was populated with a multitude of costumed concert goers. The typically raw, loft space found itself dressed for the occasion. Throughout the multi-use space were psychedelic, oversized sculptures of wolves, birds and demons, some of which doubled as hulking, marionette puppets that occasionally breached the crowd and joined in on the merriment. The touring instillation has been billed as “Hallowolfbat” by artist Dennis Menett. Art house lighting, black light posters and wall projected film clips made this 2019 Halloween celebration one to remember. Boston’s Doomrider and North Carolina’s Lightning Born opened the evening, keeping the gloom and doom vibe of the holiday perfectly intact.