Live Review: Elbow at The Riviera Theatre • Chicago

Guy Garvey of Elbow (Jeff Elbel)

Elbow

The Riviera Theatre

Chicago, IL

October 6, 2025

Review and photos by Jeff Elbel

Elbow’s arrival on Monday night was beautifully timed. The general mood in Chicago is currently tense – a frame of mind that this band from Manchester, England, is uniquely gifted to counter. Elbow reliably spreads goodwill and encourages community through songs of sweeping emotion and unabashed romance – alongside the occasional drinking song. Doctors should prescribe tickets to see Elbow as a cure for anxiety.

Monday’s concert at the Riviera Theatre was the band’s first return to town since supporting 2017’s Little Fictions. Elbow has released three studio albums and this year’s Audio Vertigo Echo EP since then, so there was plenty of fresh material to introduce alongside fan favorites from albums, including 2008’s The Seldom Seen Kid. The first half of the 18-song set list leaned heavily into 2024’s acclaimed Audio Vertigo, beginning with singer Guy Garvey’s husky-voiced performance of the wry and self-deprecating “Things I’ve Been Telling Myself for Years.”

The quintet was augmented by four auxiliary musicians who provided singing, violins, brass, and woodwinds. Sarah Field and Carol Jarvis played spiky punctuation on brass during the melodramatic “Lovers’ Leap,” serving as counterpoint to bassist Pete Turner’s undulating undercurrent. Drummer Alex Reeves deftly created a propulsive rhythm that seemed like it required an extra pair of arms.

“None of these songs are true, and absolutely all of them happened,” said Garvey as the band began the dramatic “The Bones of You” with its skyfaring melody. The song transitioned into a cover of George Gershwin’s “Summertime” featuring brass by Field and Jarvis and strings by Cat Parker and Fiona Brice.

Craig Potter’s rumbling piano and soulful synths on “Her to the Earth” mixed Peter Gabriel-styled sonics and traditional Motown songcraft. “Balu” rode a restless dance rhythm anchored by a fat riff shared between Turner and guitarist Mark Potter. Keyboardist Craig Potter alternated between terse verse chords and a glistening chorus, answered by sharp octave hits on trumpet and trombone. Parker and Brice sang shimmering harmonies to Guy Garvey’s rich croon.

Garvey paused to praise the opening act, Mike Kota. “That is some of the most profound, haunting, beautiful, deep, creative stuff I’ve heard in years,” said Garvey, referring to Kota’s set, performed solo. Kota’s evocative guitar textures were crafted with an inventive use of effects pedals, complementing thoughtful lyrics that explore self-examination, empathy, and the value of community. “It’s an honor to share the stage with her, and you’ll all be telling everyone you know that you saw her at this stage of her career,” added Garvey.

Passionate ballad “Mirrorball” unfolded with towering melody as disco balls threw starry shards of light around the room. Garvey led the audience in creating twinkling movements with their fingers. Afterward, he told the crowd how happy the band was to return to Chicago and how much they were enjoying the venue. “The shower they have in this place is revolutionary,” he said.

Like the album of the same name, “The Seldom Seen Kid” from 2021’s Flying Dream 1 was dedicated to the band’s beloved friend and late Manchester musician Bryan Glancy. Garvey told a fond remembrance of Glancy as a singularly entertaining character and drew comparisons between the band’s old friend and his own wife. The two had never met. Driven by Reeves’ brushed snare, the sentimental and poignant song imagined an exchange between the two and the overwhelming power of their combined charm. The wistful mood was heightened by clarinet harmonies and elegant piano.

The disquieted “Fly Boy Blue / Lunette” was accompanied by a story about the end of Garvey’s season residing in New York City. Brassy horns gave extra swagger to the song’s heavy swing and Mark Potter’s sturdy spy-guitar riff. During the song’s reflective resolution, Garvey gestured to the crowd when singing “and besides, I’m in excellent company.”

The remainder of the set reached a series of increasingly emotional peaks. Mark Potter played bristling slide guitar while brother Craig played a steady keyboard pulse for “The Birds.” The song built toward an ecstatic crescendo that drove the seated balcony to its feet for a standing ovation.

Garvey offered a personal story afterward, recounting his misery upon breaking up with a partner over the phone during an earlier tour. He recalled his intention to get “cinematically drunk alone in the corner” at a bar in Chicago, until a “regular old soak” named Jimmy interrupted his wallowing. The two hit it off and spent the evening together “getting sozzled” and telling stories. Garvey invited his new barfly companion to the ensuing Elbow performance at the House of Blues, but was told, “I won’t be there; I’ll be here.” “I think about him whenever I’m in town,” said Garvey with a grin. “He’s a great ambassador for your city.”

The stirring “Lippy Kids” followed, with a whistled call-and-response traded between Garvey and the crowd. Every voice in the room rose to join the song’s heart-swelling look at youthful dreams and coming-of-age experiences. The collective call to “build a rocket, boys” rang with power and joy. The doting “Magnificent (She Says)” was cut from similar thematic cloth, adding the perspective of a grateful and hopeful father.

“We’re not sure if this next song is a celebration of sobriety or drinking,” said Garvey when introducing “Sober” from Audio Vertigo Echo. Garvey directed the audience to provide background vocals, in harmony, no less. An a cappella exchange led into the cathartic “Grounds for Divorce.” Marking another tribute to Glancy, the crowd boisterously sang the song’s bleary-eyed opening line, “I’ve been working on a cocktail called Grounds for Divorce.” Each line of the verse was followed by a full-throated stadium chant.

The band offered a twist on the usual end-of-set pantomime before returning for an encore. Garvey took suggestions from the audience for a song that the crowd could sing to earn the band’s return to the stage. “It has to be something everybody knows,” said Garvey. The eventual selection was “You are My Sunshine.” Once the crowd pulled together in unison and began raising the folk song’s tempo, Elbow returned to craft the lengthy crescendo of “Station Approach.”

Garvey then turned the Riviera Theatre into a surprisingly effective choir loft, assigning three interlocking parts to different portions of the room. That communal participation ushered in the rafter-raising elation of “One Day Like This,” which concluded the concert at fever pitch. It’s fair to assume that just about everyone left the Riv feeling a bit lighter than when they’d arrived. Hopefully, it won’t be another eight years before Elbow returns with another dose of such good medicine.