On the 13th stop of its five-month tour, electro-indie duo Cherub stopped in Bloomington at the Bluebird Nightclub.
Cherub has released four albums since 2011 including its most recent, “Bleed Gold, Piss Excellence.” Along with the start of its tour earlier this month, Cherub released a new single Sept. 7 titled “Want That.”
Before the duo performed, Denver DJ Maddy O’Neal took the stage. She performed for an intimate crowd of around 50, and as the room began to fill with people, it also began to fill with smoke from a smoke machine as bass rattled the floor.
O’Neal brings her mixture of electronic and hip hop to the five-month tour with Cherub titled “Free Form.” Thursday night she played songs like “Bangtown” from her newest EP “Dream State," released in early August.
"Bloomington, y'all crushed it," O'Neal said to the crowd just before her set ended.
Among the crowd were many IU students and devoted Cherub fans, including senior Shane Smelser. Though the show was Smelser’s fifth Cherub concert, he still arrived when the doors opened at 8 p.m. to ensure he was in the front.
“They’re just so energetic, fun and I like so many of their songs,” Smelser said. “I have bonded with my friends over them for so many years.”
Around 10 p.m., the intimate crowd at the Bluebird began to get impatient, cheering to false alarms as lights flashed and music turned on and off. Suddenly, the room went dark, and to a chorus of screams, the duo took the stage.
"What up Bloomington," Jason Huber, a member of the duo, yelled as Cherub stood, engulfed in blue lighting, surround by the sound of fans screaming.
The Nashville, Tennessee-based duo consisting of Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber kicked off the concert with their Billboard charting hit “Doses & Mimosas.”
After playing “XOXO” from their 2013 album “MoM & DaD” Huber blew kisses to the crowd as Kelley gave a special shout out.
“Big shout out to shampoo and conditioner because my hair feels fucking good right now,” Kelley said to the crowd between songs. Later on in the show, he had a fan put his curly locks up with one of her hair ties, asking her to make sure she got all of his hair up.
"You didn't get it all, but that's OK," he said, as he walked away with his hair in a ponytail.
Moving through the show, Kelley got fans from the about 200-person crowd involved by grabbing hands and sharing the mic. During one song Kelley handed his mic to a fan to sing while he played the guitar. Fans made their way onto the stage, dancing to the music as the duo laughed and security got them off.
“This is some of the best fucking energy on this tour, sincerely,” Kelley said.
Cherub will be on tour through January 2019. The duo will stop in Indiana again after two shows in Michigan on Sept. 30 for a show in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Hannah Reed contributed reporting to this article.
