William Elliot Whitmore, Red Sparowes @ Subterranean (Chicago)

Never have there been so many death metal T-shirts at a folk performance until William Elliott Whitmore hit the road, and it is doubtful that many similarly styled artists could capture both the hearts and ears of the hard-rock crowd (unless their last names are Cash).

Armed simply with a banjo, Whitmore sounded Wednesday at Chicago’s Subterranean as though he had a tear in his voice and whiskey in his throat, which, combined with his engaging stage presence, almost dared concertgoers not to fall in love with him. The venue’s long, narrow room may not have been the ideal environment for an acoustic performance, but nonetheless, Whitmore made a deep impression on everyone who was there.

Red Sparowes played to a backdrop of death and destruction, a homemade documentary that complemented the music from their recent album, Every Red Heart Shines Towards the Red Sun. Both music and visuals were inspired by the “Great Sparrow Campaign” under Mao Ze Dung in China during the 1950s, in which an effort to protect farmland from scavenging birds turned into an unmitigated disaster that caused 30 million people to starve to death.

The intense, cinematic music filled the room, and throngs of fans clustered near the stage. Paired with the haunting imagery of the stock footage and newsreels, their performance made for a thought-provoking experience.

- Jamie Ludwig