Cory Wong Breaks The Sound Barrier At Chicago’s Riviera Theatre

I’ve seen a lot of shows at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre. A venue with potential but also known for its strict security, poor vantage points, and arguably less than favorable sound. A typical show at the historic Uptown theater forces fans to obey by the painted yellow lines and accept their fate if arriving after doors, which results in having to “watch” their favorite artist from behind the venue’s main bar - located well behind the sound engineer. Cory Wong’s sold out show Friday night offered something different.

A line of ticket holders wrapped around the venue well after the opening band left the stage. Come showtime, security had no choice but to allow patient fans to cross the paint, fill the aisles, and push the venue to its capacity limits. After photographing Wong’s opening three songs, I was surprised to run into a blockade of fans filling my path to the back of the venue - a route normally heavily enforced by security. This would usually result in a literal uphill battle, but fans graciously made room while still remaining fixated on Wong’s signature funk and out of this world guitar riffs.

The sound of his guitar and band coming from the venue’s speakers also caught me off guard. It was by far the cleanest sound I’ve heard at the Riv. Cory Wong somehow managed to make what I’d consider the worst sounding venue in Chicago sound crystal clear. It also didn’t seem to matter where fans were positioned in the venue. Whether situated in the front row or crammed against the aisle walls, the energy pulsing throughout the venue was contagious and didn’t require a vantage point.

Wong is a musician’s musician, which likely explains the respectful crowd. If I were to have taken a poll Friday night, my guess is at least three out of four attendees were guitar enthusiasts. Hell, Wong was even selling his signature blue Fender Stratocaster for $2,199 at the merch table - not a bad deal considering Wong is known to actually play many of the guitars he ends up selling at shows. You could also score his vinyl records, which are only available for sale at his live shows, making them highly sought after.

For those not familiar with Cory Wong, the Grammy-nominated artist is a guitar prodigy known for his unique rhythmic playing style, primarily within the funk/jazz fusion genre. Most of us were introduced to him as a member of the band Vulfpeck, an Ann Arbor-based funk band. Wong has gone on to record 10 solo albums, and is the host of a popular music podcast called “Wong Notes”.

You’re not likely to hear a Cory Wong song on popular radio, but his recognition among musicians and the funk genre as a whole can’t be understated. Backed by his band dubbed the “Wongnotes”, his solo work features world-class musicians, as well as several collaborations to cover vocals on his records. This recent tour also included featured guests like revered bassist Victor Wooten, who was part of Friday’s ensemble.

Wong is currently on tour supporting his 2022 release, Power Station. Friday’s setlist included songs from his expansive catalog, including his solo work as well as Vulfpeck and The Fearless Flyers songs. The show started with a fake Cory Wong hanging from the rafters high above the stage. After slowly descending, fake Wong suddenly plummeted to the stage floor at full speed, crashing behind the amplifiers. The real Cory Wong emerged holding his back in agony before launching into the wickedly fast-paced and aptly titled “Assassin” off The Paisley Park Session, featuring his signature funk rhythm backed by a full horn section.

That set the tone for the night. Wong never took his foot off the gas as he continued to run back-and-forth across the stage having playful interactions with his “Wongnotes”, particularly his long-time drummer, Petar Janjic. If you were near the stage, it wasn’t uncommon to hear frequent and enthusiastic shouts from Wong, which seemed to act as both encouragement for his bandmates as well as an exhaling technique to power through the next verse - similar to a bodybuilder pushing through one last rep.

The only thing more unbelievable than the sound Wong produces with the guitar is watching his strumming hand. Well, that is if you can even see it. His unique playing technique includes stretched out fingers that whip up and down so fast you can barely see them with the naked eye. As you’ll see in BAND’s gallery from the show, the shutter speed on my camera also had trouble keeping up.

Wong’s Power Station winter tour wrapped up this past weekend with shows in Madison, Chicago, and Minneapolis. The band has a series of festival performances booked through the summer and will tour Europe this fall. If you’ve never seen Cory Wong live, drop everything you’re doing and get tickets here now.

See our full gallery from Friday’s show at Chicago’s Riviera Theatre below.