Dreamer Isioma invokes a rapture of bliss with their opening set for Chloe Moriondo

Photos by Rachel Crowell

Paradise Rock Club was packed to the brim with a jumpy audience of angsty teens and college students excitedly waiting for a performer to take the stage. Mumblings of who the opener was and anticipations for Chloe’s set raced across the crowd. Suddenly the room went dark, and a group of four shadowy figures appeared on stage.

They would soon be introduced as Dreamer Isioma’s band – but for now, the lead guitarist took the mic and accepted the role of MC, hyping up the crowd for the upcoming show. They fittingly blasted the first of Chloe Moriondo’s new songs, “Cdbaby,” at which the audience immediately began jumping and screaming.

After teasing the crowd with a couple more songs, Dreamer Isioma finally ran on stage, joining their four piece band, all of whom were the same age as them (and the majority of the audience). Dreamer Isioma is a Chicago-based artist set on defying genre and building a sense of community, which could immediately be inferred from their insane set list and genuine interactions with the crowd.

They opened with “Cookout” off of their EP Sensitive, swaying along to the infectious bass line and soon after inciting the crowd to “put their middle fingers up” and yell “Fuck 12”, a key lyric in the second verse of “Cookout.” This ignited a spark in the energy of the crowd that set the tone for the rest of the show. Throughout their set, Dreamer Isioma routinely stopped between tracks to authentically engage with the audience and create a dialogue that provided a sense of intimacy and connection for the entirety of the show. They knew how to command an audience with ease, and created a feeling through music that seemingly everyone in the audience could connect with or find some joy in.

Before beginning their hit “Valentina,” Dreamer Isioma dedicated the song to the audience, and then proceeded to throw a bouquet of flowers out to the crowd during the performance. Fans shrieked with awe and joy, and those who had never heard of the opener were now hooked. As the set went on, Dreamer Isioma spoke about climate change and pollution, saying that there is still so much to live for “even though the world is ending,” and then went straight into an ode to the world called “Dumb In Love With You,” their new single. They ended their set with the banger “Sensitive,” which no one in the crowd could stand still for. Dreamer Isioma put all of the energy they had into the performance, something that is infectious, indisputable, and impossible to ignore. They are an extremely rare type of artist, someone that views music as an expressive vehicle, and does not have the capability to be inauthentic when perfecting their craft.

After Dreamer Isioma’s insane set, I was unsure if the crowd would be able to match the same amount of energy for Chloe Moriondo, but I was quickly proven wrong. Just the appearance of the 20-year-old genre-bending singer incited high-pitched screams and roars that echoed across the room. She opened the set with a new song, “Popstar,” appearing solo at first and effortlessly dancing across stage. Chloe revealed she was battling a bit of throat sickness, but was determined not to let it stop her from performing. She chugged water throughout the set, while praising the audience as one of her favorites ever, and delivering hits from her new album SUCKERPUNCH and previous record Blood Bunny with ease. Chloe stopped to talk with the audience about her creative process, and engage in conversation with fans, even taking a BeReal at one point. Chloe showcased her dual talents as both a guitar and bass player, revealing that this was the first tour she brought her own personal bass on. She paid homage to pop icon Lady Gaga, covering the classic “Paparazzi,” which reignited a burst of energy into the crowd towards the end of the show. Despite the throat troubles, her set was electric, filled with bouncy hyperpop drums and dreamy hooks guaranteed to be stuck in your head for days.