I’ve always been a fairly punctual person. I really thought showing up 30 minutes early for a show would give me a good vantage point for taking photos of White Lies and Vowws last night at Lincoln Hall. I was gravely mistaken. By the time I walked into the venue at 7:30, there were already rabid White Lies fans up against the stage-maybe 30-40. I don’t remember the last time I was at a concert where that many people showed up early and flocked straight to the front.

They must have known what they were in for, because they got a heck of a show. Vowws opening set was dark and brooding dance music with a heavy bass foundation. Very different from White Lies, but somehow they go together. There are some stark differences, though. The biggest is the tempo: Vowws take their time and get under your skin while White Lies strike quickly.

A couple songs into their set, Harry McVeigh announced that they’d put out a new record (Friends) since the last time they played in Chicago, so they were going to play a lot of that. The band didn’t shy away from deep cuts, though. The crowd erupted when he said the next song would be “The Price Of Love,” which they’ve been doing on this current tour but hadn’t played since 2011. Of the 17 songs on the setlist, five of them came from their debut To Lose My Life…. Before the set even started but after the tour manager put out the setlist I overheard a fan standing right in the center exclaim “Oh my fucking God, dude, they’re playing fucking ‘From The Stars’ holy shit!” so I think it was a very fan-friendly group of songs.