Noah Floersch Brings his ‘Ghost’ Back to Chicago

Underneath the twinkling purple lights of West Belmont Avenue’s Beat Kitchen, the cool night of Oct. 10 was warmed by indie-pop artist Noah Floersch’s stellar performance.

The show celebrated the release of the “Ghost of Chicago” singer’s third album, “Francis Aquarius,” released just a week prior on Oct. 3 as part of an anthology from the perspective of his alter-ego. 

The character is cursed with heartbreak and insecurities, making him the guy “no one really likes to be around,” according to the 11th song on the album, “To Be Around.” These darker themes are contrasted by lively, tongue-in-cheek lyrics, accompanied by melodic vocals.

Greeted by a small yet seemingly anticipatory crowd, Chicago-born opener Dia Jane and her band’s set showcased their talents with angelic vocals, electrifying guitar and a reverberating bass that could be felt through the floor up to the throat. 

Before their final song, Jane encouraged the crowd to scream as loud as possible — a request made in earnest. The audience appeared successfully hyped up with overwhelming yells and applause of support, ready for the main event.

The lights finally dimmed to a shimmering ocean blue as Floersch’s band members began to fill the stage, the audience cheering upon Floersch’s entrance. Wrists clad in bracelets made by his fans, he grabbed the microphone as the striking intro of “Somethin’ Bout A Beer” filled the cramped room with drum beats. 

Floersch’s easy-going voice was nearly drowned out by those who knew the words — a surprisingly large amount of the audience, considering the album had only been out for a week. Even in the case of “The Bird Song,” listeners supplied the artist with lyrics he momentarily forgot, earning him a room full of laughter at his expense.

The Omaha-born singer showcased his glee at being back on stage with a seemingly endless arsenal of unique dance moves and interactions with the crowd, including a sweet moment with a younger fan in which he knelt down to her level and sang along with her.

Fast-paced songs like “Wild Thing” and “Look at You” got the crowd moving along with him, the vibrant energy coursing throughout. In turn, the rest of the band grooved, too.

Backed by the rich instrumentals of his band, Floersch made sure to play old hits “Love You By Myself” and “Green Flash Sunset” from 2023 EP “Hold Me Like You’re Scared To,” the latter being a special enough occasion to warrant asking those in charge of lighting to “make the stage green.”

The band set their equipment down to fake an exit after “Somebody Nobody Gets Over,” the setlist closer that ended with a melancholy note as the lights dimmed. 

The singer laughed, making a quip about how the band couldn’t manage to get around the packed crowd to come back for the encore. Instead, they announced they had only three songs left, immediately jumping into “Airway.”

As the event drew to a close, Floersch and his bandmates kept their lively energy up, somehow maintaining an unwavering falsetto for “Fatal Feminine” despite it being his second-to-last song — an impressive feat for the long night.

Finally, the moment many had been waiting for came. 

“You got one more in you?” Floersch asked the audience, who responded simply in shouts. “We already did the whole album. Now we’re here, in the city — and you better know the words.” 

The singer bent over his keyboard, one hand on the instrument as his keyboardist placed one of his own, and together they began “Ghost of Chicago.”

The track’s upbeat, stilted sound — led by the keyboard — could’ve traveled at warp speed from the instruments through the speakers and into the fans based on how quickly they began to sing — or more accurately, yell — along, sporadic movements accompanying. Floersch bobbed his head along, eyes scanning his fans with a toothy beam.

He ended the set with a cheer of “Chicago, I love ya,” preening at the applause as his crew began to pack up, handing off setlists to random crowd members and ending the night on a high note.