Ginger Root Debuts “The Wheel” Tour at Empty Bottle

Ginger Root has had one hell of a year. Fresh off a 34-show run supporting Japanese Breakfast’s Melancholy Brunettes tour that closed Thursday night, 29-year-old singer-songwriter-auteur Cameron Lew debuted a brand-new tour Friday at Chicago’s iconic Empty Bottle. The allure of Ginger Root’s “The Wheel” tour is unique: the band plays two back-to-back sets, live-scoring their visual album SHINBANGUMI, followed by another set where the setlist is chosen by spinning a wheel that features their most popular songs (and an impromptu Beatles cover), selecting the order at random. With this show being the first of its kind and the band just concluding their multiple-month run on the Melancholy Brunettes tour, one might expect one or two technical difficulties, but Ginger Root launched the tour without a glitch to eager eyes and ears. 

The Empty Bottle was packed nearly shoulder-to-shoulder for the opening night of three sold-out shows of “The Wheel,” marking the first time Ginger Root had live-scored their visual album, and the first time the band had performed live using The WheelTM. While the Empty Bottle is one of Chicago’s iconic music venues, the bar is perhaps not the ideal place for a film screening, as the standing room only venue offered many viewers obstructed views of two small screens where the film was projected. Nonetheless, the audience was enraptured by SHINBANGUMI, which tells the story of Lew’s self-insert protagonist, who starts his own production company after being fired from a media conglomerate. For many viewers, this was their second time catching Ginger Root, as the band’s high-energy, frenetic sets turned the heads of many Chicago listeners during their three-night, sold-out run at the Salt Shed supporting Japanese Breakfast earlier this year. SHINBANGUMI is co-directed by Lew and David M. Gutel, the band’s creative director.

At an ordinary show, a Ginger Root set is still unique. While the band is composed of only Lew in the studio, the act has expanded to include Matt Carney (drums), Dylan Hovis (bass), and David M. Gutel (cameraman) on the road, with Lew on keys, vocals, and a slew of other instruments. The act combines a variety of influences from Japanese city pop, indie soul, and synth pop to create what Lew calls “aggressive elevator soul,” music which is easy on the ears and endlessly unpredictable. Ginger Root’s live set also features an onstage cameraman, filming the players on a vintage Canon XL1, a camcorder designed to record straight to a tape deck but retrofitted to project the footage onto screens around the band, bringing an analog flair to the contemporary act. Fans of analog nostalgia will be happy to know the band sells a variety of physical media, including vinyls, cassette tapes, and a limited edition VHS tape of SHINBANGUMI. 

“The Wheel” is Ginger Root’s last (and only) headline tour of the year, and listeners do not want to miss out on what feels like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. In an era dominated by artists producing content to please online algorithms, Ginger Root brings a refreshing analog energy to the culture, providing eccentric sets that are distinct to Lew’s individual artistry. Any concertgoers looking to discover the next big act “before they blew up” will want tickets to experience an unforgettable night of “The Wheel.”