Octave Cat visited the newly christened Garcia’s in Chicago on Saturday, where the instrumental dance trio delivered a unique take on The Beatles‘ “Strawberry Fields Forever”. The band featuring Dopapod keyboardist Eli Winderman, Lotus bassist Jesse Miller, and drummer Charlie Patierno is on its first-ever major tour and follows Dopapod’s indefinite hiatus.
Octave Cat mined its impressive cache of originals on Saturday, drawing from 2023’s Sprezzatura, 2019’s Refract, and the band’s 2017 self-titled debut. Sprinkled between, the band nodded to its dance influences with covers of Canadian indietronica producer Daphni and English duo Simian Mobile Disco. Additionally, Octave Cat included more surprising covers like new wave singer-songwriter Joe Jackson‘s “Steppin’ Out”, the show-closing take on late pop singer Aaliyah‘s “Try Again”, and The Beatles’ “Strawberry Fields Forever”.
The Magical Mystery Tour classic has been in Octave’s Cat attaché case of covers for some time now, and for good reason. Winderman transposes John Lennon‘s vocals to his Wurlitzer keyboard, giving the cover a twinkling, dream-like glow. Meanwhile, the rhythm section of Miller and Patierno finds sustenance in minimalism, distilling The Beatles’ lush production down to its bare essentials. Together, Octave Cat turns an iconic and intimately familiar song into a new experience, honoring the past while leaving the band’s own mark.
Check out photos from Octave Cat at Garcia’s in Chicago by Daniel Ojeda, watch a clip of “Strawberry Fields Forever”, and listen to “Staring Down” on SoundCloud. Octave Cat’s tour continues this week with shows in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. Find tickets and tour dates here. Stream the band’s live archive on nugs. Not a nugs subscriber yet? Sign up here. [Editor’s Note: Live For Live Music is a nugs affiliate. Ordering your nugs subscription or purchasing a download via the links on this page helps support our coverage of the world of live music. Thank you for reading!]
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Setlist: Octave Cat | Garcia’s | Chicago, IL | 4/19/25
Set: Martingale, Metropolis, Strawberry Fields Forever (The Beatles) > Talk to Me, Staring Down, Tit Tat, Steppin’ Out (Joe Jackson), Bach Tunes In, Vader, Cloudy (Daphni) > Aspic (Simian Mobile Disco) > Dr Bop
Encore: Try Again (Aaliyah)
