Photos by Andy Argyrakis

Scotland’s alternative/roots rockers Del Amitri were one of the brightest and best bands to spring out of the late 1980s and thrive well into the ‘90s, but there hasn’t been a ton of collective activity between main members Justin Currie (vocals/bass) and Iain Harvie (guitar) since right around then.

In fact, outside of a few reunion tours that never stopped on these shores, 2021’s “Fatal Mistakes” marked their first full-length album in a whopping 19 years, which was finally followed by a visit to the Vic Theatre after an even longer 23-year absence from Chicago.

With all that in mind, Del Amitri was able to garner a fairly full house, on a mere Monday no less, making up for this entire century thus far with a comprehensive set that stretched from the group’s breakthrough project, “Waking Hours,” through today.

“When We Were Young” was an ideal place to start for the reflective but by no means nostalgic evening that found the original fellas, plus the latter day players, sounding as if nothing more than a few moments had passed.

Alongside a wall of jangly guitars, everyone’s harmonies came across with passion and precision, especially throughout “Musicians And Beer,” “Always The Last To Know,” “Not Where It’s At” and “Kiss This Thing Goodbye.”

The group’s super smart songwriting was also on full display during the chilling “Driving With The Brakes On” and the emotional “You Can’t Go Back,” as was the co-founding pair’s sense of pop sensibility come “Roll To Me,” a Top 10 smash in America that was surprisingly placed towards the middle of the show.

However, there was a ton more that transpired, including more aggressive Del Amitri delights such as “Spit In The Rain” and “Stone Cold Sober,” paving the way towards a generous encore that kept shining some much needed light on these sometimes overlooked and underrated craftsmen, who really should roll around more often.

For additional information on Del Amitri, visit DelAmitri.info.

For a list of upcoming Jam Productions concerts, visit JamUSA.com.

Upcoming concert highlights at the Vic Theatre include Seth Myers (Apr. 12); Bob Moses (Apr. 13); The Airborne Toxic Event (Apr. 14-15); Anamanaguchi (Apr. 20); Trevor Hall (Apr. 22); Leyendas Legendarias (Apr. 23); LP (Apr. 24); Marc Maron (Apr. 29); Anjelah Johnson-Reyes (Apr. 30); True Crime Obsessed (May 3); Fontaines D.C. (May 6); CIX (May 7); Cut Copy (May 11); Honne (May 12); Trey Kennedy (May 14); Doughboys (May 15); Alyssa Edwards (May 16); Oh Wonder (May 17); David Spade (May 19-20); Hayden James (May 21) and Leon (May 31). For additional details, visit VicTheatre.com.

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