Distracted

BY: ALLIE RUSSELL

You can tell what kind of night it’s going to be by the conversations you overhear in line. 

At some shows, it’s casual. At others, there’s barely any conversation at all. Here, strangers were comparing tour stops. 

“I saw them in Minneapolis last night.”

“I have tickets for two more dates.”

The WHERE DID ALL THE BUTTERFLIES GO? tour, headlined by Beauty School Dropout with support from NIGHTBREAKERS, felt like evidence that people still care, and that they’re willing to prove it. If growing up is supposed to dull devotion – if the butterflies are supposed to disappear – no one told this room. 

NIGHTBREAKERS

Openers are often treated like background noise, something to scroll through while waiting for the headliner. NIGHTBREAKERS refused that role immediately. From the first song, they played like the room was already theirs.

Formed in 2019, the five-piece played with a kind of sincerity that feels almost rebellious right now. No detachment. No forced coolness. Just clean musicianship and the kind of onstage connection you can’t fake. In a culture that often rewards nonchalance, watching a band play like they genuinely love being there feels refreshing. They carried themselves with confidence, and it reflected in their performance.

Their debut album Not Like We Used To drops March 13th, and the title track stood out as a centerpiece of the set. Their most recent single, “Disaster,” was another crowd favorite, and by the time they closed with “Apartment,” the crowd was fully with them.

But one of the loudest reactions of their set came from something completely unexpected: a rock cover of Eenie Meenie, the 2010 hit by Sean Kingston and Justin Bieber. 

Introduced with a joke about it being “just what Justin Bieber would have wanted,” the band committed completely – and the room followed. The second the chorus hit, the room snapped into recognition. What could have been labeled as ironic landed explosively. 

By the time they stepped off stage, it was clear they weren’t just filling a slot; they were shaping the atmosphere. Their energy carried forward into the rest of the night, and the mutual respect between both bands felt real. It’s rare to watch an opener feel that essential to the room. NIGHTBREAKERS did.

Beauty School Dropout

By the time BSD took the stage, the room was on fire. Formed in 2020, the California group has built something beyond a streaming presence. Their fanbase is dedicated in a way that feels almost old-school; the kind of loyalty that used to define scenes. You could feel it before they even played a note. They opened with “XXX”, and whatever composure the crowd had left disappeared completely. 

One thing about Beauty School Dropout: they’re true performers. Frontman Colie Hutzler doesn’t just sing, he commands. He’s all over the stage, locking eyes with the crowd, making sure no one drifts. It’s immersive and intentional, with just enough unpredictability to keep you alert.

A brief guitar malfunction after the first song could have stalled momentum. Instead, Hutzler filled the silence by riffing with the crowd and sliding into a solo version of Chicago Freestyle: a nod to their 2020 cover and a wink to the city itself. What could have broken the spell only strengthened it. 

Standout moments from their set included “FEVER”, “MADONNA”, and “CITY NEVER SLEEPS”. All three tracks come from their most recent album, “WHERE DID ALL THE BUTTERFLIES GO?” released last September. The album wrestles with love, losing yourself, and the uneasy space between nostalgia and growth. Live, those themes don’t feel theoretical; they become completely embodied. 

So Where Did The Butterflies Go?

There’s a long-standing narrative floating around that rock is dying. That attention spans are gone. That crowds don’t care the way they used to. 

Spend five minutes in a room like this, and that narrative collapses. 

The butterflies didn’t disappear; they just changed shape. 

They look like fans driving across state lines. They sound like a crowd screaming every word back. They look like a packed room on a freezing tour stop in February, buzzing with people who chose to be exactly where they are.

If this tour was asking where all the butterflies went, Chicago answered clearly: 

Nowhere. 

They’re still here.