Empty Bottle and Pacifico present Joey Purp - A Valentine's Day Special

Love was in the air last Wednesday night as The Empty Bottle and Pacifico Beer hosted Chicago hip-hop favorites JOEY PURP, KNOX FORTUNE and DJ THELONIOUS MARTIN for a very special Valentine’s Day Show.DJ THELONIOUS MARTIN, who was spinning on stage under the revolving shine of the disco ball, set the mood before anyone even had time to grab their first drinks. What a sweetheart. By the second sip he had the crowd grooving and swooning to everything from r&b classics, hints of remixed funk and even some Gwen Stefani. The transitions were smooth, and the vibe was set for the night.After a couple rounds, Chicago producer and rookie album releaser KNOX FORTUNE took to the stage to bring his late-night sounds to the hungry and energetic crowd. The anticipation was palpable, the energy sapable, you could almost drink the excitement stirring about. Pairing tracks together like an expert mixologist, KNOX, in signature style, flowed the likes of Connan Mockasin, Miguel and even some left-field Beatles for a truly unruly set.Last to take the stage was none other than the matchmaker of the evening, JOEY PURP. Alongside him was STIX and PETER COTTONTALE of THE SOCIAL EXPERIMENT band providing some live instrumentation, which created some very unique stylings of tracks from JOEY’s earlier recordings.He mused the crowd like everyone was his soulmate, impressing at all costs playing signatures off “iiidrops”, bringing out fellow Chicago rapper KAMI to join the party and even teasing new music from his long-awaited follow up project “Quarter Thing”. To seal the deal, JOEY’S debut at the Bottle wouldn't have been complete unless the crowd hauled him back onto the stage for a final nightcap track where he blasted his beloved song “Girls @” before finally saying goodnight.Blood was flowing and the taps stayed pouring as another Valentine’s Day at the Empty Bottle came to a close, till next year ya lovebirds!Review by Allen Stewart. Photography by Victoria Sanders.