Amid a slew of overhyped, disappointing summer movies, the unheralded Netflix series Stranger Things has become the season’s sleeper hit. A sci-fi spooker that perfectly captures the 1980s vibe of what would happen if you combined Steven Spielberg, Stephen King and John Carpenter, the eight-episode series stars ’80s queen Winona Ryder alongside a slew of unknown teen and tween actors. But one of them is known to some Chicagoans: Joe Keery, who plays Nancy’s somewhat douchey, amazingly coiffed love interest Steve, is Chicago-based and a recent DePaul graduate. And as the internet has discovered in recent days, he's in a band.
Post Animal, in which Keery plays drums, has a sound that new listeners around the web this week have variously described as psych-pop or prog-rock. You can listen for yourself at Post Animal’s Bandcamp page, or you can check them out in person this weekend: They'll open for the Orwells on Friday and Saturday at 1st Ward at Chop Shop in Wicker Park. You can also check out Steve, er, Keery in a Chicago-based screen project: He appeared in local filmmaker Stephen Cone’s 2015 feature Henry Gamble’s Birthday Party alongside a slew of Chicago theater actors (it’s available for rent or purchase from iTunes and Amazon). Meanwhile, I have two more episodes of Stranger Things to finish tonight, so do not tell me what happens to Steve in the finale.