It’s early in the lengthy tour, but the show was already in top shape for Aesop Rock when he landed in Chicago Thursday night. The crowd was definitely glad to see him and knew what they were in for as they rapped along to the choruses of every cut throughout the crisp set that leaned heavily on his recently released None Shall Pass.

The crowd had their hands bobbing in the air from the moment Aes stepped on stage accompanied by Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz. He didn’t make them wait with much chatter, simply dropping into rhymes and running through songs until Big Wiz provided the transition to the next one. Aes dropped his rhymes with clarity and authority, hitting the high points of the new disc, especially on the title track.

Rob Sonic filled in …