2013: Year in Review

My total attendance fell by a few shows to 23 as compared to my 2012 total attendances of 27, including 18 concerts, 1 single day festival, 3 multiday festivals in which I only attended one day, and 1 multiday festivals in which I attended each day, bringing my average down to an event about every 16 days. As far as I can confirm, only five of these shows were sold out, which is a lot less than last year, so I suspect that there were many more sold out than I realized.

Being my first full calendar year in Chicago, I saw more shows in the general Chicago area than anywhere else (19), including most within the city itself though also a show each in nearby Aurora and Bridgeview. Unlike in DC, where I saw a significant number of shows at the 9:30 Club, I visited a total of 15 separate venues in Chicago this year, not visiting the same venue more than twice. I saw additional shows in Killington, Vermont; Manchester, Tennessee; and New Orleans, Louisiana.

Unlike previous years in which I saw at least a show on every day of the week, I did not see any live music on any Mondays this year. Friday (10) was the leader, followed by Saturday (7) with no other day registering more than three events. The year was strangely weighted to a lot of shows in the latter part of the year, such that nearly three out of four of the events took place in the second half of the year including four each in the months of July, October, and November. These were all also months when I was not abroad at all, which certainly makes it easier to attend. February and May, months were I was gone a significant portion of the month, were barren.

Including all the bands that I specifically remember seeing, and therefore wrote about, I saw a total of 61 performances by 59 artists, seeing Björk and Trombone Shorty twice each. Of those, only 21 were artists that I have seen before; the remaining 38 were artists that I was seeing for the first time. This included 20 acts at single concerts, another 32 at the multiday Bonnaroo Music Festival, (my fifth time attending), and 9 at other festivals.

I still don’t have a broad group of concert attending friends to pull from in Chicago, so in the interim, Lindsey (16) gets dragged to more shows that she would otherwise attend on her own. I also attended three events on my own. No one else surpassed that number.

Total ticket cost of $1,124, an average and median of $49 and $38 per event, respectively.

More than half of my favorite sets of the year, as follows, were at Bonnaroo, all of which were the first time for me.

1. Frank Turner (Vic Theatre, Chicago)
2. Paul McCartney (Bonnaroo)
3. Japandroids (Bonnaroo)
4. Of Monsters & Men (Bonnaroo)
5. Postal Service (Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, Columbus, Ohio)
6. Cloud Cult (Lincoln Hall, Chicago)
7. Twenty One Pilots (Bonnaroo)
8. Phish (Northerly Island, Chicago)
9. Alt-J (Bonnaroo)
10. The National (Bonnaroo)

Honorable Mentions: Amadou & Miriam (Bonnaroo), Bjork (Bonnaroo & Pitchfork), Delta Rae (Bonnaroo)

Andrew Bird, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Chicago, Illinois

Multi-instrumentalist and Chicago native Andrew Bird often plays churches each holiday season, including a sold out four night run this year at Fourth Presbyterian Church in the Magnificent Mile neighborhood of downtown Chicago, for which we had tickets to the second night.

The church is large, though not as massive as many churches that I’ve been in before. The Gothic Revival structure celebrated its one hundredth birthday last year and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The event was held in the main chapel, a long grey stone sanctuary with sweeping ceiling lines and gothic statues. Above the altar are several long stain glass windows. The entire altar/stage was bathed in warm red light. I’m not quite sure how the seats were delegated, but we lucked out with ours in a close section, not far from the center and relatively close to the stage, perhaps two dozen rows from the front. Actually, I think even being a little further back from where we were would have provided improved acoustics. I wondered if the content rather than just the context of the performance would be different in any way based on the location of the performance. I guess I’ll have to see him a second time to compare.

For his show, Andrew Bird outfitted the stage with dozens of gramophones, including four large ones (about two feet in diameter each with a pair on either side of the stage), many small ones lining the altar, and a large and small pair of spinning double gramophones. Depending on the song, he would turn their rotation up or down. The rates of spin would creating an echo/warbling effect to varying degrees based on speed.

Andrew Bird took the stage about 9pm. He was alone on stage the entire show. I thought that he would have some semblance of a backing band, at least for part of the show, so I was a bit surprised.

He mostly played the violin and sang, though he also whistled and occasionally played the guitar and glockenspiel (the German name for a xylophone made of metal). He mixed everything himself on stage, for example looping himself picking on the violin and then playing something else with a bow on top of it. Most of what he played was not significantly technically challenging in and of itself. Rather, it was the way that he layered one sound on top of another to create a complex, rich, and orchestral sound. His setlist pulled from much of his catalogue, including a pair of songs all the way back to Swimming Hour (2001) and multiple selections from his newest releases, Hands of Glory (2012) and I Want to See Pulaski at Night (2013).

Setlist:
Hover I
Hover II
Ethio Invention
Why
Action-Adventure
Lit from Underneath
Plasticities
Three White Horses
Pulaski at Night
First Song
Waiting to Talk
Cathedral
Give It Away
Orpheo
Happy Day
Dyin' Bedmaker
Frogs
Danse Caribe
If I Needed You
Weather Systems

Matisyahu, Park West, Chicago, Illinois

I have seen Jewish reggae singer Matisyahu several times previously and have found his shows to be a bit hit or miss, ranging from a terrible show in Baltimore circa 2008 to an incredible show in San Francisco the following year. The Saturday following Thanksgiving 2013 at Park West would be my fifth set, for which I was looking forward to, though with tempered expectations. We arrived to opening act Kosha Dillz, a Jewish rapper who I’ve seen perform with Matisyahu before, just taking the stage. His set was fine though somewhat forgettable. We secured a good spot that was both fairly close to the stage and the center; it was probably the closest I've ever been for a Matisyahu set.

It was my first time at Park West, which I found to be set up in a somewhat unique manner. As far as I could tell, the entire theatre is general admission but only the area closest to the stage is standing room. Fifty or sixty feet back from the stage are a series of full service tables and chairs. Tables and bar areas cover the floor all the way to the back doors. By the time we arrived, all the tables were occupied though I was pleased to know for future reference that if you’re willing to stand, you’re guaranteed a good spot.

Matisyahu took the stage about ten minutes after 9pm with a guitarist, bassist, and drummer. He was the only vocalist for the majority of the show though Kosha Dillz joined him for a single song.  He had since regrown a beard, but it was a short, modern, stylish beard as compared to his previous long beard and payots (sidecurls). Both his beard and hair were considerably greyer than I remember the last time that I saw him.

Though I couldn’t find the exact setlist, I remember that he played a few of his newer songs towards the beginning of the set. This included “Crossroads,” “Smash Lies,” “Live Like a Warrior,” and “One Day.” Also towards the front of his set was “Jerusalem” which I thought was a bit strange. He also played a good but nearly unrecognizable version of “King Without a Crown,” with a considerably different arrangement.

As it was the fourth night of Chanukah, he brought a menorah on stage about halfway through the set and lit the corresponding number of candles. Though there was little fanfare or comment, the candles stayed lit for most of the rest of the performance.

While I enjoyed the show, it was one of the stranger sets that I’ve seen, with a few unusual elements. At one point in the set he took a running dive off the stage into the crowd, which was barely thick enough to support him. There was no barrier between the audience and the stage, so a few attendees near the front took it upon themselves hop on stage and dive off as well. A few others crowd surfed, but it didn't last too long. At one point in the show, he invited the audience on stage with him. Many people happily obliged in a series of “hey look at me” moments. Without his direct invite, this also occurred during one of the encores as well, which was a bit unnecessary in my opinion.

His main set didn't really last all that long, barely an hour. I was a bit surprised by how short it was, especially considering that the last time I saw him, he played for well over two hours excluding an encore break. He definitely has the material to play much longer. He at least returned to the stage for a pair of songs and again for a second encore, perhaps to give the crowd time to dissipate from their infiltration of the stage. The house lights even came up between the two encores, during which I was halfway out the door before I realized he would return. He had fully wrapped up his show by about 10:35pm, so perhaps a total of 75 minutes of music.

The Avett Brothers, UIC Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois

Arriving just in time for opening act, Deer Tick, we secured a close house right spot. The Avett Brothers took the stage a few minutes after 9pm. The original band consists of two brothers – Scott (banjo) and Seth (guitar) Avett – as well as Bob Crawford (double bass and occasionally violin). Joe Kwon (cello) and Mike Marsh (drums) are also official touring members and have contributed to studio productions as well. Paul DeFiglia also joined them on the piano as well as a female violinist whose name I couldn’t find.

While the show was still good from inception, I noticed a significant uptick in the performance around the midpoint mark, including the quality of the songs and the energy level of both the band and the crowd. Also, instead of keeping with more or less the same personnel and instrumentation throughout the show, they frequently changed things up. While their set was mostly acoustic set, with the brothers and Bob on the banjo, acoustic guitar, and upright double bass, for a few songs, they switched to electric instruments. This gave their normally folky sound a harder edge. Scott’s long hair was flopping wildly as he head banged. It was a smart play on their part as it really livened up the show. Furthermore, the core band – Scott, Seth, and Bob – ventured closer to the audience on a little outcropping past the main stage for several songs. This included a handful of songs performed as a trio as well as Scott and Seth each taking a turn with a solo performance. The change up in players and instruments allowed them to include quite songs like “The Ballad of Love and Hate” that would be more appropriate for a campfire sing-along as well as foot stomping and clapping songs like “Kick Drum Heart” that seemed more fitting of our actual arena setting.

They covered a bit from nearly the entirety of their fairly large catalogue including songs from Mignonette (2004), The Gleam (2006), Four Thieves Gone: The Robbinsville Sessions (2006), Emotionalism (2007), The Second Gleam (2008), I and Love and You (2009), The Carpenter (2012), and the recent Magpie and the Dandelion (2013). They also played several covers, including songs by John Denver, Doc Watson, and Waylon Jennings/Willie Nelson. The show’s lights and visuals were nothing too special though they had a few nice backdrops and videos which complimented the performance well enough. It actually reminded me a bit of a diluted Sigur Rós performance, particularly a backdrop of a still image of candles and a video of the moving sea.

Setlist:
Open Ended Life
Live and Die
Morning Song
Pretty Girl from Cedar Lane
Down with the Shine
Salina

Another Is Waiting
Distraction #74
Laundry Room Thank God I'm a Country Boy (John Denver cover)
Pretty Girl from Chile
Bring Your Love to Me
I Would Be Sad
The Ballad of Love and Hate
Nothing Short of Thankful
Murder in the City
Living of Love
Little Sadie (Doc Watson cover)
Colorshow
Kick Drum Heart
I and Love and You
Encore:
Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise
I Can Get Off on You (Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson cover)
Souls Like the Wheels
Vanity
If It's the Beaches

Cut Copy, Riviera Theater, Chicago, Illinois

Once again at the Riviera, we arrived early and were able to secure a good spot behind a raised railing so that the shorter member of our group could still see well. In doing so we had to suffer through one of the worst opening act that I have ever seen. It was comically terrible. His set included a song about being a sexy toddler, enough said.

Australian synthpop band Cut Copy got a late start, a bit after 10pm. For those of us with day jobs, that’s never appreciated. The light spectacle they had put together was quite impressive, even if a tad too bright, so I was glad to have a proper vantage point to enjoy it. However, the sound quality at the start of their set was a bit off. The mids were drowned out by heavy bass and lead vocalist Dan Whitford’s voice. On top of that, I suspect that there’s quite a bit of voice effects used on their albums and even during their live performances. However, it sounded as they hadn’t yet kicked in, so his voice sounded irregular and a bit off. Fortunately, they seemed to fix the problem pretty quickly. Guitar, bass, drums, synths, and voice were again in harmony.

Their show included a good mix of songs from all their albums, stretching all the way back to a pair of songs from their lesser known debut album Bright Like Neon Love (2004) in the middle of their set. They jumped around the catalogue from their three most recent albums, including half a dozen songs from their break out album, In Ghost Colours (2008), a trio from Zonoscope (2011), and a further five from their most recent, Free Your Mind (2013).

Considering the type of music, the crowd wasn’t as hyper as I thought it would be. The energy seemed to ebb and flow with the tide of their biggest hits. When they wrapped up their encore with “Light and Music” around 11:30pm, the whole theatre went pretty nuts. I was impressed by the degree to which fans seemed to know the lyrics to even their newest songs, considering the album was released only eight days prior.

Setlist:
Free Your Mind
Where I'm Going
Feel the Love
In Memory Capsule

So Haunted
Hearts on Fire
That Was Just a Dream
Zap Zap
Strangers in the Wind
Take Me Over
Out There on the Ice
Let Me Show You Love
We Are Explorers
Need You Now
Encore:
Meet Me in the House of Love
Lights and Music

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, Vic Theater, Chicago, Illinois

New Orleans brass phenom Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews is one of those acts that I’ll always jump on the opportunity to see whenever we happen to be in the same town. We arrived at the venue fairly late in the evening, just as he was taking the stage. He was joined by a large band including a pair of saxophones (tenor and baritone), guitar, bass, drums, as well as himself on trombone and trumpet. As many musicians as there were on the stage, it sounded like there were even more of them. We quickly found a good house left spot on one of the risen areas. Though the view was partially obstructed by a side balcony, we could still see and hear quite well.

Like all his shows, his set was lively and fun with a lot of extended jams. It’s the kind of music that anyone present could get easily swept up into, whether you’re a hardcore fan or a casual listener. I couldn’t find the exact setlist anywhere, but he played a lot from his two most recent albums, Backatown (2010) and Say That to Say This (2013), including songs such as “Something Beautiful,” “On Your Way Down,” “Backatown, and “Hurricane Season” as well as a few covers, including an encore rendition of the New Orleans standard, “When the Saints Coming Marching In.”

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, Vic Theater, Chicago, Illinois

I had only first heard a few of Frank Turner’s songs a few months ago, but over the past few months, I found myself listening to him with increasing frequency. Less than a week before the show, I finally dinged him as an artist who I should keep an eye out for, looked up his upcoming concert schedule, and found that he was coming to the Vic Theatre very soon. I picked up a ticket and listened to his albums even more so I knew what to expect at the show. His show at the Vic Theatre, his largest ever in Chicago, started very early, about 10 minutes after 8pm. I arrived only about 20 minutes prior, but was still able to find a good spot on the left side, a step up from the pit area but relatively close to the stage. This kept me well out of reach of any moshing, which kicked up for perhaps a quarter to a third of the songs.

Frank, a somewhat wiry Englishman, took the stage joined by his band, the Sleeping Souls, including Ben Lloyd on the electric guitar and electric mandolin (the latter of which I’m not sure that I’ve seen before), Tarrant Anderson on bass, Matt Nasir on keyboards, and Nigel Powell on drums. Normally Frank plays the acoustic guitar, but he would forgo playing an instrument on this tour. He clarified that it “wasn’t a Michael Bolton” thing, but rather due to a back injury earlier in the year. The compromise with his doctor, who wanted him to cancel the tour, involved getting a replacement guitarist and wearing a back brace. He didn’t mention this situation until a few songs into the set prior to “Losing Days,” more or less a song about getting old, with lines like “Oh my broken battered body, in the days when I was younger, used to fix itself quick sharp, after every slip and stumble.” His acoustic guitar replacement was Dan Allen of Ducking Punches, who Frank teased about being Irish in a band full of Englishmen, suspecting that he would kill them all in their sleep; he also apologized for all those centuries of oppression. While his backing band was great, they were missing some of the instrumentation from his studio albums, including a few well utilized horns segments. Overall the setlist was great, though he didn’t play “English Curse” more of a spoken/sang poem about than a song, but one I thought would be cool to hear.

Frank Turner got his start in the punk scene with the band Million Dead. After the band’s break up, he began a solo career, but transitioned his music to more of a folk influenced sound. His albums are a little more folky than his live shows, which still retain the folky lyrics and acoustic guitar, but really turn up the volume. Kind of folk music set to a punk tempo. The show was very punk influenced as well in terms of its focus on incorporating the audience into the show, becoming friends, and having a cathartically good time, with Frank frequently requesting audience participation, like singing or clapping along. At one point, he asked us to kick it up a notch by jumping and clapping at the same time. The audience, which was heavily slanted to the male end of the spectrum, was very enthusiastic and dedicated. The hyped guys in the front section seemed to yell every word of every song back to him, but even attendees further back sang along quite well. At one point, he asked who’s first time seeing him perform. Not a whole lot of hands were in the air. He welcomed us newbies to the family, then clarified, “That makes it sound like a cult; I swear it’s not a cult.”

One of the other things about Frank Turner’s music that really captured me is the quality and tone of his voice. It’s powerful, infused with emotion, carries his thick English accent, and perfectly straddles the line between singing and screaming without ever crossing over to just noise. With all that he still clearly annunciates his lyrics, which are often story based or dripping with imagery, as per his folk influenced side. At the beginning of the show, I thought his voice sounded a little weak compared to the album. At first I thought that it was either because he couldn’t recreate the vocal advantages of the studio or that night after night of touring was just catching up with him. However, his voice actually noticeably improved within a few songs, so perhaps he just needed a bit more of a warm up.

I often comment that band frontmen are clever and personable, but Frank was unusually so. He truly did make me feel like we were all just friends hanging out at a party for an evening. He had lots of clever commentary to provide and witty banter with his band mates. This included one off comments, like in the moments before he was able to start a piano-accompanied version of “The Ballad of Me and My Friends” he quipped, “I feel like I should be wearing a cocktail dress, hell, I’m already wearing a corset,” referring to his back brace. He’s also a bit of a fact and tour statistics geek, a man after my own heart. He noted that it was his 1483rd show (full list available on his website) and took a few minutes to tell us facts that he learned about Chicago including that jazz, the zipper, and soap operas were all invented in Chicago. As I also frequently do, he clarified that he read it on the internet so it must be true. He would also get into little point of reference tangents throughout the show with the himself or band mates, then call it off with a “what are we doing, no one out there cares; we can discuss this after the show.”

Disregarding doctor’s orders, Frank finally picked up his guitar to play a single solo song at the beginning of the encore. During this tour, he had been playing locally relevant covers in each city he visited, for example, Tom Petty’s “American Girl” during a show in Florida. For Chicago, he chose a song by the band Shellac, one of Steve Albini’s (who I only knew from his sound engineering work with Nirvana and others) bands, called “Prayer to God.” I had never heard the song before, but what a gloriously disturbing and demented, yet thoroughly entertaining song. Basically, it’s the vocalization of a man praying to god to kill his ex-girlfriend (painlessly) and her new lover (painfully). He ended with a couple other songs, the last one being “Four Simple Words,” which refers to the specific words “I want to dance.” The crowd kicked it up a notch and I ran down into the pit to bounce around a little before the end of the show.

Setlist:
I Still Believe
Try This at Home
If Ever I Stray
Losing Days
Plain Sailing Weather
Glory Hallelujah
Reasons Not to Be an Idiot
The Way I Tend to Be
Wessex Boy
The Ballad of Me and My Friends (Piano Version)
Tell Tale Signs
The Road
I Am Disappeared
Peggy Sang the Blues
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
One Foot Before the Other
Long Live the Queen
Recovery
Broken Piano
Encore:
Prayer to God (Shellac cover)
Photosynthesis
Four Simple Words

Yonder Mountain String Band, House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois

Though I have seen them half a dozen times before, I always look forward to the Yonder Mountain String Band coming to town for a little hoedown. My first time seeing them in Chicago would take me back to the House of Blues for the second night of their two night run. If the Saturday night show wasn’t sold out, it was certainly close to it. The venue was pretty packed and since we didn’t arrive in time for any openers, it was tough to find a spot that was both reasonably close to the stage and afforded a little elbow room to dance. We started the show in a crowded section on the left side.

The progressive bluegrass band includes Jeff Austin on mandolin, Ben Kaufmann on bass, Dave Johnston on banjo, and Adam Aijala on guitar, with all members providing vocals, though Jeff Austin is the primarily lead singer. I must recant my previous statement about Greensky Bluegrass being more of a jam band than Yonder Mountain String Band. The latter is very much a jam band, both in their approach to the music itself as well as the vibe of the fans. I’m not sure if they’ve headed more in that direction over the past few years or I’m just remembering wrong. They certainly have always utilized many of the community aspects of jam music – encouraging taping, varied setlists, and organic word- of-mouth fan-based growth instead of radio play. However, I think they now include a lot more long jams and songs that flow in and out of one another than they did several years ago. There were also plenty of hippies at the show as well. Being the weekend before Halloween, there were plenty of people in costumes as well, though not as many as I would have expected.

The band played two solid sets, also very jam band-esque, though we didn’t stay for the entirety of the second one. We did however more a good bit closer for the part of it that we did see which was nice. I still had fun, though it wasn’t one of the best YMSB shows that I’ve been too. I liked a lot of the songs, but it just didn’t seem there were all that many that I knew. I’ll have to brush up a bit between now and the next time they’re in town. 

Setlist:
Set 1:
If You're Ever in Oklahoma  > Pow Wow the Indian Boy > If You're Ever in Oklahoma
Near Me
Blue Collar Blues
Irondale
Only a Northern Song
Takes a lot to Laugh, A Train to Cry
Ain't No Way of Knowing
Just Like Old Times
Little Maggie > Mother's Only Son > Little Maggie
Set 2:
Keep on Going > Isolate > Night Out > Finally Saw the Light > Old Plank Road > Left Me in a Hole > Keep on Going
Rambler's Anthem
I'd Like Off
I Am the Slime
Peace of Mind > Shake Me Up > Peace of Mind
Encore:
Town
Raleigh & Spencer
Bloody Mary Morning

The Naked & Famous, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

With another Wednesday night show at “the Riv,” I’m getting closer to getting around to visiting all of the major Chicago concert venues. We arrived quite early but instead of heading nearest the stage as we could, we instead opted for a still-standing, but raised GA section a little further back. This way, the short young ladies in our party could easily see the stage. It was a good call, as the light show was quite impressive and worth seeing in full from a little further back. The five members of The Naked & Famous took the stage well before 9pm, when I again immediately learned the band was not from round these parts (New Zealand this time). Lead vocalist Alisa Xayalith was apparently ill, but sounded okay and made her way through all the songs.

Before the show started, I noticed that they had quite an intense lighting system in the works. I didn’t realize how intense until the show started and it kicked in. It was one of the better that I’ve seen for a smaller show, but it was really almost too bright for comfort. During the first few songs, I had to look away from the stage. I had brought my earplugs (also required) but didn’t think to wear my sunglasses. Fortunately, after a few minutes my eyes either adjusted to the light or they dimmed the lights a bit. They played a lot from their newest album, In Rolling Waves (2013), which I had only listened to for the first time earlier that day but enjoyed what I heard, both on the album and live. They also played extensively from their debut album, Passive Me, Aggressive You (2010). There was less dancing than I thought there would be, especially considering the fairly young crowd and electropop influenced songs.

Approximate Setlist:

A Stillness

Hearts Like Ours

Girls Like You

Rolling Waves

The Sun

The Source

Frayed

I Kill Giants

Grow Old

All of This

Punching in a Dream

What We Want

No Way

Encore:

To Move With Purpose

Young Blood

Noah & the Whale, House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois

A Wednesday night performance of Noah & the Whale would be my first visit to the Chicago House of Blues, though I had already been to its sister location in New Orleans. They were largely the same in size and décor, infused with New Orleans style as authentic as concert giant Live Nation could make it. We only arrived a few minutes before the opening act but were able to find a great spot on the far left side only a couple rows from the stage. The band, including Charlie Fink (vocals, guitar), Tom Hobden (Violin/keys), Matt Owens (bass guitar), Fred Abbott (guitar/keys), and Michael Petulla (drums) took the stage a bit after 9pm. I was a bit surprised to learn that they were British, which I realized as soon as frontman Charlie Fink spoke to the crowd. The set was good, perhaps an hour and 20 minutes and again only a single song encore, nothing out of this world, but a good set. The played a mix of songs from all their recent albums, pulling heavily from their most recent two, Last Night On Earth (2011) and Heart of Nowhere (2013).

Approximate Setlist:
Tonight's the Kind of Night
Heart of Nowhere
Waiting for My Chance to Come
All Through the Night
Give It All Back
L.I.F.E.G.O.E.S.O.N.
Give A Little Love
Blue Skies
Old Joy
There Will Come a Time
Love of an Orchestra
Still After All These Years
Lifetime
5 Years Time
Encore:
The First Days of Spring

Iron & Wine, Chicago Theatre, Chicago, Illinois

I had wanted to see Iron & Wine for quite some time, but his shows always seemed to elude me for the past several years. When he finally did come to the Chicago Theater, a historic venue downtown, I jumped on tickets as soon as they went up. The theatre was old and beautiful, the type of building that they just don’t build anymore. The venue was seated, which I generally don’t prefer, but ours were pretty good, in the orchestra section on the left side of the theater within the first twenty or so rows. Besides, it was a pretty subdued show, so sitting was fine.

There’s no “Iron” or “Wine,” as it’s just a moniker of guitarist, singer, and songwriter Sam Beam (unless you count his massive beard as Iron and the rest of him as Wine), who picked up the name from a dietary supplement called Beef Iron and Wine that he happened to come across. As such,  I was surprised by how many people joined him on stage – three singers, three strings (violin, viola, cello), drummer, keyboardist, bassist, and horn section (tenor and baritone saxes and trumpet).


I really like Iron & Wine, though more just the overall sound and tone of his music and voice; there really aren’t any songs that I was dying to hear. It was kind of a nice feeling though, knowing that I was going to be satisfied with the setlist regardless of what I heard. He played a mix of songs from his albums, jumping from album to album from the most part, pulling heavily from his more recent albums, Kiss Each Other Clean (2011) and Ghost on Ghost (2013), but pulling a song or two or three from nearly all of his albums going back to The Creek Drank the Cradle (2002). He naturally also played his famous of cover of “Such Great Heights.” He was clever, humble, and personable on stage. In the midst of the show, he took requests via shout-out. Many people were yelling for their favorites. However he admitted that the list of options was actually quite limited because he didn’t remember certain songs and other requests would be honored later the performance. The show started fairly early but included a total of 25 songs over the course of an hour and a half, though only a single song encore. Most of the songs were played with the full band, though he did a few solos songs over the course of the night.

Setlist:
The Desert Babbler
Carousel
Kingdom of the Animals
Tree by the River
Grass Widows
Black Candle
Belated Promise Ring
Baby Center Stage
Monkeys Uptown
Such Great Heights (The Postal Service cover)
Sodom, South Georgia
Freebird [Tease]
Boy With a Coin
Lion's Mane
Waves of Galveston
Caught in the Briars
Sundown (Back in the Briars)
Jezebel
Grace for Saints and Ramblers
Passing Afternoon
Singers and the Endless Song
Lean Into the Light
Innocent Bones
Low Light Buddy of Mine
Your Fake Name Is Good Enough for Me
Encore:
Naked As We Came

Boulevard Music Festival, Logan Square, Chicago, Illinois

After dinner in the area, we stumbled upon a small local music festival in Logan Square. With a bit of gentle encouragement from me, the group agreed to venture in for a little while.  Brooklyn-based electronic musician Eliot Lipp was the main onstage when we walked in. His blend of hip hop, electro, house, and dubstep was enough to entice me to encourage everyone to enter. Unfortunately, he only had another song or two in his set. After watching a vaudeville act for a while, we wandered over to the other side to see a fun unnamed Brazilian samba Band. Conga lines and so forth. On the way out, we caught BoomBox, consisting of singer/songwriter Zion Godchaux on guitar/lead vocals and producer/DJ Russ Randolph on sequencers, groove boxes and turn-tables. They pull together an eclectic combination of rock, psychedelic, and house. Certainly not the greatest festival and we didn’t stay that long but it was nice to stumble upon.

Peter Frampton & B.B. King, RiverEdge Park, Aurora, Illinois

B.B. King, the King of the Blues, was another music legend that I had wanted to cross off of my bucket list and considering his advanced age, time was probably running out to do so. While I didn’t enjoy the long, congested drive out to Aurora, a Chicago exurb, the combination of Peter Frampton was a worthwhile bonus. The venue itself was quite nice as well, outdoors with nice views. However, while most of the venue is general admission, the closest GA sections are concrete where you’re expected to sit on your own lawn chair. So if you’re without one, you’re SOL. We were instead a bit back on the lawn, though we could hear quite well and I was able get closer whenever I wanted.


Not long after we arrived, B.B. King’s backing band started off the evening with some blues for 15-20 minutes without him. They then introduced King, who shuffled out and plunked himself in a chair in the middle of the stage in front of the drum kit. With him was of course Lucille, his name for each of his signature black Gibson guitars. She was named following an incident in the winter of 1949. King was playing a dance hall in Arkansas. As was common practice at the time, a barrel half-filled with kerosene was lit. During his set, two men knocked over the barrel in a tussle, sending burning kerosene across the floor and setting the building ablaze. After being evacuated, King realized that he left his guitar in the building. He reentered to retrieve his beloved $30 Gibson guitar. Though he safely rescued his guitar, two people died in the fire. The next day, he learned that the two men were fighting over a woman named Lucille. He then named that guitar Lucille, as well as each one that he has owned since, as a reminder to himself to never do something as stupid as run into a burning building or fight over a woman. His set lasted a little less than an hour, during which he was charming, personable, and flirty with the idea of all the ladies in the venue. He jammed out on Lucille quite a bit and noted that he had just put new strings on her. And when he puts new stings on her, “she gets sassy.” He played a few of his own songs as well as a few covers including the U2 song “When Love Comes to Town” that featured him dueting with Bono (on the record, the man in the sunglasses was unfortunately absent). It was great to see him still on stage knowing that he would be celebrating his 88th birthday in exactly one month. As old as he was, he seemed quite sharp, both in his wit/speak as well as his hands. Peter Frampton joined him on stage for his last song, “The Thrill is Gone.”

BB King Setlist:
Introduction Jam I
Introduction Jam II
[Band Intro by BB King]
Nobody Loves Me but My Mother
Rock Me Baby
You Are My Sunshine (Jimmie Davis cover)
When Love Comes to Town (U2 cover)
How Blue Can You Get
The Thrill Is Gone (with Peter Frampton)


Night had fallen by the time Peter Frampton took the stage, creating a different vibe for his performance as compared to B.B. King’s. I was less excited to see Frampton, but it was certainly a nice bonus. He was a good showman, was clearly having fun on stage, and seemed to genuinely appreciate that he was on tour for B.B. King and that audiences still came out to watch him play. He had several guests during the show including Rick Nielsen of Cheap Trick from nearby Rockford, Illinois, as well as Larry Carlton, a less famous solo and session musician, and his son Julian. They pulled in a lot of musical elements – rock, jazz, jam, blues, etc. We didn’t stay the entire show,

leaving midway through “Surrender.” Seeing the setlist later, I kind of wished we would have stayed for the cover of “Black Hole Sun” and his hit, “Baby I Love Your Way.” I was a little surprised that he didn’t play “Do You Feel Like We Do” or “Show me the Way” which became live staples of his, particularly after the release of Frampton Comes Alive (1976), his breakthrough album and one of the top selling live albums of all time.

Peter Frampton Setlist:
Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite (First Verse Only)
Magic Moon (Da Da Da Da Da!)
Doobie Wah
Lines On My Face
Show Me the Way
Wind of Change

Double Nickels
RCM (with Larry Carlton)
Friday Night Shuffle (with Larry Carlton)
(I'll Give You) Money
I Want You to Want Me (with Rick Nielsen) (Julian Frampton on Backup Vocals)
Surrender (with Rick Nielsen) (Julian Frampton on Lead Vocals)
Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
Baby I Love Your Way
Encore:
Off The Hook
While My Guitar Gently Weeps (The Beatles cover) (with Rick Nielsen & Larry Carlton)

Greensky Bluegrass, Lincoln Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Though I had only first heard of them a week ago and still hadn’t heard a single recording, I agreed to go to see Greensky Bluegrass. I correctly assumed that the name said it all. They are a five-piece American bluegrass band from nearby Michigan, consisting of a banjo, guitar, mandolin, small upright bass, and steel guitar. We arrived very early, to such an extent that we were the first people in the venue. When the opener took the stage, it was in the form of a similarly arranged bluegrass band, though with a violin instead of a steel guitar. I wasn’t sure if it was the main act or an opener.

The show was what I expected, fun bluegrass on par with Yonder Mountain String Band, though they had a little more of a jam band than country influence. They did a few extended jams and I noticed that folks around us were wearing Phish and Dead t-shirts. They announced that they would play 2 full sets, also very jam band-like, though we had had our fill by a bit into the second. Certainly a band I would see again if I came upon them.

Post #100!

Grant Park Symphony Orchestra, Jay Pritzker Pavilion, Chicago, Illinois

The Grant Park Symphony Orchestra is a publicly sponsored symphony orchestra that provides free performances as part of the Grant Park Music Festival during the summer months in Millennium Park in Chicago. The Grant Park Chorus, a related organization, often appears with the Orchestra as well as performs on its own. Concerts are held mostly on weekday evenings at Jay Pritzker Pavilion, a bandshell in Millennium Park in the Loop that can host up to 11,000 attendees. The space consists of a seated area close to the stage and a large, sprawling lawn where most attendees sit and lounge. Seats close to the stage are still free, but it’s generally understood that those are reserved for those who are truly interested in the music, while the grass is for those who are more interested in their picnics and conversations. Sitting towards the back of the lawn, we were amongst people that were definitely in that latter category, as was I. It was a beautiful evening and a beautiful space, better than any happy hour venue in the city. Tonight’s performance would consist of two parts, Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 5.

Everyone knows, German Classical and Romantic composer and pianist Ludwig van Beethoven, amongst the most famous and influential musicians of all time. His Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major, op. 15 is well known and regarded in the classical music community, even if not as iconic as some of his other works. It included three movements, with a combined running time of a little over half an hour. The piece was quiet and somewhat hard to hear over the conversations all around me, but certainly added ambience to the overall aesthetic of the space. It was a mixture of delicate high notes and grand bass. Even though it was a piano concerto, and the piano was often the most prominent instrument, there was still a lot else going on in each of the sections. Many sections prominently feature sweeping strings and brass.

Russian-born Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, while not as universally known as Beethoven, is nonetheless a prominent figure in 20th century orchestral music.  I found the back story behind the composition of his fifth symphony quite interesting. Shostakovich wrote the piece after many of his previous pieces were criticized for not conforming to Soviet standards and properly representing the ideals of socialism. It’s kind of hard to think what that may mean, considering its non-vocal symphonic music, so any interpretation of complex messages in the music is for the listener to decide. Nonetheless, after he had been threatened and many of his friends and relatives disappeared to the Gulag, he was under immense pressure to release a satisfactory work. He had to deliver the simple heroic classicism demanded by the authorities, but mock it just subtly enough to stay true to his personal belief without them catching on. Upon release, the piece proved a great success and earned him a spot back in the good graces of Stalin and other Soviet party leaders. However, he said of the work in his memoirs, “I think it is clear to everyone what happens in the [finale of the] Fifth Symphony. The rejoicing is forced, created under threat. It’s as if someone were beating you with a stick and saying, ‘Your business is rejoicing, your business is rejoicing,’ and you rise, shaky, and go marching off muttering, ‘Our business is rejoicing, our business is rejoicing.’ What kind of apotheosis is that? You have to be a complete oaf not to hear that.” I’m not sure I heard his interpretation of this rejoicing business, so I guess he would presume me an oaf. Or maybe this is the story he just liked to tell himself to maintain his dignity, at least in his own mind.

His Symphony No. 5 in D minor, Op. 47, was first performed on November 21, 1937 in Leningrad. It consists of 4 movements, which combined, last about 45 minutes. The first movement is one of those pieces that I felt like I’ve heard before but couldn’t quite put my finger on where I’ve heard it. It sounded like it could have easily been featured in as part of a thrilling 1930’s noir film, where the hardboiled detective saves the girl and defeats the killer. The second movement was much more pomp, while things slowed down considerably in the third. The fourth marches up the tempo again. At times, the piece was booming and hard to ignore, though most of the people around me were doing a pretty good job. It ends on a particularly grand note with booming drums. The whole evening made me want to pay more attention to some of the great classical music as well as take advantage of any excuse to be outside on a beautiful summer night. 

Phish, FirstMerit Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island, Chicago, Illinois

It had been three years since my last Phish show at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, Maryland in Summer 2010. A July evening in Chicago would mark my ninth time seeing them, which I believe to be more than I have seen any other band. Saturday night would be the middle of their three-night run in Chicago.


At Pitchfork the previous night, Björk was only rained out approximately 15-20 minutes before the end of her performance; not a huge loss. Phish on the other hand, had most of their second set rained out the previous night. To compensate fans, they announced they would start promptly at 7pm on Saturday night and play 3 sets. It was an unlucky break for those only attending last night but very lucky for us. There were dozens of phans wandering the parking areas and entrances looking for extra tickets for the evening’s sold out performance and nearly no tickets available for them. I hope there weren’t too many that were only showing up because last night was rained out. Fortunately, I don’t think the Sunday night show ever sold out.

The show started off in an unusual song choice, “Prince Caspian,” which they were only two minutes into the previous night before the rain interrupted. I’m not sure if we heard the rest of that set that they were planning to play Friday night or not. Hard to tell but I bet there’s discussion of it on a couple phan websites. Unfortunately, we didn’t realize how early they would start until we were already en route. With traffic, we arrived later than expected, thus missing the very beginning of the show. We heard their second song, “Twist,” while we were walking up to the venue. We had GA floor tickets and found a good spot on the right side not far from the stage. We were even able to move closer between sets, close enough that my eyes were drawn to the band instead of the screen. It was close enough to notice that even on stage, the members of Phish – Trey, Paige, Mike, and Fishman – appear to be regular, middle-aged guys instead of the rock stars they are.


Their first set was great, perhaps one of the better Phish sets that I’ve seen, including  “Lawn Boy,” “Kill Devil Falls,” and “Cavern.” The second and third sets were also good, though seemed to include a few less of my favorite songs such as “Meatstick,” “Ocelot,” and “Light.” Of the 29 songs that they played that evening, just over half (15) were songs that I had never heard before, a figure I find pretty incredible considering I’ve seen them so many times. Most notable of new songs for me were Phish concert staples such as “Mike’s Song,” “Rift,” the Richard Wright cover “I Didn’t Know,” “Theme From the Bottom,” and a great version of “Slave to the Traffic Light.” In particular, I was happy to hear “Weekapaug Groove,” one of my favorite songs that I had yet to hear. I was also happy to hear them cover the TV on the Radio song “Golden Age.” Of course the longest song of the evening was only about 12 minutes long; it’s been quite a long time since the days of the 30 minute “Tweezer.” A great rendition of “Harry Hood” closed off the original songs of the evening before they closed on a couple more covers, “Good Times, Bad Times” and “Shine a Light.”

Setlist:
Set One:Prince Caspian
Twist
Ha Ha Ha
Possum
Cities (Talking Heads cover)
Lawn Boy
I Didn't Know (Richard Wright cover)
Rift
Destiny Unbound
My Friend, My Friend
Kill Devil Falls
Cavern
David Bowie 
Set Two:Back on the Train
Mike's Song

Theme From the Bottom
Weekapaug Groove
Golden Age  (TV on the Radio cover)
Waves
Piper
Slave to the Traffic Light
Set Three:
Meatstick
Birds of a Feather
Strange Design
Ocelot
Light
Harry Hood
Good Times, Bad Times (Led Zeppelin cover)
Encore: Shine a Light (Rolling Stones cover)

Pitchfork Music Festival, Union Park, Chicago, Illinois

Solo and at the last minute, I found a ticket to Friday night of the Pitchfork Festival. Though it had started earlier in the afternoon on a warm July day, I was only interested in the final two acts of the evening. The first was Joanna Newsom, an avant garde folk artist who plays the harp and the piano. I was surprised that she took the stage by herself, periodically switching between the two instruments. Her voice is child-like and ethereal, and she has a strange style of singing, kind of out of the side of her mouth and periodically jerking her head. Seeing and hearing it done in person is enchanting if a bit strange. I was pleased to see her, but I was pretty far back and lots of people around me were more interested in their conversations than the performance. It’s just not the type of music that lends itself well to a festival. It’s quiet and easily drowned out by a large chattering crowd.

The headliner of the evening was Björk. Though I just saw her at Bonnaroo just over a month before, I was somewhat far away and not completely engaged during her set, so I welcomed the opportunity to see here again, when I could get a little closer to the stage and fully immerse myself in the experience. Björk posted a request before the show that she didn’t want any photos taken during the show. It’s distracting, and she would prefer that attendees focus on enjoying the performance instead of trying to capture the perfect shot. Instead, she made photos available on her website. I hope that means that I can post a few as well, giving credit where credit is due.

Björk took the stage wearing a similarly crazy outfit; though this time she opted for a flowing silvery jumpsuit instead of a bubble dress. She still maintained her dandelion headgear and was again accompanied by a choir of 14 female singers. It reminded me of a Jerry Seinfeld bit, “Anytime I see a movie or a TV show where there are people from the future or another planet, they're all wearing the same outfit. Somehow they all decided, 'All right, that's enough. From now on, this is going to be our outfit: one-piece silver jumpsuit with a V-stripe on the chest and boots. That's it. We're going to start visiting other planets and we want to look like a team.'" Other than the singers, she only had a drummer and a guy with a lap top on stage. There must have also been quite a sizable team behind the scenes running the various videos, lights, and projections that were also an integral part of the performance. The overall show was more or less what I saw at Bonnaroo, as much a performance art piece as it was a concert.

Ten of her songs were the same as the previous show at Bonnaroo and in a mostly similar order, though she did throw in a few others throughout and skipped others. I suspect that the show would have ended with a similar if not identical setlist, but it was cut short after “Mutual Core” due to impending weather. Bjork's response to being told that she would have to exit the stage early was, "It's calm.... I don't know. This wouldn't be much in Iceland, I can tell you that much..." The heavens opened up and it poured rain shortly thereafter. It’s a shame; the downpour would have really added to the performance.

Björk Setlist:
Solar Winds
Cosmogony
Hunter
Thunderbolt
Moon
Crystalline
Hidden Place
Heirloom
One Day
Jóga
Pagan Poetry
Army of Me
Mutual Core