Old 97s, Thalia Hall, Chicago, Illinois

The Old 97's are an alternative country band from Dallas. Though they’ve been around since the early 90s, I hadn’t heard of them until recently. However, I listened to a few albums and liked what I heard. Many of the band’s songs harken back to their Texas roots, though they could also be called a hometown band, having released albums on the Chicago-based Bloodshot Records label on and off since their early years.

We arrived as the show was starting. It wasn’t sold out, and while we didn’t feel the need to slide up particularly close, it was easy to find a spot with good sound and a decent view. The Old 97’s consist of Rhett Miller (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ken Bethea (lead guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals), Murry Hammond (bass guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals), and Philip Peeples (drums, backing vocals). Rhett Miller reminded me of another Texas native introduced to the world in 1993, the fictional character Randall "Pink" Floyd, as portrayed by Jason London in the Richard Linklater film Dazed and Confused (1993). Both wore tight pants, an open flowing shirt, and had long flowing brown hair.

With 18 albums under their belts, the Old 97s had a deep catalogue from which to pull. They seemed to dig deep, such that even following my attempt to learn their most commonly played songs, there were a lot that I didn’t recognize. Their set also included a handful of covers. The full band participated in the majority of the performance, though a few songs featured only Hammond on an acoustic guitar and Miller on vocals. Overall it was a fun show and despite their long career, they’re all still enthusiastic performers that are highly appreciative of their continued fan base.

Setlist:
Give It Time
What We Talk About
King of All the World
Wasted
Up the Devil's Pay
Salome
Wheels Off
Nashville
Big Brown Eyes
The Other Shoe
You Belong to My Heart [Bing Crosby cover]
Over the Cliff [Jon Langford cover]
Color of a Lonely Heart Is Blue
Longer than You've Been Alive
I'm a Trainwreck
Guadalajara
Rollerskate Skinny
White Port
Murder (Or a Heart Attack)
Barrier Reef
Every Night Is Friday Night (Without You)
Most Messed Up
Encore:
Most in the Summertime [Rhett Miller song]
Valentine
Wish the Worst
Let's Get Drunk & Get It On
Timebomb

Civil Twilight, Lincoln Hall, Chicago, Illinois

Like The Word last week, there weren’t many people there at Lincoln Hall to see Civil Twilight. Again, I suspect that it might have had something to do with the Cubs playing in Game 3 of the NLCS just down the road, even though they were already down 2-0 in the series, and the live updates that I received on my phone weren’t looking promising. Nonetheless, I felt bad for the band that so few people showed up. I hoped that they were having more success at other shows.

I wasn’t a particularly big fan, but a friend had won tickets to the show. Since I liked a couple songs and their overall sound, it was easy for me to forgo watching the Cubs lose and check out the show. The sounded an awful lot like Coldplay, even though they’re from down under, not the other side of the pond. The lead singer even switched to piano for a couple songs, a la Chris Martin. He also admitted that he wasn’t really too familiar with baseball, but he tried to empathize with us, updating some of the lyrics of “Oh Daniel,” to “I wish I knew why the Cubs were losing.” He also mentioned that he was getting married on Friday. There were few enough people in the room that I was able to casually inquire how he was planning to pull all that off, and he was able to clarify that the wedding would occur in Nashville, not back home in Australia.

Setlist:
River
Trouble
River Child
Let It Go
Doorway
Please Don't Find Me
Story of an Immigrant
Oh Daniel
It's Over
Holy Dove
Letters from the Sky
When, When
Encore:
Human

The Word, Concord Music Hall, Chicago, Illinois

The Word ended up being another show that I decided to attend on my own at the last minute. I even showed up without a ticket, just purchasing one at the door. It was my first time at Concord Music Hall, a nice, mid-sized venue in Wicker Park.

The Word is the combination of gospel steel guitarist Robert Randolph and southern rock/blues band North Mississippi Allstars. They released an album nearly 15 years ago, then went their separate ways to concentrate on their normal projects. The reunited for a follow up album, Soul Food (2015), which was released earlier this year. I knew that seeing Randolph play the steel guitar would be a treat and assumed I wouldn’t be able to see it with this configuration of artists again for some time. When I arrived, I was surprised by how few people were there. I could have easily walked up to the stage even a few minutes before their main set. I was a bit worried for them, I hoped the tour was going better than the number of people I saw that night would have indicated. It probably didn’t help that the Cubs were playing St. Louis in game three of the National League Division Series over at Wrigley Field that evening. While it never filled up completely, it did get a little more crowded by the time that the show started. They put on a rocking show playing songs from their new album as well as what I believe were songs from each band, plus a few covers. Quite a few songs were just extended jams.

Frank Turner & the Sleeping Souls, House of Blues, Chicago, Illinois

For some reason, I waited a bit too long to get Frank Turner tickets, perhaps hoping that I could find someone to join me for the English folk punk singer-songwriter’s return to Chicago. That person never materialized, and tickets for the official front section ended up selling out. Though in my experience House of Blues typically maintains general admission policy throughout the venue, they claim to reserve the right to enforce sections. And if there was a show that I refused to be stuck in the back for, it was Frank Turner (love him and want to be up close with the diehard fans) at the House of Blues (the back sounds terrible). So I waited, planning to utilize the secondary market as needed.

However, it unfortunately turned out that a live taping of the Stuff You Should Know (SYSK) Podcast was occurring on the same night as the Frank Turner show. Even though Frank was my favorite show of 2013, I had seen him before, and I figured he would return. On the other hand, I might not get a chance to see a live taping of SYSK again for quite a while if at all. So I figured I’d skip Frank. However, in the days leading up to the show, it kept irking me that he was coming to Chicago, and I’d miss him. So once I confirmed the approximate set times of the two shows, I decided that I could probably swing both. So I went to SYSK, witnessing the full taping of the podcast and most of the Q&A. Then I snuck out before hosts Josh and Chuck left the stage to catch a ride downtown to the House of Blues. Frank was only a couple of songs into his set when I arrived. I didn’t miss much. Hell yeah.

The Tuesday night show was sold out. And if a show is sold out on a Tuesday night, you know that everyone in the audience wants to be there. As such, it wasn’t particularly easy to find a great spot. I slid my way through the crowd and within a couple more songs found myself in front of the bar house left. It wasn’t perfect, but a pretty good spot all things considered. After a bit, I slid down into the pit though a bit off to the side.

Frank was accompanied by the Sleeping Souls, his usual backing band. Other than a large backdrop of his new album, Positive Songs for Negative People (2015), and some standard lights, there weren’t any theatrics. He played a mix of old and new songs. I liked a lot of the new songs, and was glad to get to hear a few of them live, as it made me appreciate them all the more. His songs are just so damn fun, each one encourages a sing along. Just the greatest little blend of genres – all the energy of punk with the singability and relatableness of folk. His music makes for a hell of a show.

Frank was wearing a white shirt and tie but his sleeves were rolled halfway up showing his tattoo sleeves, making for a decidedly more casual look. Without the back trouble of his last performance in Chicago, he played guitar himself throughout, including a few solo songs in the middle of his set. At some point, he noted that it was show number 1745; he has the full list on his website. Apparently when it comes chronicling concerts, he’s just as big of a nerd as me.

At the start of the encore, I slid into the pit, right in the thick of things amongst the hardcore fans that knew every word to every song. During the encore of the show, a fan jumped on stage. As the bouncers aimed to throw him off the stage, perhaps out of the venue, Frank stopped them and instead gave him a harmonica. The look on the guy’s face indicted that this might be the most important moment in his life. He loved every minute of it, even though he looked a bit like a deer in headlights at first, having no idea what to do with himself when he succeed in getting on stage. Frank crowd surfed a bit himself during the encore as well. Everyone walked out with such joy. A guy stopped me outside the L when I had gotten all the way back to my local station to ask if I was at the show. I guess he was there too and at that hour, assumed it was probably the only rational explanation for why a person would be so sweaty and look so happy.

Setlist:
Get Better

If Ever I Stray
Try This at Home
Long Live the Queen
Out of Breath
Poetry of the Deed
Peggy Sang the Blues
Josephine
Polaroid Picture
I Am Disappeared
The Opening Act of Spring
The Ballad of Me and My Friends
Tell Tale Signs
Somebody to Love [Queen cover]
Wessex Boy
Plain Sailing Weather
Glory Hallelujah
Reasons Not to Be an Idiot
Mittens
Recovery
The Road
The Next Storm
Photosynthesis
Encore:
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
The Way I Tend to Be
I Still Believe
Four Simple Words

The Districts, Metro, Chicago, Illinois

Even though they’re from a town not far from my hometown of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and have been around for a couple of years, I only recently discovered indie rock band The Districts. They stopped at Metro while touring to support the release of their sophomore album, A Flourish and a Spoil (2015). Not too far out of high school, the band features a standard four piece setup and plays with an alternative/garage rock sound, though they gave each other some space and everybody had their chance at a solo or two. Their set included a songs from both albums as well as a few that I believe have yet to be released. The show wasn’t close to sold out, so we had plenty of room to move around. Overall, it was an enjoyable if generic show.

Setlist:
Heavy Begs
Rocking Chair
Hounds
Long Distance
Funeral Beds
Chlorine
Jam + Fat Kiddo
Peaches
Bold
Silver Couplets
Airplane
4th & Roebling
Encore:
Suburban Smell
Young Blood